book✔read⚡ The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction

The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen,
Stage or Fiction
Description :

Most screenwriting books tend to focus on story structure, scene
writing, navigating the business, and other parts of the craft that
come AFTER the initial choice of the central concept for a story.
Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer/producer Erik Bork
(HBO&#8217sBand of Brothers) takes a different approach. His
experience in the industry and as a screenwriting professor and
coach have led him to recognize that it's the selection of the initial
idea that is the most important part of the process -- with the most
impact on the project's chance of success. And as Mr. Bork knows
from experience, this choice takes a lot more understanding and
work to get &quotrigt&quotthan it might seem.Most screenwriters
and fiction writers have difficulty getting their work read and
accepted by agents, editors and producers mainly because their idea
for a story presented in a query or pitch doesn't excite these
&quotgatkeepers&quotlike it would need to, for them to want to
engage. And when they do read the whole story, their core reasons
for &quotpasing&quotare usually also about the basic idea (although
lack of professional-level execution matters, too). But writers are
usually in the dark about this, not realizing that the project they
spent months or years on had fundamental flaws on a concept level,
in the eyes of the people they most hoped to impress with it.But
even the best fiction writing books and screenwriting experts tend to
move quickly past the crucial step of choosing a viable idea, to get
to the specific plotting and composition of it, because there is so
much to master in those later parts of the process -- which feel a lot
more like &quotwriing&quotthan developing and mulling over
potential story concepts.Professionals, though, tend to understand
the primacy of &quottheidea,&quotand learn that there are certain
key elements in story or series premises that really work, and which
are worth investing time and energy in. And that's what The Idea
focuses on -- laying out what those specific elements are, and how
to master them.While its concepts originate from the author's
screenwriting experiences, they apply equally to commercial fiction
writing, playwriting and other forms of &#8220stry&#8221--
because the focus is on what makes an underlying concept
compelling enough to appeal to a substantial audience or
readership.The &quotSevn Elements of a Viable Story&quotin The
Idea form an acronym for the word PROBLEM, since every story is
really about one, at its core.Each chapter focuses on one of these
seven deceptively simple-looking aspects of a strong story, which
are anything but easy to master. Mr. Bork highlights his own
struggles as a writer, and his arrival at an understanding of how

each of these elements works -- and how to know if one's idea really
succeeds at each of them. A special section devoted to television
writing (and its unique attributes) ends each chapter.Whatever your
education and background in writing or story, this book and its
unique focus contributes foundationally useful information not
covered elsewhere -- which may be the missing piece that leads to
greater results, both on the page and in the marketplace.