Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets from the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization

This expert screenwriting guide shows how Aristotle’s timeless principles apply to today’s cinematic storytelling.   Long considered the bible for storytellers, Aristotle's Poetics is a fixture of college courses on everything from fiction writing to dramatic theory. Now award-winning writer/director and Miramax story analyst Michael Tierno demonstrates how Aristotle’s ideas can be an essential resource for screenwriters and anyone interested in studying plot structure.   Tierno breaks down the fundamentals of screenwriting, highlighting particular aspects of Aristotle's work. Then, using examples from some of the best movies ever made, he demonstrates how to apply these ancient insights to modern-day screenwriting. This user-friendly guide covers a multitude of topics, from plotting and subplotting to dialogue and dramatic unity.   With expertise and jargon-free prose, Tierno makes Aristotle's monumental work accessible to beginners and pros alike in areas such as screenwriting, film theory, fiction, and playwriting.