Pilar Alessandra - The Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time

I had a first-draft paperweight on my desk for months. With Pilars help, my scripts have transformed from desk clutter into calling cards. Ive been hired by Warner Bros., signed with ICM, and am a new member of the WGA. I can honestly say that I wouldnt be in the position I am today if it werent for Pilar.

Bill Birch, writer of Shazam, Warner Bros.

Pilars techniques not only fine-tune your draft but serve as lessons that stick with you and make you a better writer overall. I highly recommend her if you want to take your writing to the next level!

Monica Macer, staff writer Prison Break and Lost; former creative executive Disney Studios.

Sometimes its astonishing how much there is still to learn. But then Pilar is an astonishing teacher who sent me off fizzing with ideas to inject life into what I thought was a moribund idea.

Simon Rose, writer of The Flying Scotsman, Scion Films.

Everyone has 10 minutes to spare, and this book maximizes that time with a treasure trove of clever tips and exercises guaranteed to improve your script. There are so many great lessons for writers of all skill levels ... Its quite possibly the most complete step-by-step system for taking a screenplay from rough concept to polished final draft that Ive ever seen.

Trevor Mayes, scriptwrecked.com

The genius of Pilars book isnt that she tells you how to write quickly its that she provides invaluable exercises and questions to help you focus on each individual element of your script: act breaks, character motivations, emotional arcs, individual scenes, lines of dialogue, etc. She breaks the entire process into short, digestible bits designed to push you forward swiftly and determinedly, whether you have 10 minutes or 10 months.

Chad Gervich, writer/producer Wipeout, Reality Binge, Speeders, Foody Call; author, Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writers Guide to the TV Business

... A collection of lessons that will hone your craft and turn you from a hobbyist into an authority. Its a definitive and deceptively simple book that has boiled out all of the irrelevant minutia and pretense and bites deep into the bone of what makes a screen play work.

Paul Linsley, writer Pangea, Bobby Stellar: Space Kid

I loved The Coffee Break Screenwriter! For many writers, facing the prospect of writing a feature-length screenplay is formidable and sometimes unnerving. Pilar Alessandra breaks the task into short, sensible bites, and before you know it youve conceptualized and written the entire draft with or without coffee!

Mary J. Schirmer, screenwriter, instructor, screenplayers.net

An entertaining and practical manual for getting it done! Leads you step-by-step through the process, with worksheets and examples to get your juices flowing. Even if you have only 10-minute chunks of time in which to write, this book will help you on your way to a finished script in record time!

John Dart, storypros.com

With The Coffee Break Screenwriter, Pilar Alessandra has demolished a writers most cherished excuse now you can never say you dont have time to write! Get the book and get to work!

Ellen Sandler, co-executive producer Everybody Loves Raymond; author, The TV Writers Workbook

The Coffee Break Screenwriter is an asset for both producers and screenwriters. It provides clarity on story and structure, works for developing characters, and is a great help on any project.

Beau St. Clair, producer The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Laws of Attraction, The Matador

Awesomely inspiring! Through her book, Pilar is your mentor, your muse, and your time keeper. She takes you right into your story every time, making the most of all those precious writing moments of yours, and proves that you can or rather, must balance organization with creativity to really succeed as a writer.

Deborah S. Patz, filmmaker; author, Film Production Management 101

This is a unique and highly useful guidebook that provides valuable practical advice for both the aspiring and working screenwriter. While its true that writing is easy but thinking is hard, Pilar has made the thinking part that much easier.

Herschel Weingrod, writer Trading Places; producer Falling Down

Anyone whos listened to her podcast or taken her class will tell you Pilar knows screenwriting. At last heres the book weve been waiting for! If you dont live in L.A., its the next best thing to having Pilar give you notes while you write.

Robert Grant, Sci-Fi-London

Pilar brings amazing passion and technical skill to prepare writers for a professional career. I have been bringing her in to work with our writers in the Disney ABC Writing Program for years and have seen her methods in action. With Pilars help, writers brainstorm on the spot, prepare outlines efficiently, and learn to deliver pages under tight deadlines. Now through this important book, she brings her unique writing tools and techniques to everyone.

Frank Bennett Gonzalez, program director, Disney ABC Writing Program

Pilar Alessandra

MICHAEL WIESE PRODUCTIONS

Published by Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 379-8799, (818) 986-3408 (FAX)
mw@mwp.com
www.mwp.com

Cover design by MWP
Interior design by William Morosi
Printed by McNaughton & Gunn

Manufactured in the United States of America
Copyright 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alessandra, Pilar
The coffee break screenwriter : writing your script ten minutes at a time / Pilar Alessandra.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-932907-80-3
1. Motion picture authorship. I. Title.
PN1996.A48 2010
808.23--dc22
2010018798

Printed on Recycled Stock

This book is dedicated to the writers of the On The Page weekly writing groups, each one deserving of a three-picture deal.

This book is also dedicated to my storytelling daughters, Sara and Rita, and to my husband, Pat, who said: You should start your own class!

Youve got ten minutes. No, really, thats all youve got. After all, you had to use your lunch hour to feed yourself. You had to get to that meeting. You had to make that phone call. You had to get the kids in the bath. There were things to do, and no time to do it!

But now youve crammed your lunch in, sat through the meeting you dont know why you took in the first place and cleaned up the kids. Youve managed to take a deep breath and sit down for a second and focus ... perhaps for ten whole minutes. Perhaps, even on your screenplay.

Remember your screenplay? That wonderful, visual story that youve been dying to finish ... or just start. The one you keep nagging yourself to write every time you leave a movie theater and think, I can do that!

You think you need days, weeks, years that you dont have. You think you need to study theory, create long outlines and carefully pick each word before it even hits the page. You think youll never have the time to even consider an idea, let alone write it. And, youve only got ten minutes. Ten lousy minutes.

Good enough.

If only every screenwriter were as lucky as you. Ten minutes gives you the ticking clock every writer secretly needs: a deadline.