Tough Love Screenwriting is a
book that lives up to its name; it is a terse text that gives solid
advice for any aspiring screenwriter. I make sure to read all of the
guide books on writing/film making that I can get my hands on, what
sets this one apart is the tone of John Jarrell's writing, which is
as entertaining as it is informative. In fact, I stopped reading
another book on the subject when I found Tough Love to be a
surprising kick in the ass compared to some of the more academic
guides that crowd the book shelves. It is important to note that
this author is a professional screenwriter, not a guru or teacher
with no credits to his name. John Jarrell has a list of credits
which include Romeo Must Die (2000) and Terminal Invasion
(2002). He uses this real world experience to cover everything from
story development with eccentric producers to the process of WGA
arbitration to fight for screen credit and the money that comes with
it. Perhaps the most important thing this book achieves is showing
the struggles a professional writer must go through, and if you have
the ambition and ability, John Jarrell will inspire you to keep
pressing on until your career dreams are realized.
The tips in Tough Love are very
direct and practical. Fans of Writing Movies For Fun and Profit
by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant will find Tough Love to
be a great companion book that is written in a similar prose. I
cannot say that I agree with all of the advice Jarrell provides, but
I agree with 98 percent of it, and for any book that tells you how to
do your art; that is pretty damn good.
If you want a taste of what to expect; a podcast interview with John Jarrell can be found here.
