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I can empathize with
author Richard Krevolin's story of inspiration for
wanting to be a writer and seeking his goal of being a
screenwriter. Much like him, six years ago I was also
someone desperately looking for guidance in writing and
also anxiously trying to find a way to hit that high
note as an aspiring writer. Much like him I was a huge
movie buff and looking for a way to express myself. And
like him I found my Oz. I found an amazing writer on a
website who wrote reviews for a popular television show
and after one email filled with praise we quickly became
friends and without either of us realizing, he became my
writing mentor, filling me in on the harsh realities of
being a writer, what struggles it takes, how you have to
have an actual life beyond writing, and he often treated
my writing with a blunt criticism that helped me out
more than he knew. "Screenwriting in the Land of Oz" is
a very entertaining screenwriting book.
If you can get past the
abundance of Wizard of Oz metaphors and analogies (that
feel almost patronizing in its insistence on making the
point of certain lessons clear), and slight pandering to
contributors of the book, you can find a rather
delightful and easy to read how to approach toward
writing that tries for honesty and constructive
explorations in to writing and what tribulations you'll
confront along the way. Told through various formats of
emails transcribed from the author to his inadvertent
writing mentor (a big Hollywood screenwriter he only
describes as "Oz"), and instructional chapters,
author Krevolin guides the readers on getting
acquainted with the art form of writing before diving
head first in to the script. He discusses possible
influences, sources of inspiration, places to work from,
music to listen to to set the inspirational moods, and
what films that are available for the interested writer
based on certain genres and content. |
