Clinging to the Iceberg: Writing for a Living on the Stage and in Hollywood

Learning to write is difficult at best, but why slog through dull lists of rules and exercises when, instead, there is a book like this? Writing for the stage and screen is different than writing picture books or a memoir about growing up in 1950s Detroit. But still, writing is writing. Screenwriters face a buzzsaw business that takes a special set of knowledge not only about form and style but about the kinds of people one has to interact with and the strange and difficult demands put on writers. Imagine a script conference with a powerful producer who announces somebody needs to add some characters to Tolstoy’s War and Peace because it’s a little light on them. Even if you are not a writer, you might get a real kick out of reading this no-holds-barred behind-the-scenes look at how unscripted reality shows are scripted and game shows come to be and movies and TV shows are made in spite of a lot of crazy people with power and money who run things. But if you are a writer of any kind, you will learn some important lessons about writing while having big laughs with this smart book.