Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot

Dunne provides a guide to the process of screenwriting based on the concept that emotional structure is the core. He discusses the basics of a story and characters, different character levels, the three-act structure, how to begin at the end, creating an emotional opening, and filling in the middle. He then explains the fleshing out process act-by-act and illustrates with an example of one of his screenplays, which is used as an example throughout the book. Some writing exercises are included. A recommended list of 25 films for further study is provided. There is no bibliography. Dunne, an Emmy award-winning producer and writer, teaches screenwriting at UCLA. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter Dunne is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning producer, writer and teacher with over thirty years of experience in show business. He has held positions as vice-president of development at Viacom, Lorimar, and Spelling Television. He has written or produced the shows Sybil, Dallas, Knots Landing, Melrose Place, CSI, Jag, among others. Dunne teaches screenwriting at UCLA.