Ever watch a movie, and despite great production value, fantastic action sequences, a great cast, etc, you come away thinking-I just didn't buy it. Chances are it was because you didn't care about the characters. Screenwriter's Compass presents a new way of approaching screenwriting, examining how effective screen storytelling must be grounded in the vivid imagining and presentation of character.
Screenwriter's Compass will not offer formulas to follow but instead will give you the tools needed to chart your own path to screenwriting success. It details useful ways of thinking about writing, as well as practical ideas and concepts to help you discover the unique geography of your own imagination and navigate the problems posed by the struggle to express vision, agenda, and story. You'll learn how to root your writing in motivation and voice, to create screenplays that seduce and make your reader lean forward, and, most importantly, identify with your characters.

"More than just the compass..this is the whole ship. Designed to safely navigate a screenwriter's journey to safe harbor, it's a virtual mega-yacht of a book: swift, secure, beautifully detailed...and above all, fun. Guy Gallo is one of the very few practitioners of the art who can show you how to chart your own course...and survive." --Tony Bill, producer The Sting (1973)

"I now have a screenwriting bible. As a working screenwriter, Gallo's words serve as a fantastic check-list for producing quality work. As a teacher of filmmaking, Gallo has provided my students and I with an incredibly useful and lucid set of tools. Gallo is a generous man for sharing his screenwriting genius." -- Emily Abt, writer, director, film professor, Princeton University

"Guy Gallo celebrates the adventure of writing a screenplay. He encourages writers to end up with 'a surprise that wasn't what you sat down to write.' It's simply the best book about writing for the screen I've read." -- Terry Jones, screenwriter, Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Life of Brian; Labyrinth

"...Gallo offers readers clear, concise tips on and examples of screenwriting techniques, liberally sprinkled with his personal experiences as a screenwriter. Accessible and engaging, Gallo's book makes an excellent resource and guide for both novices and professionals looking to add another tool to their screenwriting toolbox. Summing Up: Recommended." -- A. F. Winstead, Our Lady of the Lake University, CHOICE

Contents:
FIRST THINGS
Screenwriter's Compass Big Deal-You're Writing a Screenplay Gear Up Screenwriting Is Writing Craftsmanship
GROUNDWORK
Reading Theory Upsetting Aristotle Putting Aristotle to Work Character-Driven versus Plot-Driven Fable and Construct Turning Theory to Task
GETTING READY Master Shot Screenplay Reading Screenplays Composition Creates Story On Outlines On Character Histories On Treatments On Adaptation
FIRST DRAFT
The Blank Page Scene and Action Description Camera Gestures and Paragraphing Being God Character Logic Hearing Voices Empathy Thinking of Structure Breaking a Block
REVISION
First Reader Looking Again for Logic Questions Challenges and Pitfalls On Expectation
FINISHING
Writing a Screenplay Screenplay Format Series of Shots Proofreading Submission
GETTING READY AGAIN
Passion and Purpose Happy Accident Intuition and Analysis Lessons​