Writing Manuals
SceneWriting: The Missing Manual for Screenwriters by Publication Date: 2022This thorough and effective guide will help the beginner and the professional master the most critical and overlooked part of the screenwriting process: the art and craft of writing scenes. With step-by-step instruction and numerous exercises, you will learn how to prepare scenes for writing, construct sparkling, naturalistic dialogue and utilize scene description and the unique structure of the screenplay format to maximum advantage.
Inclusive Screenwriting for Film and Television by Publication Date: 2022Author Jess King explores how existing paradigms of screenplays often exclude the very people watching films and TV today. Breaking down the traditional structures of screenplays in an innovative and progressive way, while also investigating the ways in which screenplays have been traditionally told, this book interrogates how screenplays can be written to reflect the diverse life experiences of real people.
The Art of Writing for the Theatre: An Introduction to Script Analysis, Criticism, and Playwriting by Publication Date: 2022Filled with practical advice from an award-winning playwright, and a range of resources to guide you in the craft and business of theatre writing, The Art of Writing for the Theatre provides everything you need to write like a seasoned theatre professional, including how to analyze and break down a script, how to write a wide range of plays, how to critique a play and a theatre production, and how to construct and craft essays, cover letters, theatrical resumes and applications.
Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for New Playwrights by Publication Date: 2021Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for New Playwrights provides a holistic approach to playwriting from an award-winning playwright and instructor. This book incorporates craft lessons by contemporary playwrights and provides concrete guidance for new and emerging playwrights. The author takes readers through the entire creative process, from creating characters and writing dialogue to analyzing elements of well-made plays.
The Science of Writing Characters: Using Psychology to Create Compelling Fictional Characters by Publication Date: 2020The Science of Writing Characters is a comprehensive handbook to help writers create compelling and psychologically-credible characters that come to life on the page. Drawing on the latest psychological theory and research, ranging from personality theory to evolutionary science, the book equips screenwriters and novelists with all the techniques they need.
Digital Collections
- American Film Scripts Online This link opens in a new windowContains 1,009 scripts by 1,062 writers together with detailed, fielded information on the scenes, characters and people related to the scripts.
- Asian American Drama This link opens in a new windowContains 252 plays by 42 playwrights of Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Indian, Thai, Korean, Persian, and Malaysian descent.
- Black Drama : 1850 to present This link opens in a new windowFull text of 1,200 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 150 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.
- Drama Online This link opens in a new windowIncludes Core Collection, Shakespeare's Globe on Screen, Playwrights Canada Press, Royal Shakespeare Company Live, Critical Studies & Performance Practice, Nick Hern Books Modern Plays
- English Drama This link opens in a new windowMore than 1800 works by over 500 named authors and over 300 anonymous works, from the Shrewsbury Fragments of the late 13th century through the Elizabethan and Jacobean period to the end of the 19th century.
- NFB Explore (National Film Board) This link opens in a new windowProvides access to online viewing of films produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
- North American Indian Drama This link opens in a new windowFull text scripts of over 250 plays by American and Canadian Indigenous playwrights, with brief information about authors, characters, theatrical companies, productions and cast. Searchable by scene.
- North American Women's Drama This link opens in a new windowThe collection covers contemporary drama, including the works of performance artists.
- Theatre in Video This link opens in a new windowOnline in streaming video. More than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries
- Twentieth Century North American Drama This link opens in a new windowContains 2,000 plays from the United States and Canada. In addition the collection offers a unique window into the economic, historical, social, and political psyche of two countries.