"They are most happy who have no story to tell." (Anthony Trollope, "He Knew He Was Right") Foreword.

"'. . .a newspaper review lately about the career of a novelist who went to Hollywood and tried to succeed at screenplays [concluded that the] he was deluded. . . .how could he have hoped to succeed as a screenwriter when he was nearly blind!' The reviewer exhibited a profound ignorance of the craft of screenwriting. One does not have to be able to see to write films; one has to be able to imagine." Preface.

"This concept was also stated by Hemingway as, 'Write the story, take out all the good lines, and see if it still works.'" Preface.

"'Platoon' really is not more or less realistic than 'Dumbo.' Both just happen to tell the story well, each in its own way. In other words, it's all make-believe. The...