Want Do Get
"Overflowing with helpful screenwriting tips and tools, WANT DO GET by Merlin Goldman is a manual that even longtime writers will find enlightening." IndieReader
A Screenwriter's Manual
4.7 out of 5 - IndieReader (https://indiereader.com/book_review/want-do-get/)
The book provides an easy introduction to screenwriting, delivered in short clear chapters. It covers well known topics like The Hero's Journey, 3 and 5-Act structures, the midpoint, character archetypes, as well as new ideas like the pseudo death and the reverse beat sheet.
The design and typography are modern with numerous images to help explain different theories and tools. The book not only covers the basics but goes deeper into story templates based on non-Western motifs. It has over 200 references from film, TV, and plays.
Written between 2022 and 2023, it was based on about two dozen blog posts. These summarised the many writing workshops I've attended as well as my own insights on stories. I decided to collect them all together in a book. Easier said than done.
The blog posts gave me a good head start - about 12,000 words. But as I began to formulate them into a structure, I realised that there was much more I could add. I went broader and deeper into methods to help write good stories. The book is called Want Do Get as it embodies what makes most stories: a character wants something and they do something to try to get it.
The title also tries to highlight that I'm trying to simplify the writing process. By providing tools, much like those used to fix a car, I provide methods to interrogate your story and fix it. The book provides methods for coming up with an idea all the way through to creating a full plot and emotional journey.
As well as the illustrations it also has tables that you can copy to use as templates for your own writing. The book is structured so that there's never too much heavy blocks of text, with bold, memorable headings.