Hidden gem

I've read McKee, Hauge, Field, Walters, Iglesias, Snyder, all of them. I've taken courses also. And so, I wasn't expecting much, especially with the basic cover and wordy title. But I was surprised.

I could quickly tell this was written by someone with industry experience. Many sources of advice are copy-and-paste, not much new. This had nuance. For example, even in the boring quick section about formatting, the author suggested avoided using character names that rhyme with each other in any way. Most books warn against using the same first letter for characters, but none have said this. It takes a former reader to pick-up on such details.

The sections on structure, dialogue and scene tightening are also nuanced, with guidelines that encourage freedom while staying sellable.

This really is a decent book. It's under 5 hours and dense. As in, not much time is spent waffling. Again, that's a trait of someone who knows the industry. I'd say it's useful for intermediate and advanced writers, as beginners would miss out on certain basics. She's clearly aimed it at those who are already working on a script. Having said that, beginners could still benefit, as the language is clear. And speaking of language, the only slight downside is the narrator. He has a good voice, but some of his delivery is staccato, or stop-start. Perhaps he thought readers would struggle to understand certain phrases. It's no deal-breaker though, and can easily be fixed by playing it at 1.1 or 1.2 x speed.

Well done, Ms McCullough.

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