I soon found that, even for me, the book was a bit too basic to be useful. There were already plenty of chapters I discounted because I already knew what a screenplay was, I already had an idea of what details were included in a screenplay and what wasn't, and I already had a story. In many ways you can get better, more comprehensive books for less money. Syd Field if you want a more academic approach and Blake Snyder if you prefer a more low brow - but no less deep - analysis.
However, I now feel like I finally understand the book. It's a little bit of everything. This means that on the topics I already know anything about it's pretty much useless BUT it works as a pretty good introduction to other topics. I've recently been using it for formatting my screenplay. It has a list of commonly used formatting tools as well as a handy warning on the ones that are considered old hat or corny.
So the book has finally been useful - but that's only really because a book on formatting I've ordered, The Screenwriter's Bible never arrived due to an amazon error. I can't imagine I'd have need of this book if the Screenwriter's Bible had arrived. But that's OK. I think that's kind of the point of Screenwriting for Dummies it's a catch all book that is a Jack of all trades but master of none.
On a personal note. I'm entering into a competition to win a place on a Channel 4 Screenwriting course. I have to have a drama ready and submitted, along with my CV, by next Friday. This will be cutting it close! I've already made a plan with someone I met at the Screenwriter's Festival to share our scripts and meet to discuss them over a beer on Wednesday. Allowing Thursday to be the day we make alterations and submit our work. This would be a great opportunity to snag and so I think I'm going to have to pour all my time and effort into it.
Luckily I've got about three people interested in reading it and providing feedback this weekend, so I'll hopefully have something great to hand in!
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