Although everyone has a favorite book, the standard go-to book is Syd Field's Screenplay, followed closely by The Screenwriter's Workbook. While both books are excellent at teaching story beats, structure and the technical details behind writing a script, it never hurts to have a couple more examples. Enter Todd Klick's Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know.
Something Startling Happens offers a minute-to-minute breakdown of nearly 40 movies, giving readers a better understanding of how story structure works, ultimately giving them a form to work with when writing their own scripts. Although Klick uses higher profile "film school" examples like The Godfather Raiders of the Lost Ark and Die Hard, he also offers breakdowns of movies you wouldn't expect to find in a "serious" book about film like Knocked Up, Spider-Man and The Forty-Year Old Virgin.
As someone who works with aspiring filmmakers, I like Klick's approach towards examples. Unless you're the sort to not watch movies (at which point I'd question why you'd want to read a book about writing them), it's hard to not find a relatable example, or three. It also shows that even movies normally not considered "fine cinema" actually follow a set structure, a major factor in box office success. Each section of the book details an exact minute in the film, first breaking it down to what happens in that moment, then offering examples of how it works in each film.
Obviously, there is some wiggle room, and Klick's structure, which is based on Field's three act structure (the same one used in every successful movie), is more of a form than a formula, but it's eerie how accurate each point is. You may even be tempted to go back to other movies just to see how the structure carries over - even non-linear stories like Pulp Fiction. Although major minutes, like "Minute 30" are aspects everyone should know, Klick also touches on lesser-known minutes, like "The Shock" around "Minute 8" or "The Discussion" around "Minute 10."
Klick's examples are backed up by short exercises. In once, Klick tells readers to fast-forward to a set time in Kill Bill and watch for a particular story beat. He then suggests doing the same for other movies. Though there is some wiggle room in the exact times, the beats still fall where they should. It's a great way to get a firm grasp on the concepts and how to watch a film critically. Do not be surprised if you suddenly find yourself cueing up all sorts of movies on your Netflix account.
Although Klick goes to great lengths to make the book as approachable as possible, he also includes a lengthy glossary of common film terms and a filmography of every movie covered in the book.
For an aspiring screenwriter, Something Startling Happens is a great pick-up, though you may want to pair it with another screenwriting book (Screenplay if you haven't read it) in order to get a deeper explanation of some of the larger structural elements. With both in hand, you'll be in good shape to start writing your own screenplays, though don't be surprised if you suddently become "that guy" when it comes to talking movies with your friends.
Check out Scribd for a sample chapter. You can also follow Tood Klick's blog at WriterWrench.
