Rating: 
Summary: Demystifying!
Review: Alex Epstein has written a book from the standpoint of a man who has been at both sides of the table - a scriptwriter and a development executive who spends time reading scripts. Using the experiences, he builds a solid, yet a very pleasant to read composition of succinct pieces of advice on how to write a screenplay that will get made.Many people in the screenwriting biz seem to be in love with phrases. From writing gurus ("A good screenplay is a screenplay that doesn't waste our time", "Tell the story that has to be told") to folks who read and evaluate screenplays ("It's episodic", "We don't know enough about your hero"). The catch with all phrases is - they're not useful to a writer. This book goes beyond those common idioms, avoids clichés, and tells you EXACTLY what you need to know. E.g. "Hook (a.k.a. High Concept)" - all around the Internet you can find a definition: "A premise that can be depicted in a sentence or two". But even such a structurally complex movie as "Magnolia" can be caught in one sentence; so again, the popular phrase is not telling us much. Going deeper from the evident confusion, Epstein successfully analyzes the entire "High Concept" problem by telling us what a good hook really is, why it is the most important part of the script, how to come up with a valid one, and finally - how to check out the quality of a chosen concept before you waste 6 months writing the script that won't get read, let alone get made. Combining humor with practical examples, the author finds the best path to the essence of all critical screenplay elements (structure, point of view, pacing, dialogues...) and makes them clear and easily comprehensible. Along with the abovementioned, the book shows an equally significant blueprint of the working principles of Hollywood selling&buying script system.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY good!
Review: At the very least, the writing style is lively and accessible. This is a book you can enjoy reading just for the insights on moviemaking, even if screenwriting isn't your thing. Epstein doesn't really blow away a lot of major sacred screenwriting cows here, but he does offer a lot of very practical, very realistic advice about writing and selling screenplays. He displays an insight not usually found in most books like what "The dialogue is flat" REALLY means. One of my favorite comments is when he talks about backstory in action films, pointing out that you progressively decrease the dialogue and "increase the whammies." As for recommending screenwriting books, he says "Stop reading and get writing!" Excellent advice!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: CRAFTY SCREENWRITING is an outstanding book for screenwriters! Like many screenwriters, I've read dozens of screenwriting books, always looking for more information and anything that will help me to become a better screenwriter. Over the last decade, I've read them all; Syd Field's books, McKee's STORY, Trottier's BIBLE, Froug, Walter, Hunter, etc. CRAFTY SCREENWRITING stands out because it is written from a writer's point of view. What I mean by that is, most screenwriting books are written from a teacher's viewpoint. They take movies and analyze them and tell you what works and what doesn't. They can be quite valuable. But, CRAFTY SCREENWRITING takes you through the process as a writer, from the initial idea and through the first draft. It's very, very helpful and reminds you what you should be doing when you're WRITING, not what you should be doing when you're watching other movies. It's what you should be reading DURING the screenwriter process. The only book I've found that can compare to CRAFTY SCREENWRITING in that regard is a small self-published book called the SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING by Bill Martell (if you can get a hold of it, buy that too, no matter what genre you write in). This book also helps screenwriters focus on the important realities of becoming a working screenwriter and Epstein is an expert on this. Not only is he a produced writer himself, but he's also worked as a development exec who has actually purchased other people's screenplays (including some famous writers' works before they were famous). I give this book five stars because it is THE best screenwriting book I've read in the past few years. The only negative thing I can say about it is that I personally didn't agree with his theory on how characters should be created, but his actual advice on what makes a good character was still extremely valuable. I don't do many of these reviews (if you've got nothing nice to say...), but CRAFTY SCREENWRITING definitely rises to the top of the overcrowded subject of screenwriting advice books.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I'd had this book in film school
Review: Finally, a book about screenwriting that isn't drudgery to read. When I was a film student, the screenwriting books I was assigned made the whole process seem more arcane than French grammar. Epstein's book is about how to tell stories that people will want to see on the screen, and reading it is like talking to a very smart, funny person. He's absolutely right about how scripts need to have a hook to get made, and he explains for the uninitiated how those occasional movies without hooks actually got made (by being a bestselling novels first, being the pet project of a movie star, etc.) Buy this book. It's a fun read, and it will help you figure out what's wrong with your screenplay (and will save you endless hours of frustration if your hook-less story is doomed to be unproducable).
Rating:
Summary: Epstein delivers!!
Review: Finally, a book that provides great insight into the process of writing a screenplay and selling it too! For years I had held out on buying a book on screenwriting because no one seemed to take the time to simply explain the minutia behind the structure, style, and format needed in a screenplay (i.e. what should it physically look like? how should I bind it?). This book challenges you to truly invest thought into your stories and gives you a guide on how to make your ideas work on the page. Epstein takes the time to show you how to break stories down into their easiest to understand elements while at the same time injecting his own thoughts on how a screenplay should look (bindings, format) and feel (information on length and pacing).
I know what you're saying: "I've read published screenplays and know the format well enough!" This is wrong, since the screenplays that get published are made to incorporate elements that are necessary to a SHOOTING SCRIPT, while your trying to write a SELLING SCRIPT!
This book should be able to answer any questions you've had on screenwriting and give you great tips on the writing process...and the price isn't bad either!
Rating:
Summary: It's less than 4 cents a page.
Review: For less than 4 cents a page, you can have the best book ever published on writing screenplays that sell. For that price, you can't go wrong! Alex Epstein has packed more useful information into 274 pages than any other book of it's kind. All of the other screenwriting books tell you how to write a screenplay. If you're looking for a hobby, buy the other books. If you want to make money, buy CRAFTY SCREENWRITING. You could spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on books, CD's, seminars and software and none of it would be as helpful as Epstein's book. If you can't get your hands on William Goldman's brain, buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I stumbled upon a website article by Alex Epstein where he was about to reveal what was needed to create a winning script, and was intrigued. I bought his book to find his answer - hook. I eagerly read on... Only to find the same old information given in other screenwriting books, and often uninspired information (if you need this book to tell you how/where to find subject matter to write about, then give up the screenwriting game now). Overall, if I didn't have a clue where to begin as a screenwriter, this book might be useful. But be forewarned, Epstein does a lot of telling you what you should do, and very little of how to do it. To his credit, Epstein's cynical voice makes for an entertaining read. Also, his section regarding the decoding of development execs notes was interesting. If you have experience writing screenplays on any level higher than 101 and are looking for the smallest edge to help your work get noticed in a crowded marketplace, then you might not get a lot out of this book. If you are looking for some basic ideas on how to shore up your new found passion of screenwriting and make it more presentable, then this book might be for you.
Rating: 
Summary: At best, a book for beginners
Review: I stumbled upon a website article by Alex Epstein where he was about to reveal what was needed to create a winning script, and was intrigued. I bought his book to find his answer - hook. I eagerly read on... Only to find the same old information given in other screenwriting books, and often uninspired information (if you need this book to tell you how/where to find subject matter to write about, then give up the screenwriting game now). Overall, if I didn't have a clue where to begin as a screenwriter, this book might be useful. But be forewarned, Epstein does a lot of telling you what you should do, and very little of how to do it. To his credit, Epstein's cynical voice makes for an entertaining read. Also, his section regarding the decoding of development execs notes was interesting. If you have experience writing screenplays on any level higher than 101 and are looking for the smallest edge to help your work get noticed in a crowded marketplace, then you might not get a lot out of this book. If you are looking for some basic ideas on how to shore up your new found passion of screenwriting and make it more presentable, then this book might be for you.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites in the screenwriting genre
Review: I think this is a fabulous book. I've done some professional script coverage and I've also read almost every book on screenwriting available. After reading Alex Epstein's "Crafty Screenwriting," I couldn't help but wish that every writer of film or television scripts would heed his sound advice and avoid making the typical mistakes that annoy us readers and film fans. :-) The layout is straightforward and easy to navigate, his writing style accessible. It's just sensible advice and serves not only as a great introduction for a beginning writer, but also as a reminder to experienced writers who still lapse into some lazy writing behaviors at times. I highly recommend this book, no matter how many tomes you've read on the craft of writing. It's one I've now recommended to several friends.
Rating:
Summary: A Must For Any Screenwriter!
Review: I'm an aspiring writer for movies. I ordered every book I could find. Crafty Screenwriting, was the only one I found as a tool. All the other books, jump around describing the pitfalls on using the tool. The others suggested not using it all all. Still others suggested how to sell it. Crafty Screenwriting,. was the only one that explained to me, in straightforward terms, how. I would highly suggest this book to anyone even remotely considering writing anything. Chris Smith
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