I'm primarily a short fiction writer myself, but I was recommended this book by a friend who's into screenwriting, and I'm always interested in how writing works in other fields so I thought I'd give it a go. I think what struck me the most was the emphasis on structure, and how Snyder suggested going about trying to structure a film. Honestly, the effort looks gargantuan. Some of my short stories have been very structured, right from the beginning, and others have been a looser experience both to read and to write, but this is at another level entirely. Which should be obvious, but I've never given much consideration to script writing, so that was what stuck out the most.

Otherwise, it was an accessibly written book that's quite obviously directed at interested beginners. Both explanations and tips are clear and understandable, although sometimes I find the arguments for certain storylines to be almost unhelpfully prescriptive. One of the troubleshooting fixes for problem scripts, for example, argues that "A hero never asks questions" because "people look to him for answers, not the other way around" (p. 146). Perhaps I'm just difficult, but my mind went directly to "Well, what if the hero's a journalist or a detective or a scientist? Good luck not asking questions there," and promptly skipped to "What kind of stupid leader won't admit not knowing something, and what kind of stupid follower respects such a crippling lack of curiosity?" I mean, I get that Snyder's arguing for active, decisive protagonists here but, as I said, the brush strokes do sometimes appear a little broad. Then again, it's not my field, so what do I know?