Making a Good Script Great

I was referred, by a professional screenwriter, to read this book. Making of a Good Script by Linda Seger is a must read for all screenwriters.
Back from the Bardo: Three Short Stories by James Cage

If so, you will love this book. As someone who reads all the books I can on screenwriting over and over as I write, I find this book invaluable. What separates it from the others? The chapters on subplots and scenes really help. I also have found Rob Tobin's book, John Truby's course, Kate Wright's book, Blake Snyder's book, Michael Hauge and Chris Vogler's DVD/books instruction to be helpful. These books don't just tell you to reveal character and move the story forward; they show you how.

Linda Seger teaches or taught script writing at some school somewhere. She loves to tell you this in her book. I don't think she actually ever wrote any movies in her life that I can tell. According to the Internet Movie Database she was listed under Miscellaneous Crew in the "Never Ending Story II: The Next Chapter". Not exactly a block buster. So I think she should work a little harder on her craft. My guess is that she has made more money teaching and writing about movies than actually writing a movie. She is listed as script consultant in some random movies I've never heard of. Probably worth the $3 I paid used but not much more. Here's a tip for the author. Go write a movie we've heard of and then write a book.

Reading a screenwriting book by Dr. Linda Seger is like taking a hundred meetings with Hollywood's best writers and directors, and listening in as Seger helps them mold their stories and scripts into a hit. Seger's experiences are vast, and she's generous with her advice, which is smart, visual, commercial, and practical. If you do what she says, your chances at selling and getting your screenplay made are tremendously magnified. Making a Good Script Great, for instance, is one of those books that every screenwriter should read (again-and-again) before starting the next project. A good screenplay is complex and sophisticated, but must read simply, easily, and enjoyably. The task is a multifaceted, intense, and long-suffering. Seger, however, provides the chisels and rouges to take your diamond in the rough, sharpen its edges, and polish its faces, until your script gleams and sparkles like a Hollywood star.

Linda's writing was helpful in the writing of my own book on screenwriting published by Michael Wiese Productions -- THE MORAL PREMISE: Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box Office Success.

This book offers some good insight. This 'is' about "Making a Good Script Great" as the title says, so it's not for someone looking for a starting guide. For those people, I would reccomend "Lew Hunters Screenwriting 101."

I must warn, that the book references 'Witness' allot. So if you haven't seen it, see it. And see Ghostbusters too!

Overall though, this guide is one of the few that actually delivers, and is a quick and easy read.

-Matt