Write What You Don't Know

Reviews / Votes

Julian Hoxter's Write What You Don't Know is an authentic standout among the growing number of titles treating screenwriting education. The book is fresh, often funny, always insightful, and enormously affirming not only for screenwriters but for all people who love worthy film and literature. The book is written in a language that is accessible and engaging and clear as light. At the same time as it engages the reader at every turn, it continually posits profound insights into the nature of creative expression in all its forms. --Professor Richard Walter, UCLA Screenwriting Chair A priceless antidote to illusory ideas about a greed and glory industry: honesty and self-exploration by the writer. Hoxter urges us to avoid cliches, formulas and conventions by exploring those things that enlarge our own understanding of the world. Coupled with witty "how to" advice, the book's approach is personal, distinct and entirely to the point. --Bill Nichols, Professor of Cinema at San Francisco State University, and author of Engaging Cinema, Introduction to Documentary (2nd edition) and Representing Reality Laughing as you learn is an uncommon delight. Julian Hoxter is a witty writer and supremely wise teacher of screenwriting. Reading this bountiful, often rollicking guide to the craft will leave any reader, of any age, geared up and ready to write smart and lively movies. If you aspire to become a screenwriter, this provocative and original book will open the creative door for you. -- Joseph McBride, cowriter of Rock 'n' Roll High School and author of Writing in Pictures: Screenwriting Made (Mostly) Painless A neat - and blessedly simple - new approach to screenplay structure. Storytelling has always been about the W: what, who, where, why when. Here's another W that ensures they all hang together neatly to make a saleable screenplay. --Nicola Lees, Author, Greenlit: Developing Factual/Reality TV Ideas From Concept to Pitch This is a practical how-to book for anyone interested in turning an idea into a working screenplay. Hoxter, a professor of cinema at San Francisco State University, is a working screenwriter who blogs about the biz. -- Mercury News