| Foreword | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. xiv |
| Film Tells a Story Differently Than a Book or a Play | p. 1 |
| Classic Story Structure | p. 3 |
| A "Story" is not the Same Thing as a "Plot" | p. 5 |
| A Story's Content Determines its Length | p. 7 |
| A Commercial is the Ultimate Short | p. 9 |
| A Short is Just a Slice of Life and not a Whole Life Story | p. 11 |
| "Reel" Time Moves Differently than "Real" Time | p. 13 |
| Casting Call | p. 15 |
| The Audience and the Box Office | p. 17 |
| Knowledge = Credibility | p. 19 |
| What Do You Want Your Film to Say? | p. 21 |
| Speaking the Language of Screenwriters | p. 23 |
| Linear Versus Nonlinear Storytelling | p. 23 |
| Story Beats | p. 27 |
| A Theme is the Glue that Holds Your Story Together | p. 29 |
| Relatable Characters are What Give a Story an Audience | p. 31 |
| Relatable Characters Come From...Everywhere! | p. 33 |
| Compelling Ideas Come From...Everywhere Else! | p. 35 |
| Ideas that Work Best as Shorts | p. 37 |
| A Conflict is What Drives a Plot Forward | p. 39 |
| Show Us Who (and What) We're Rooting For | p. 41 |
| Substance Versus Style: Who's in the Driver's Seat? | p. 43 |
| All Conflicts Derive from Reward, Revenge and Escape | p. 45 |
| Aiming for High Concept | p. 47 |
| Catchy Loglines | p. 49 |
| Synopses Shouldn't Read Like Book Reports | p. 51 |
| Location, Location, Location | p. 53 |
| Master Scenes | p. 55 |
| How to be Multiple Places at Once | p. 57 |
| Conflict is a Collision Course of Multiple Layers | p. 59 |
| A Conflict is Ignited by an Inciting Incident | p. 61 |
| Objective Acceptance and Subjective Engagement | p. 63 |
| Action = Reaction | p. 65 |
| To Make a Conflict Convincing, the Opponents Need to be Evenly Matched | p. 67 |
| When "Losing" Isn't an Option | p. 69 |
| A Conflict can't be Resolved Until the End of the Film | p. 71 |
| Surprise is on Your Side | p. 73 |
| Conflict Grows Out of Character | p. 75 |
| Character Grows Out of Conflict | p. 77 |
| Character and Conflict Comprise the Hero's Journey | p. 79 |
| Crossing the Point of No Return | p. 81 |
| A Character Arc is a Transformation | p. 83 |
| Heroes Aren't 100% Good; Villains Aren't 100% Bad | p. 85 |
| Sidekicks, Confidantes and Confederates | p. 87 |
| Ordinary Characters Need Extraordinary Situations | p. 89 |
| Extraordinary Characters Need Ordinary Situations | p. 91 |
| Hooks, Foreshadowing and Uh-Oh's | p. 93 |
| A Character Should Do More than Just Take Up Space | p. 95 |
| Minor Characters Don't Need Major Introductions | p. 97 |
| Designer Genes | p. 99 |
| Names Should be a Reflection of Character | p. 101 |
| A Character's Actions Say More Than His or Her Words | p. 103 |
| Sometimes the Audience Needs to Know More Than the Characters | p. 105 |
| Sometimes the Characters Need to Know More Than the Audience | p. 107 |
| Motivation and Redemption | p. 109 |
| A Script is No Place for Words That Just Ramble | p. 111 |
| Dining at the Speed of Light | p. 113 |
| Fancy Footwork and Fisticuffs | p. 115 |
| For "Reel" Talk to Sound "Real," You Need Vocal Variety | p. 117 |
| Characters Shouldn't Use Dialogue to Explain Things to Each Other That They Already Know | p. 119 |
| Don't Use a Voice Over if a Visual Would Say Much More | p. 121 |
| Topic: Dreams and Flashbacks | p. 123 |
| Mood-Setting Montages | p. 125 |
| Save the Big Speeches For When They'll Really Count | p. 127 |
| Actors Should Never be Left to Ad-Lib | p. 129 |
| What We See Isn't Always What We Get | p. 131 |
| Stereotypes and Character Reversals | p. 133 |
| Context + Subtext = Delivery | p. 135 |
| Always Keep the "Accent" On Readability | p. 137 |
| Every Story Needs a Point of View | p. 139 |
| First One In, Last One Out | p. 141 |
| Treatments | p. 143 |
| Splat! Hitting the Wall With Writer's Block | p. 145 |
| Genres are to Film What Menus are to Restaurants | p. 147 |
| The Perils of Genre Zeitgeist | p. 149 |
| Genre Dictates Structure | p. 151 |
| Genre Bling-Bling | p. 153 |
| Don't Switch Genres in Midstream | p. 155 |
| A Comedy is Something That Makes Us Laugh | p. 157 |
| A Drama is Something That Makes Us Sad, Mad, Disturbed or Contemplative | p. 159 |
| A Sci-Fi Film Takes Us Out of This World | p. 161 |
| A Western Film is Always About a Showdown | p. 163 |
| A Fantasy Film is a Ticket to All Things Magical | p. 165 |
| A Horror Film Will Make You Sleep With the Lights On | p. 167 |
| A Romance is a Pas De Deux | p. 169 |
| A Thriller Keeps You Guessing from Start to Finish | p. 171 |
| Action/Adventure Films are An 'E' Ticket to Fun | p. 173 |
| Taking a Page From Real Life | p. 175 |
| The Magic of Animation | p. 177 |
| Music, Music, Music | p. 179 |
| Family Fare and Coming of Age | p. 181 |
| Genre is a Reflection of Attitude and Intention | p. 183 |
| Elvis May Have Left the Building But His Heirs are Alive and Kicking | p. 185 |
| Rules of the (Formatting) Game | p. 187 |
| Bulletproofing Your Script | p. 189 |
| What's Mine is Mine | p. 191 |
| Screenwriting Competitions | p. 193 |
| Fast Pitch | p. 195 |
| Screenwriter's Etiquette | p. 197 |
| You Hate Me. You Really Hate Me | p. 199 |
| Filmography | p. 201 |
| Recommended Reading | p. 225 |
| About the author | p. 227 |
| About the Author's Assistant | p. 228 |
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