I'm sure Matt will get responses to questions about getting started in screenwriting that will suggest one of the many good books on the subject. I'm not saying do not get an instructional book, I'm just emphasizing something that doesn't get much attention from research: reading actual screenplays. Get a couple from films you admire, and study them. Notice the narrative construction, the writing style of the description, the purpose of the dialogue, and how the writer builds up themes. Too often critics talk about strengths and weaknesses of a screenwriter without having read any of their screenplays. References, even in some screenwriting books, are to the films. To really see what a screenwriter is all about, their screenplays must be read. Often you'll find a very different product than the resulting film, and, in some cases, something much more interesting. For example, Tarantino's TRUE ROMANCE is much better than the film. There is a super-basic logic here: if you want to learn about screenwriting -- read screenplays. Getting a hold of them can sometimes be difficult. Try a university library. A large bookstore (Tower, etc.) should have some published screenplays. And there are also Hollywood Scripts and Script City in LA, which sell copies of screenplays in their original format (about $20 a pop). ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]