Every award-winning short film begins life with a clever idea, a good story and a screenplay. Patrick Nash analyses the process of writing short film screenplays and gives advice on: * Story and structure * Ideas generation * Plot and pace * Screenplay format * Dos and don'ts * Eliciting emotion * Dialogue and subtext * Character design * Protagonists and antagonists * Character motivation and goals * Conflict, obstacles and stakes * Clichés and Stereotypes * Beginnings, middles and ends * Hooking the viewer * Screenplay competitions * Loglines, outlines and synopses * Rewriting and length * Practicalities and budgets The book also includes a number of award-winning scripts and interviews, advice and contributions from their award-winning screenwriters and a discussion of the benefits to writers of writing short screenplays.