Customer Reviews
Best for more intermediate level screenwriters 
2008-07-09
I found the book extremely helpful - but I would NOT recommend for beginning screenwriters.
I've written almost 3 screenplays, and had them critiqued in class. So, I would say that I am an beginner-intermediate level. This book is an excellent resource for those who are already familiar with good screenwriting rules and formats, and need to refine these points.
I saw many of my own mistakes in the book examples (yikes!) - you know what they say, the best way to learn is by making a mistake.
Therefore, if you have yet to write at least one screenplays, I'm not sure this book will be as helpful as books like "Hot Property" or "The Screenwriter's Bible."
The Difference 2008-05-10
I agree with another reviewer. This is better to read while you're in the middle of your first screenplay, or after you've written it.
But it's brilliant.
If you write a screenplay, and are not sure how to revise it, read this, and you will laugh. But you will also discover the difference between writing a film that sounds good to you and writing something that a studio-exec will enjoy reading.
I think it can make good writing better and make it smoother, while helping you avoid the minefield that so many ignorantly charge through.
A good book, but just good. 
2008-04-20
While this book does tell you some of the basic stuff it takes not to write your script, it also goes back and forth and gives examples of bad scripts and then good scripts doing almost the same thing. It seems as if sometimes the author will tell you not to write too much, but then when it comes to scripts that have been turned into movies, that rule is gone. This part of it was disappointing, so what is it? Dont write too much but then go ahead and write too much.
A good read! 
2008-04-11
This guy is funny. I burned through this book in short order. A little heavy on the inclusion of other writers work, but it does illustrate his points. That is the only reason I didn't give it five stars.
He claims that the screenplays he faults are actual screenplays. It's not hard to imagine somebody who bought this book recognized their work. Not good.
Less negative than I hoped, but very effective. 2008-03-24
The writing examples used in this book were mostly from quality scripts, when I expected the book to focused on tearing apart bad scripts. I believe the jacket's assertion that there's much to be learned this way, and it sounds like a lot of fun. This probably has a lot more bad examples than any typical guide, and regardless of what I anticipated, it was very effective.
An absolute must read for aspiring screenwriters. 2008-02-20
Finally, what may be the last screenwriting book a writer will ever need to buy! Written by a Hollywood screenwriter, How NOT to Write A Screenplay carefully identifies and examines the common mistakes screenwriters invariably make when writing a screenplay.
A How To Guide 2008-01-29
How Not to Write a Screenplay is a terrific reminder for both the expereinced and beginning screenwriter of all those importnat details that we sometimes leave out of our scripts because we assume "Everyone Knows That". Denny Marting Flinn has a fresh and humourus way of reminding us that the screenplay is a visual medium.
Great Advice 2007-12-24
In reading about screenwriting, I have come to understand that a screenplay is a highly technical document. A blueprint, if you will, for making a movie. And like all technical documents, it should be succinct and clear; above all else, clarity.
Yet it seems many pre-professional screenwriters like me are frustrated novelists who like to pack their work with overly descriptive prose. Flinn's book is a wonderful antidote to this creeping verbosity.
He divides the book into three parts--there is a very short third part that deals with development--but the first two are the major sections and deal with Form and Content, reasoning that screenplays are the same way. In Form, he dissects bad screenwriting and shows why it is bad then contrasts those examples with good ones from 43 screenplays.
Along the way, the author gives you certain guidelines about writing screenplays well. Like, "Do not write ideas and metaphors." I love the specificity of his advice, it's clear and straight to the point. This entire part is filled with such good advice, but the really wonderful thing about it is how easy the writing is; far from pedantic, it's jovial, funny and easily digestible. I read this section in one sitting. I know I will have to return for a more studious reading.
Part 1 or Form takes the lion share of the book. The second part, Content, gives some more examples from produced films to illustrate the author's ideas about what should go into a good movie. In the section on Structure, for example, Flinn discusses the different gurus (Syd Field's three act paradigm, Robert McKee's five part narrative, Truby's seven major steps, Seger's eight sections, and Campbell's Monomyth) and shows how their versions of structure all hardly matter in a practical sense.
What does matter, he writes, is that the writer have structure to a screenplay, pointing out that "in a linear art form (as opposed to painting and sculpture) there is always a start and a finish. You have to begin when the audience is in place, and you have to--eventually-let them go home. How you travel from the former to the latter is your structure."
He also discusses, briefly, such important topics as theme (Don't preach!), suspense, and character, among others. All the while using excerpts from screenplays to illustrate his ideas.
The third part is very short and deals with development. Some basic advice on how to deal with the Hollywood system.
I have given this book five stars because it covers the mechanics of good screenwriting that I haven't seen others do in any adequate manner (with the possible exception of The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script). "How Not to Write a Screenplay" should be on the desk of every aspiring screenwriter.
Almost Worthless 
2007-05-12
There are at least two valuable books on screenplay writing - this is not one of them. Once a writer has read David Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible" and Robert McKee's "Story", it is obvious that "How Not to Write a Screenplay" is full of obvious points and platitudes that are almost worthless. Most of this book is excerpts from screenplays that blatenly seem to be there so the book has more pages. Don't waste money your money on Flinn's book.
Read this one - but not first. 2007-03-11
I have several "How to" books on screenplay writing. If you do too, then you need this one. It tells you what you are doing wrong. I promise many more than one "Oop!" moment from this entertaining and easy to read work.
