Arts Books

In Screenwriting for Teens, Christina inspires young and old to dive into the film craft. The book's depth of information allows for it to transcend the high-school age group. One of the unique aspects of the book is the subject chapter exercises which prove both helpful and challenging. Participating in these exercises will enhance one's film craft. Highly recommending the book.

The idea of any kind of guidebook normally gives me the "ho-hums", but I must admit that this was a pleasant (and educational!)surprise. Christina Hamlett's Screenwriting for Teens is fun to read; it's pleasing and practical and comes across as more of an on-line chat with one's mentor than anything resembling a "how-to" text. And yet, this book is totally to be taken seriously!

Christina Hamlett knows writing, and she knows movies. She also knows how to speak to a young audience (though I feel this book would be invaluable to beginning writers of all ages). And, most importantly, she knows what it takes to make a good start as a writer. Her wise advice? It's all about you and your writing (and reading), NOT about how to make money, achieve fame, and create blockbusters.

Screenwriting for Teens is a nice visual package, as well, both structurally and graphically. I myself wish Ms. Hamlett had been my tutor in high school - she could've taught me how to do a proper outline! This book can be read effectively in its entirety, or section by section; the blocky layout is great for kids, who we all know can be (ahem) a bit impatient. Another plus for kids is the fact that Hamlett's voice is conversational yet professional, and not "teacher-ly". She's not trying to get young people to slog through yet another textbook, after all. This is about real world goals and practice.

Hamlett also offers great advice for beginning writers of all stripes, not just budding screenwriters. For example, she explains the differences between story and plot, how to write for various genres such as comdey, sci-fi, etc. And yet her advice for screenwriters is priceless - my own favorite Hamlett topic is "Characters Shouldn't Use Dialgoue to Explain Things to Each Other That They Already Know" (she proceeds to cite some dialogue from a Harry Potter film, but she's right so we must forgive her).

So, if you are a teen writer or an adult just fumbling around getting started, pick up this book, sit down, and learn, learn, learn! Screenwriting for Teens is enlightening, sensible, and FUN!

Screenwriting for Teens, The 100 Principles of Screenwriting Every Budding Writer Must Know, is an in- depth, yet easy to read book for writers of all ages. Christina Hamlett motivates any promising screenwriter, with her humorous writing style and detailed, informative understanding of the craft.

To call the book a complete "how to" manual would be a vast understatement. At the end of each chapter, a section called Brainstorming, provides writing exercises to reinforce the core concepts introduced in the chapter. Also included, is a Look and Learn section that references films, television shows, books and websites that highlight the focal points contained in the chapter.

Offering more than just helpful hints for those with the dreaded "writer's block", Screenwriting for Teens is a comprehensive guidebook that covers all genres. Whether writing a Drama, Comedy, Action Adventure or Sci-Fi Film, this is the book to begin or develop your skills.

It will be first on my recommended reading list for the Screenwriting Program that I will be offering at my local community college. Thanks a million, Ms. Hamlett, for your brilliance and encouragement, supporting all those with the courage and vision to put their pen to paper, move forward and to not give up!

Screenwriting for Teens is the quintessential guide for taking an idea and turning it into a film. The book stresses that it's necessary to understand the story process before you can understand the specific formatting of a screenplay. Christina Hamlett's no-nonsense delivery is refreshing as she instructs writers, newbies and veterans alike, on some of the basic concepts of writing a screenplay - though these concepts really apply to any kind of writing. Principles such as knowing your medium (and which one works best for your story), understanding high concept, knowing your characters and their voices, and understanding the art of dialogue are but a few of the many this book covers in detail.

Screenwriting for Teens also covers how these principles apply to us on a personal level and not just that they're the 'right' thing to do if we want to sell our script. A lot of experts talk about how making a script presentable by spellchecking and using the right font size is important, but not everyone explains the 'why' of it. Christina likens it to someone you've been interested in for a long time. They finally ask you out on a date and you spend the entire day fretting about your clothes and hairstyle. When the person arrives, not only are they late but they look like hell warmed over. The whole experience is rather deflating and frankly, disappointing. That's how directors, producers, and agents feel when they get a script from a writer that didn't take the time to polish it.

The book doesn't quibble with the fact that Hollywood is a tough business. Many writers spend their whole lives looking for that one big break while some get lucky their first time out. What's important to remember is that writing isn't meant to be a 'get rich and famous quick' kind of gig. It's about being the best writer you can be because that's what you want to do. If you want to succeed at writing, then this book is just the catalyst you need to get moving. After all, writers write. That particular maxim will be the most repeated advice anyone will give. Take it to heart, because practice (and Christina's book!) makes perfect.

Screenwriting For Teens is an extremely useful book written by Christina Hamlett. It breaks down the art of writing a script into easily digestible, little bit-sized morsels. It's incredibly jammed packed full of information yet its conversational tone helps to not overwhelm the reader. The book is broken down into 100 lessons, each starting with a concept. The author gets the concepts across by speaking in layman's terms, not making you feel like you are assembling Ikea furniture. She consistently sites examples that are up-to-date, making them easily recognizable.

In one concept, the difference between "reel" time and "real" time is being explained. She uses the example of the way reel time is used to condense days and years of characters' lives to keep the audience interested and, in contrast, how "real" time can increase agitation in the audience in such movies as Titanic, where we are living out the sinking of the ship, minute by minute, with the crew.

The second part of Christina Hamlett's lesson is "Look & Learn". In this part of the lesson you are asked to do mental exercises. To substantiate her idea of one of the key concepts "Knowledge = Credibility", she sites the opinion that lawyers don't like to watch TV courtroom dramas because the simple fact that they know courtrooms don't play out the way they are depicted on TV. Then she goes forward to test the readers' knowledge of the courtroom by giving a crime scenario and asking the reader to identify as many goofs as possible. The answers, thankfully, are at the bottom of the page so as not to drive the readers nuts, keeping us wondering.

The last sections of her lessons are called "Brainstormers". These are actual exercises that are expected to be completed. They are far from the boring ho-hum assignments that you would expect in a textbook. In one exercise where we are learning about Shorts, she gives the writer a scenario where they are to write a 60 second commercial advertising window cleaner, with no dialogue, the only actors being Paris Hilton and Darth Vader. How fun!

Although the title of the book gives a strong sense that it is a teen-only book, I am confident in saying that this book can be read by any beginning or novice screenwriter, whether they be 14, 26 or 75 years old. This book would also do wonders if it were to supplement any scriptwriting teacher's course of study. It is incredibly thought provoking and full of eye-opening knowledge.

I first bought the trilogy almost twenty-five years ago, and it is one of the few books that I have that wasn't buried in the basement shortly after reading. Recently, I pulled it out again and found that I enjoyed reading it as much as I did all those years ago. The best review that I can give is that I have purchased the complete set twice, individual books on several occasions, lent it others and given it away. It's a book worth sharing with others.

After all the reviews I read regarding this book I had expected something good and, still, it was better than expected. So good, in fact, that I read it a chapter at a time because I wanted to let it sink in.

All in all, well worth it: check it out.

I thought I did a review for this last week but it didn't appear to have gone through. This is a great book and anything Calvin Miller writes is worth the time and expense. I had read "The Singer" before, so when I saw the trilogy was available in one volume, I knew I had to buy it. I can't imagine anyone would be disappointed. It's really a must have!

I first heard of The Singer Trilogy while working on my Master's degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Calvin Miller, the author of the series, was the speaker for chapel services. The professor in my class before chapel said that Dr. Miller had written The Singer Triology which consists of The Singer, The Song, and The Finale. He said it was the best thing written since the canon was closed. I rightly understood this to mean this was the best thing written since the Bible.

The Singer Triology is a retelling of New Testament events, including the ministry of Jesus and the founding of the early Church. The books are religious historical fiction. They are excellent and an easy read. They are a must for any Christian library. The series is as timeless as the Bible itself.

All three books read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

This is one of those books I read over and over again. I have read it probably 20 times since my first reading. Calvin Miller puts biblical stories into narrative poems that are so well written they force you to turn the page again and again. This book is the first in the Singer Trilogy, followed by The Song and The Finale. It is a poetic retelling of three biblical books: The Singer parallels the 4 Gospels, The Song retells the story of Acts, and The Finale is Miller's version of the book of Revelation.

Miller writes explicitly Christian fantasy in these books. He is also widely known for his non-fiction AND Christian life application books.

The Singer is a powerful retelling of the life of Christ, where instead of Jesus and The Gospel you have the Singer and his song. His song, if you are open to it, can bring healing and restoration. The World-Hater, wants to destroy both the Singer and his star song. Miller's words moved me to tears the first time I encountered them. The story is so well written, it can be read over and over without losing its freshness. The book is also excellently illustrated by Chicago artist Joe DeVelasco. The drawings done in pen and Ink style add to the power of the story by transporting you into the events.

No matter how many times over I reread this book, it is always fresh and new and draws me into the story of Christ in a different way. It is truly a classic and a treasure for any bookshelf. Each time I pick these up and reread them, I find a deepening of my relationship with Christ, and of my prayer life.

Miller also has a Symphonic Trilogy that retells different stories from the book of Genesis. The two I owned were A Requiem for Love and A Symphony in Sand. As far as I can tell, there are also 2 stand-alone books by Miller in this style that are often compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Lewis's Narnia. They are The Valiant Papers, an account of a guardian angel's experiences, and The Philippian Fragment, the retelling of the book of Philippians from the New Testament. I have owned most of these and lent them out to not be returned. I now have The Singer Trilogy, Valiant, and Singer Trilogy 3-in-1 hardcover. Over the next few weeks I will review those I still have, but cannot encourage you strongly enough to pick them up if you find them in a used bookstore. They are all great.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on reviewing some of the others that I still have from this author. And if I find the others again, I will review them. (It has just been too long since I lent them out and did not get them back for me to review them from memory.)

Other Miller Books:
The Singer
The Song
The Finale
The Valiant Papers
The Philippian Fragment (Currently OP)

It is different from, and for many purposes, better than a science textbook. More than enough science books have been written, but TNIK is better because it teaches readers how to think about the data on which science is built. Its fresh approach to understanding the natural world as well as human-made systems is a noteworthy improvement over the plug-in, grind-out perspective that academic classes typically offer and that turns off students.

I expected the author to talk much about statistical analysis and related "technical stuff". I had been very wrong. In fact, the book can be regarded as a warning to common people about the "irrelevancy" and "inaccuracy" of data or information we encounter or process so that we can perform better analysis of on our own. As from pg 197, "of primary importance from this book are the following lessons:-"

- Don't be intimidated by anyone (esp those know-it-alls)
- Be a critical thinker
- Don't confuse what's countable with what really counts
- Get organized
- Question authority
- Dig into the numbers
- Focus on the essential
- Document, document, document
- Use the internet
- Remember that others don't care as much about your work as you do
- Synthesis follows analysis

In short, a good read. Dont miss it.

p.s. I like the following quotes from the book very much. (The author did use over 31 quotes with at least one for each chapter)

Just because I use a study to refute another study does not mean my study is right. It just means I believe it. Caveat Emptor. - Cynthia Crossen

Whether or not someone else knows it all isn't really relevant; the only thing that's relevant is what you know and what you do. - Robert Ringer

This is an entertaining and well written book on some of the do's and don'ts of data analysis. To quote from Dr. Beers review below, "The main emphasis is on the art of data interpretation." Indeed there are useful tools here for performing sanity checks and for asking critical questions about all sorts of data collections. ... The examples are, at best, sketchy and few in number. The anectodes are amusing but not terribly informative. I would have much preferred more concrete examples and further discussion on some technical matters. ....

"Turning Numbers Into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving" should be required reading for anyone engaged in producing, reading, or analysing information. Based on the title one might assume that I mean numerical information, but that is not the case at all. The basic principles, such as how to sift through information and the importance of documentation of sources, are important parts of any information product. In fact, except for the sections on graphs, tables, normalizing data and a few others, the rest of the book (fully at least three quarters of it) is dedicated to determining what constitutes good information, good techniques, good analysis, good documentation, etc. This is a book on problem solving techniques and analysis of the information products of others.

Filled with useful tools and tips for problem solving under real-life situations it is one of the most useful books available. "Turning Numbers Into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving" is a masterful work in the area of critical analysis and a highly recommended read for anyone involved in creating or using information of any kind.

While no doubt I've heard many of nuggets contained in the book over the course of my high school and college days, I found Koomey's book a pleasurable read and useful synthesis of approaches and tips for completing quality research and analyses. Internalizing Koomey's advice is going to help most readers be more discriminating consumers of published research and better authors of their own research. It's a reference source I've already gone back to myself in just a few weeks and a great training resource for new consultants my company hires.