The scriptwriter's handbook

Learning to write media scripts is possible, though reading a guide alone won't make anyone a skilled media writer, since that comes through steady practice. This book takes a hands-on approach, drawing on the author's professional experience and on research into how writing is taught. Its method, which the author and colleagues have used to produce many successful scripts, is presented without gimmicks or quick fixes.

The first part lays out a general writing process that works across any media project. Readers learn how to set project goals, gather and organize information, develop ideas, write scripts that use both sound and visuals well, respond to feedback, and edit their work.

The second part looks at specific assignments and formats, including instructional drama, unscripted programming, interactive video, teleconferencing, multi-image presentations, videowalls, and live productions. For each medium, the book explains its particular strengths and difficulties and offers many examples. The closing chapter covers the business side of scriptwriting: fees, staying healthy as a writer, dealing with writer's block, balancing creativity against risk, and using computers.

The book is meant for working professionals who want to sharpen their craft and for students and newcomers who need a dependable method. The author, an award-winning writer, specializes in medical, instructional, and private television work and is senior writer at Video Marketing Group in White Plains, New York. His clients have included AT&T, Kraft General Foods, Prudential Insurance, DuPont, Bellcore, and Warner Lambert. He wrote the play Dream Machines, which received a New Jersey Council for the Arts fellowship, and he teaches a graduate course in corporate media at Farleigh Dickinson University.