A successful screenplay starts with an understanding of the fundamentals of dramatic story structure. In this practical introduction, Edward J. Fink condenses centuries of writing about dramatic theory into ten concise and readable chapters, providing the tools for building an engaging narrative and turning it into an agent-ready script.

Fink devotes chapters to expanding on the six basic elements of drama from Aristotle’s Poetics (plot, character, theme, dialogue, sound, and spectacle...