“Revelatory.” — Christopher Riley & Kathy Riley, The Defining Moment: How Writers and Actors Build Characters
“Claudia Johnson leads the reader through the process of writing the short film, along the way illuminating something much bigger – how to write great drama in any form.” – Linda Seger, Making a Good Script Great
“Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect, Fourth Edition, is an incredible, insightful guide to writing an effective, engaging short screenplay. Claudia Johnson takes the reader through the journey of crafting screenplays using connection as the path.” – Dr. Valliere Richard Auzenne, Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts
Link to my podcast “Every Story is About Connection” for Project Popsicle — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/project-popsicle/id1580292289?i=1000541325001
“At 10, award-winning author and screenwriter Claudia Johnson's desire to be a writer was born. From an early age, she knew writing would take her places; some imaginary and some very real, but all inspiring and empowering. In this conversation, Claudia discusses how the decision to be an advocate for truth put her on a lifelong journey of discovering the power of connection, passion, and empathy in storytelling.”
Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect, 5th/20th Anniversary Edition
Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect, 5th/20th Anniversary Edition stands alone among screenwriting books by emphasizing that human connection, though often overlooked, is as essential to writing effective screenplays as conflict. This groundbreaking book will show you how to advance and deepen your screenwriting skills, increasing your ability to write richer, more resonant short screenplays that will connect with your audience.
With her candid, conversational style, award-winning writer and director Claudia Hunter Johnson teaches you the all-important basics of dramatic technique and guides you through the challenging craft of writing short screenplays with carefully focused exercises of increasing length and complexity. In completing these exercises and applying Claudia’s techniques and insights to your own work, you will learn how to think more deeply about the screenwriter’s purpose, craft effective patterns of human change, and strengthen your storytelling skills.
This new edition has been expanded and updated to include:
• A companion website with ten award-winning short films featured in the book, including Academy Award winner Barry Jenkin's thesis film, My Josephine, and two all-new short films – Intercambios and the Student-Emmy-Award-winning Underground
• A new chapter on scene and structure that will help you find the right structure for your short screenplay
• A new chapter on crafting effective dialogue and subtext that will teach you to make the most of every word and add further depth to your script.
Buy from Amazon.com
Congratulations to my former students Barry Jenkins and Joi McMillon for winning Best Picture for Moonlight! Barry's thesis script, My Josephine (written in my screenwriting class at the Florida State Film School), is anthologized in Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect, with a link to the website where you can screen this subtle, lovely short film. And Joi not only co-edited Moonlight (the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Editing), she edited my feature documentary, The Other Side of Silence: The Untold Story of Ruby McCollum as well.