Lajos Egri Livres

The Art of Dramatic Writing is a concise guide to all forms of creative writing, from premise to characters to plot.

Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows! Amid the hundreds of "how-to" books out there, there have been very few which attempted to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives—why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise—a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior—and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.

MASTER THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GREAT WRITING Thousands of books have been written on the subject of writing and how to do it better. Among them are a few select classics that reveal the essential elements of good storytelling. The Art of Creative Writing is such a classic. As in the bestselling The Art of Dramatic Writing, still considered one of the most essential books on playwriting more than 75 years after publication, the author outlines in detail his highly acclaimed Egri Method of Creative Writing and shows how to apply it to all fiction formats—novels, short stories, and screenplays. Grounded in Egri’s assertion that “Every type of creative writing depends upon the credibility of a character,” here is concise, clear advice on the most important element of good writing: characterization. Step by step, Egri shows writers how to probe the secrets of human motivation to create flesh-and-blood characters who create suspense and conflict, and who grow emotionally under stress and strain. As practical as it is inspiring, The Art of Creative Writing remains a timeless, illuminating guide that teaches every writer, and aspiring writer, how to create works that are both compelling and enduring.

Jeder Charakter muss überzeugt sein, dass seine Handlung die einzige Möglichkeit ist. Großartige Werke entstehen aus Charakteren, auch wenn die Handlung zuerst geplant ist. Konflikte sind essenziell und erzeugen Spannung, wobei jeder Konflikt sich zuvor andeutet und eine Kettenreaktion auslösen kann.

Jedes literarische Werk steht und fällt mit der Glaubwürdigkeit seiner Figuren. Auf dieser Grundlage entwickelt Lajos Egri seine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung wie man starke Charaktere schafft und originelle Ideen gewinnt, die zu überzeugender Handlung führen.