Wolitzer's fine primer on the craft of screenwriting emphasizes visual drama, action, structure, and, most of all, overstatement. "In movies," Wolitzer says, "art exaggerates life. Life becomes bigger, bolder, more brilliantly hued, as well as funnier, more tragic, more action-packed, more filled with coincidence." In Fitzgerald Did It, Wolitzer addresses such issues such as treatments, collaboration, adapting fiction to film, the differences between literary and film agents, and scriptwriting no-noes. Though it's nearly impossible not to think about what Hollywood directors and producers are looking for while you write your script, don't try writing something you don't care about, warns Wolitzer. "It's not that you'll hate yourself in the morning, as you wake up in your new L.A. mansion--but that you probably won't be waking up in a mansion, because your script will lack authenticity and vigor." And, in case you're wondering about the title, a desperately broke Fitzgerald went to Hollywood in 1937 and is said to have written small bits for several films, including the scene in Gone with the Wind "in which Rhett receives the bonnet he then gives to Scarlett." --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
A one-of-a-kind guide to help writers translate their literary talents to the big screen.

This is a book for all writers, be they published or unpublished, novelists or journalists, who want to write for the movies. Meg Wolitzer, who has transformed herself from novelist to novelist/screenwriter, shows writers how they, too, can use their grasp of story, language, and character to write great screenplays. Wolitzer discusses those aspects of screenwriting that can stymie even the most seasoned of writers. Her topics include:

* getting started
* the essential three-act structure
* how writers can use what they already know about writing
* why write a treatment and how to do it
* how to write visually instead of verbally
* creating for the market

Wolitzer also advises on shedding obstructive writing habits and adapting one's own work and the work of others for the big screen. Level-headed, encouraging, and always delightful, Fitzgerald Did It is a must for every writer's bookshelf.
"If you try to write a screenplay, as I do, and you don't know what you're doing, as I don't, you have to read this book, as I have. Repeatedly." --Cathleen Schine, author of The Love Letter and The Evolution of Jane

An intermediate or advanced student of screenwriting will find little or nothing of note in this book, and will probably come away with the same impression I had: that the average reader knows more about the subject than the author.

A beginning screenwriter would be better off reading any number of decent texts: Robert McKee's "Story," or books by David Trottier, Christopher Keane, Syd Field, Jennifer Lerch, etc. I've read about 25 screenwriting books, and Wolitzer's is the only one I felt had not one useful suggestion or new insight.

Here is an amusing bit, taken from page 54 of "Fitgerald Did It," about Wolitzer's "screenwriting process." Perhaps it will illustrate the kind of information (or lack thereof) that this book contains:

"I usually gather various snack foods around me when I'm beginning something, knowing that I'll be there for a while and will need sustenance, but also because I want to give myself a little illicit treat to mark the pleasurable starting moments of a new project. When I begin writing, I like to feel happy but disciplined; the goal is a contented Zenlike state achieved through small indulgences . . ."


Great Book for Accomplished Writers   October 25, 1999
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

This book is perfect for people who already have a lot of experience writing stories, but who now want to try their hand at the screenplay form. There is none of the boring, basic stuff about how to define a character or what a story arc is; instead Wolitzer focuses on translating the skills you already have to the specifics of the screenplay. Very helpful to aspiring screenwriters!


Inexperienced Author Provides Nothing   August 6, 1999
 5 out of 12 found this review helpful

The author does not know how to craft screenplays, so she should not be writing a book on how to write and sell them. This book offers very little useful information. You're better off getting any other guide.