The Complete Book of Scriptwriting

A weighty tome, laced with a good use of metaphor and language. It givesreasonable guidance on the importance of format, though American readerswill find it more useful than Europeans in this respect. It's cautionarytone helps keep the budding writer on his/her toes, always avoiding thestarry-eyed bull and bluster that is often typical of this type of book. Significant chunks of this book however, bear little relevance to theneeds of non-Americans, and that is where it falls short slightly. Alliedto that, his chroncling of TV history is outrageously US-centric. Baird,the Beeb and Alexandra Palace don't even merit a mention. If I wereAmerican, I'd probably give it a 5-star rating. As a Brit, it'shistorical bias and lack of a global perspective prompts me to give it a3.

Perfect... ish (6/7 people found this helpful)

This is perfect for writers at all levels. Providing a good history to the subject and telling you all you need to know in the fields of Animation, Comics and Screenwriting. Not all of this may be applicable to you (it wasn't to me), but Straczynski has had success in all those fields from He-Man to Murder She Wrote to Babylon 5 to The Amazing Spiderman. One of the few screenwriting book actually written by someone who is doing well. So many are written by people who present a lot of seminars but haven't sold anything. LISTEN TO THIS MAN - success and quality are a rare commodity!

The World (and History) According to J. Michael Straczynski (4/7 people found this helpful)

Fantastically informative and anecdotal in style, with a plethora of practical, methodical hints for all beginners scriptwriting needs.

Sadly where this book falls down is in its 'yankocentric' model of television's history. The book for instance creates the impression (a falsehood) that television was invented by America, and was driven solely by America. John Logie Baird and the BBC are conspicuous by the lack of acknowledgement they receive of their contributions to the medium. Written with the same mentality of those americans who believe that the Second World War began in 1941, this nationalistic arrogance detracts from what is otherwise a highly constructive read.

Don't bother - especially if you're from the UK (8/11 people found this helpful)

Having read the book cover to cover I can say that it is virtually worthless for the budding scriptwriter. Concentrating heavily on the history of Cinema in the US each Chapter has 'A History Of' section which makes up about 40% of the book. Another large portion is given to the present market in Hollywood etc etc. As far as scriptwriting tuition - it does mention Format, Structure etc. but nowhere near in enough depth that is required. If you want a book about American Film history and some occasional rantings about Babylon 5, then by all means buy it. I would recommend to all Teach Yourself Screenwriting.

An absolutely excellent book, which out of the 7 screenwriting books I have purchased I can truly say is worth 100 times the price.

Good but not perfect (0/0 people found this helpful)

JMS's book is definitely worth a look, but unfortunately it tries to cover a little too much. This means that some of the topics are only covered piece-meal. However, if you're serious about `getting into the industry' then grab the book. It has some valuable lessons inside.

J.Michael Straczynski

Reader Reviews:

Essentially a Babylon 3! (2/3 people found this helpful)

Perfect... ish (6/7 people found this helpful)

The World (and History) According to J. Michael Straczynski (4/7 people found this helpful)

Don't bother - especially if you're from the UK (8/11 people found this helpful)

Good but not perfect (0/0 people found this helpful)

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