"Acclaimed University of Southern California screenwriting teacher David Howard has guided hundreds of students to careers in writing for film and television. Drawing on decades of practical experience and savvy, How to Build a Great Screenplay deconstructs the craft of screenwriting, and carefully reveals how to build a good story from the ground up. Howard eschews the "system" offered by other books, emphasizing that a great screenplay requires dozens of unique decisions by the author. He offers in-depth considerations of: characterization, story arc, plotting and subplotting, dealing with coincidence in story plotting, classical versus revolutionary screenplay structure, tone, style, and atmosphere, the use of time on screen, the creation of drama and tension, crucial moments in storytelling." "Throughout the book, Howard clarifies his lessons through examples form some of the most successful Hollywood and international script-oriented films, including Pulp Fiction, American Beauty, Trainspotting, North by Northwest, Chinatown, and more. The end result is a bible for the burgeoning screenwriter. Book jacket."--Jacket.