Explains step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems. Learn how to understand what makes great stories work; make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models; use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight; make action build character; and recover when you hit the "wall."

Includes index.

Introduction -- The art of problem solving -- So, what's the problem? -- Locating the problem -- Approaching the problem -- Part I: Some common problems -- Talking heads -- Dazed, lost, and confused -- The nature of dull -- Part II: Problems of plot -- Too much, too soon -- The need to explain -- Something's missing -- Another time, another place: bridging time and action -- Part III: Problems of character -- What is character? -- The circle of being -- Dull, thin, and boring -- The passive article -- The flash point -- Part IV: Problems of structure -- Sceneus Interruptus -- Set-ups and pay-offs -- Enter late and get out early -- Okay, fasten your seat belts -- Endings -- The troubleshooter's guide.