The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction

I wish this book was around 25 years ago. It will help writers invest their time and effort into what matters most, writing something other people want to read.

It's not earth shattering information, but the gems of wisdom that are in there are really inspiring. I definitively wrote a stronger log line by following his suggestion. I think it's a good system to run your ideas through before you invest too much time into an idea that's weak and won't work.

For a while now, I've shared Bork's sense that the basic premise of a script is the most important part, and doesn't get nearly enough attention in screenwriting pedagogy. I bought the book to see what he had to say on this subject, though I expected to be disappointed—like many, I thought that "having good ideas" was a talent one either has or doesn't, and that a craft book would have very little to say about it that was generalizable enough to be useful.I couldn't have been more wrong. This is the book every screenwriter should start with. Not Story, not Save the Cat. As Bork very convincingly lays out, the basic idea IS what usually makes or breaks a script, and there ARE principles for what makes a good one—principles that are specific enough that they're hardly ever done right, and general enough that they apply to almost any project, not just the "mainstream Hollywood" movies that many of us writers deride.These principles are the Seven Story Elements, which brilliantly add up to the acronym PROBLEM. Some of them are well-known, like the fact that we need a relatable character facing a problem that's really, really hard. Others are genuinely new, like the idea of shooting for a specific entertainment, which in all my study of screenwriting I've never seen anyone break down as well as Bork does here. And whether they're old hat or new insights, they're all absolutely, 100% on-point, and will make you see your writing far more clearly.I can't stress this last part enough. This is truly 200 pages of just the good stuff, the stuff that matters to us writers and can help us understand what we need to do to improve our work. A huge reason for this, counter-intuitively, is that Bork only tells us how things should work, and why they often don't—he doesn't spend a lot of time on "how to fix it." I'd have thought I'd want more of this, but in retrospect, I realized these have been some of the least helpful parts of other books. Everyone has they're own process; I don't want to be told to change the way I think, or even how I approach my writing, for the most part. What I want is clarity on my overall goals—what I should be shooting for in trying to develop solid, viable script ideas. And this book is nothing less than a bible on what we as aspiring professional writers should be looking for in our concepts.I also hugely, hugely appreciate how this book is written. It's incredibly clear and simple, distilling each of the seven points down to their most basic and fundamental tennants. Bork, more than any other screenwriting author I've read, has a great sense of just how specific to get without crossing over into his own personal tastes or proprietary theories of drama. He's also the only screenwriting author I've found who writes with real humility and empathy. I could barely get through Story and Save the Cat, because these writers came off as such jerks—unlike them, Bork doesn't make you feel like he's better than you, or that you're stupid for not already knowing what he's telling you. He just shares his insights, accumulated through years of experience, about "what audiences tend to want." And he acknowledges at multiple points how hard it is to do what he's telling you to do, sometimes even for him. This tone made it easy, even pleasurable, to absorb all the brilliant wisdom he had to offer.If you're on this page for any reason, buy this book now! I personally guarantee it will be some of the best $8 you ever spend.

There are many books on screenwriting and even more opinions on which are good and which are junk. My opinion is that this is one of the better books, if not along the best. Any screenwriter worth their salt will tell you, you never stop learning. That comes through writing, reading scripts, and learning from others: books, seminars, classes, or simply taking to and listening to those doing it. There are bits of wisdom out there. But those same screenwriters will tell you they only have so much time in a day, so they look for something or value. This book is among the worthwhile. Perhaps I like Botk’s approach because I come out of the UCLA system where he teaches. Perhaps it’s the clear, well written, enjoyable read with outstanding points, ideas, and explanations for how to enact what he’s offering. Perhaps it’s simply because it’s a good, well written book that offers outstanding ideas. For all the books I’ve read (around a dozen in screenwriting) this is one of my top two - and they are tied. But where even that other book I couldn’t take all on board or agreed with - for myself - Bork speaks to me and I’m with him all the way - again for me. I’d already begin reading articles from his blog before I put the two together, then through that found his book, and I’m glad I did. Well worth the read.

Read this book before you start writing. This is the book that will help you get that amazing idea out of your head and on to the page with the solutions to all the challenging and confusing comments you're bound to receive down the road if you do not.When I first tried my hand at writing both in screenplay and novel format, I would write my ideas directly to the page. The common feedback I heard when I shared that work was, "I am having trouble rooting for your main character." This was a serious problem. On several occasions, I scrapped everything I had and rewrote those pieces, presented them for feedback again and was told "I'm still not rooting for him." The frustration to solve this issue compounded every time because the feedback I never received was how I could make my audience root for my character, and I had already put in so much work without properly fleshing out this issue, which I should have addressed before putting a single word to page."The Idea" guides you to do exactly that. In my latest project, a novel, I was fortunate enough to work with Erik before I ever even got started, and the advice he provided actually told me how to get the audience to root for my character and to solve every other problem I was going to run into that could have been fixed well before writing as many pages and putting in as much time as I have now. The best thing for me about reading this book has been that all that incredibly useful advice he gave to me is now captured all in one place. And his guidance is easily understandable. Before I ever worked with Erik I found myself not being able to understand feedback because of phrases like "on the nose" for example. Erik does not use that kind of language. Instead he uses anecdotes and examples that anyone with an idea can understand. His anecdote about an exciting game in sports was the one piece of advice he told me years ago that has resonated the most in how I craft my stories now.My current work is dramatized nonfiction. Erik gives a lot of great advice within his book for anyone attempting to do the same. If you have an idea for a dramatized nonfiction piece, this book is a must-read.

EXCELENTE livro impresso. COMO OUTROS CASOS, li até madrugada sentindo o prazer do cheirinho de livro e do barulhinho delicado do folhear das páginas e do direito de riscar e personalizar do jeito que eu quiser - o que nunca jamais será igualado por livros e-book - que NÃO COMPRO. Uma biblioteca de qualidade e história para filhos, netos e outros jovens da família tem livros impressos, não livros invisíveis.

A whole book on the idea.Read this first, before another structure book.Easy to understand, easy to remember. A lifetime to master the art of creation- but the techniques in this book to measure how masterful an idea is don't sound difficult.

The craft aspects of the book were applicable. Three particularly memorable, applicable parts stood out to me as clear-cut positives1.) The approach the author takes in the introduction, describing why and where it's difficult breaking through, the importance of the logline, and the general challenge in the industry of getting noticed. He answers questions on a lot of writers' minds, and he sets out to solve the PROBLEM -- an acronym for key elements to a successful story -- in the chapters that follow.2.) The section titled "Sticking to the Audience's Ribs" is gold, listing specifically and explicitly ways in which an audience might emotionally react to a story or theme. These are all takeaways that make it very clear what it is we're trying to achieve, and provides a great basis for evaluating ideas.3.) The process of ideation is actionable. The basic principles listed out from page 208 -- "Note things that you like and are interested in, in the world and in other stories. Keep track of these" etc. -- aren't particularly novel or scientific, but they're presented in a way that leads believably to results: more ideas, habits and discipline in generating them, and ways to filter through the bad ones early. I appreciate the cut-and-dry approach.The one thing that hinders the message is a viewpoint permeating the text that "Writers almost never break in with a green-lit movie. Rather, breaking in means impressing a manager, an agent, or a producer with a script that likely won't even sell, let alone get made, but that puts them on the radar of the industry, gets them fans, and starts to give them some momentum toward future sales or employment." The realism comes from a good place, a position of setting expectations, but in the end, not all writers are seeking mere "momentum" or "future sales or employment." Point being: Some writers just have an idea (for a book, a movie, or a project), and their sole purpose is to get that idea out there in a consumable form, business-plan and long-term "career" be damned. I don't think the author does enough justice to the creation of singular, standalone pieces of art, whether that be an independent film, a breakthrough novel, or the successful completion of a personal project that may not even fit an existing medium. The idea of submitting ideas just to get employment isn't that appealing; writing a single, timeless piece of work can be the end goal, and that level of singularity isn't addressed with enough respect in this book.Having said that, I still found the book enjoyable and enlightening to read, and I'd recommend it to writers under the caveat that, like a TV series, it focuses a bit too heavily on building a career, or developing one's idea filter, rather than advancing an idea.

Reading this on kindle I probably highlighted more sections of text than probably any kindle books I have read.You want to write?Start with this book.

I highly recommend this thoroughly researched blueprint for the ideas behind great screen writing. Not only has Bork done his homework, his findings are presented clearly and with contemporary examples.As a successful screenwriter himself, Bork brings both his experience and humility to the book, as well as insights into the realities of the screen and TV industry practices. Most of all I enjoyed his inspiring and practical advice on the subject of talent.I purchased the digital version for reference as well as the splendid audio option presented by Bork himself.