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 budgetsThe 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.