Rating: 
Summary: Great work by DB Gilles
Review: The Screenwriter Within was not only smartly written, easy to follow, and overall enjoyable, but managed to be informative at the same time. DB knows his stuff, that's obvious. He gives not only the basics of screenwriting, but also anecdotes, personal stories, and other bits ("nuggets") that will help any writer. A great choice all around!
Rating:
Summary: A comforting, non-intimidating book.
Review: This actually made me feel I could finish a screenplay. His stuff on third acts was enormously helpful.
Rating:
Summary: What a jewel!
Review: This book is not like Field's, McKee's or any of the zillion others that take you through the basics of screenwriting. It assumes you know most of the basics and concentrates, instead, on polishing and professionalizing your script and does so with a sense of humor that's wonderfully refreshing.I was exceedingly fortunate to have had DB serve as a consultant on one of my screenplays. He was insightful, encouraging, down-to-earth and funny as hell. His book is written in the same style he uses when consulting and teaching. It will forever have a place on my shelf near my computer and the rest of my important research/reference materials. Thanks, DB. Hurry up and write the next one!
Rating:
Summary: What a jewel!
Review: This book is not like Field's, McKee's or any of the zillion others that take you through the basics of screenwriting. It assumes you know most of the basics and concentrates, instead, on polishing and professionalizing your script and does so with a sense of humor that's wonderfully refreshing. I was exceedingly fortunate to have had DB serve as a consultant on one of my screenplays. He was insightful, encouraging, down-to-earth and funny as hell. His book is written in the same style he uses when consulting and teaching. It will forever have a place on my shelf near my computer and the rest of my important research/reference materials. Thanks, DB. Hurry up and write the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Should be two-and-a-half, but...
Review: This manual is pretty typical of the more personal, chatty type of screenwriting books that have been released recently. As such it's a very easy read and extremely accessible. However, in a number of areas it truly falls short - especially concerning dialogue. On the other hand it is inspirational when it talks about finding story material in your own life and psyche. All in all a mixed bag, truly valuable in some ways, quite flawed in others. Certainly not the ONLY book a beginner should read, but as an addendum to a more solid basic text it may prove to be of help.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Sex, and Why:
Review: Usually after sex I try to get out of bed as quickly as possible. Fear of future relationship failure (on my part) weighs upon my head like an inverted air layer over LA, and I really just want to get out of the room, out of the relationship, out of my head, and on to the streets where I feel comfortable, alone, and eager with the possibility of not screwing up the next one. That's how I treated screenplays. I'd start them, sometimes for a night, a weekend, or just a few minutes, and then let the idea atrophy, bled to death by all the excuses: My writing partner's a jerk, the idea stinks, this can't be good, etc. Reading DB's book settled myself. A fundamental perception of myself as a writer has changed. I am unafraid to revisit my shattered past, to create where I had previously quaked. Here's why: DB as a writing coach is like having a friend. All he sees in you is the screenplay writer, and that's all he's concerned with. He knows the traps and lures that the procrastinating, fearful, sleepless, friendless, buck-toothed and pigeon-toed writers are subject to. (Yes, that's me as a kid, so shut up.) He knows what fearful behavior is, he gears you up to beat it, and, in the long run, I think, he lets you know that while each screenplay requires a process to write it, each screenplay is also part of a process that is also your life, which in itself is worth living, worth having lived, and worth writing about. DB understands people. With DB in your corner, you can't go wrong. In his workshop, I always felt I was his favorite student. In the book, I like to think that he thought of me when he cited one of the career professions on page 190 . . .
Rating:
Summary: Better than American Pie, and Why:
Review: Usually after The Favorite American Pastime I try to get out of The Arena as quickly as possible. Fear of future relationship failure (on my part) weighs upon my head like an inverted air layer over LA, and I really just want to get out of the room, out of the relationship, out of my head, and on to the streets where I feel comfortable, alone, and eager with the possibility of not lousing up the next one. That's how I treated screenplays. I'd start them, sometimes for a night, a weekend, or just a few minutes, and then let the idea atrophy, bled to death by all the excuses: My writing partner forgets our appointments, the idea stinks, this can't be good, etc. Reading DB's book settled myself. A fundamental perception of myself as a writer has changed. I am unafraid to revisit my shattered past, to create where I had previously quaked. Here's why: DB as a writing coach is like having a friend. All he sees in you is the screenplay writer, and that's all he's concerned with. He knows the traps and lures that the procrastinating, fearful, sleepless, friendless, buck-toothed and pigeon-toed writers are subject to. (Yes, that's me as a kid.) He knows what fearful behavior is, he gears you up to beat it, and, in the long run, I think, he lets you know that while each screenplay requires a process to write it, each screenplay is also part of a process that is also your life, which in itself is worth living, worth having lived, and worth writing about. DB understands people. With DB in your corner, you can't go wrong. In his workshop, I always felt I was his favorite student. In the book, I like to think that he thought of me when he cited one of the career professions on page 190. And you know, he gives you his email address at the back of the book (can't say here, probably, so I won't print it). But I feel like I know the guy so well, I'll probably try his chili recipie (P. 199 -- don't ask, just get the book) and send him my review of that first.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy Syd Field's book, buy this one!
Review: When I bought this book for D.B.'s class, I was all, "Oh great, another professor making me buy his book for his class!" I figured I would read the one chapter he required us to read and then return it to the bookstore as soon as possible. But then, after I read that one required chapter, and I decided to keep the book after all. For another film course I was forced to buy Syd Field's book "Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" and read it over a weekend. Even though Syd's book is a supposed "industry standard" screenwriting book, I wouldn't recommend buying it. After all, any good screenwriting professor will tell you that all screenplay books tell you basically the same thing. You only have to buy one book to learn formatting, the three-act structure, etc. I recommend D.B. Gilles' "The Screenwriter Within" because it gives you the same information you'll find anywhere else, with the added bonus of a sense of humor. Granted, Syd Field's book is funny, but it is because his examples are outdated, and the screenplay he uses for an example is about speedboats. Syd Field is succeeding at being funny without trying, whereas D.B. is trying to be funny and succeeding. Therefore, I recommend the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy Syd Field's book, buy this one!
Review: When I bought this book for D.B.'s class, I was all, "Oh great, another professor making me buy his book for his class!" I figured I would read the one chapter he required us to read and then return it to the bookstore as soon as possible. But then, after I read that one required chapter, and I decided to keep the book after all. For another film course I was forced to buy Syd Field's book "Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" and read it over a weekend. Even though Syd's book is a supposed "industry standard" screenwriting book, I wouldn't recommend buying it. After all, any good screenwriting professor will tell you that all screenplay books tell you basically the same thing. You only have to buy one book to learn formatting, the three-act structure, etc. I recommend D.B. Gilles' "The Screenwriter Within" because it gives you the same information you'll find anywhere else, with the added bonus of a sense of humor. Granted, Syd Field's book is funny, but it is because his examples are outdated, and the screenplay he uses for an example is about speedboats. Syd Field is succeeding at being funny without trying, whereas D.B. is trying to be funny and succeeding. Therefore, I recommend the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy Syd Field's book, buy this one!
Review: When I bought this book for D.B.'s class, I was all, "Oh great, another professor making me buy his book for his class!" I figured I would read the one chapter he required us to read and then return it to the bookstore as soon as possible. But then, after I read that one required chapter, and I decided to keep the book after all. For another film course I was forced to buy Syd Field's book "Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" and read it over a weekend. Even though Syd's book is a supposed "industry standard" screenwriting book, I wouldn't recommend buying it. After all, any good screenwriting professor will tell you that all screenplay books tell you basically the same thing. You only have to buy one book to learn formatting, the three-act structure, etc. I recommend D.B. Gilles' "The Screenwriter Within" because it gives you the same information you'll find anywhere else, with the added bonus of a sense of humor. Granted, Syd Field's book is funny, but it is because his examples are outdated, and the screenplay he uses for an example is about speedboats. Syd Field is succeeding at being funny without trying, whereas D.B. is trying to be funny and succeeding. Therefore, I recommend the latter.
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