Kill the Dog

The First Book on Screenwriting to Tell You the Truth

By: Paul Guyot

Narrated by: Paul Guyot

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's summary

Kill the Dog is the first book on screenwriting written by an actual working professional screenwriter. Award-winning screenwriter Paul Guyot exposes the lies other screenwriting books have told, and presents authentic, essential instruction and motivation for anyone wanting a career as a professional screenwriter. This book provides all the answers, from what producers and studios actually want, to what makes one screenplay better than another, to why so many have been doing it wrong for so long. The author takes us inside the exclusive members-only world of professional screenwriters, from television writers rooms to meetings with producers and studio executives, to facts about formatting, structure, craft, art, and voice.

Every aspect of screenwriting is covered with an authority and credibility never seen in any book to come before. Told with honesty, humor, and vulnerability from the real-world perspective of a working, professional screenwriter, Kill the Dog reveals the secrets of what it takes to have a successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter.

©2023 Domestique Inc. (P)2023 Domestique Inc.

Truth shall set you free

Must read for screenwriters especially aspiring ones. Informational, impactful and motivating. Guyot bravely lifts the curtain as a true screenwriting professional

The Only Book on Screenwriting to Bring Me To Tears

And that’s a compliment. Guyot writes with confidence and authority. Where I’ve got a higher opinion of some of the other screenwriting books out there, specifically Lew Hunter and Hal Ackerman’s books, who emphasize that function drives form (as opposed to the books that always seem to be the ones that get popular with studio executives), Guyot has his hands coiled around the heart of screenwriting. The guy who taught me meditation used to always begin with, “Connect to the juice.” Here’s where this book shines. Connecting to the juice. The emotional content of the story. The blood and tears and fearless vulnerability required to write an electrifying screenplay. The writing.

Very Refreshing

Kill The Dog is practical advice for writers. It comes straight from a long time Hollywood writing veteran and is filled with real stories from the trenches.

Excellent Book

Appreciated Paul’s straightforward take on screenwriting from his own experiences. He is refreshingly blunt about the way it is and his advice is invaluable. Highly recommend.

Welcome, refreshing and persuasive.

I recommend without reservation. You will learn much that is valuable and provocative. Many “I wish I’d known” moments.

Aha Moment!

Wow, tell us what you really think! Finally some truth and insight. This book was filled with eye opening, light bulbs popping off moments. Spoiler alert, Daisy survives and kills Felix in the end. Excellent journey down the Wabbit hole to find your true voice. My red pill moment hit me in Chapter 11, igniting my own voice. Thank you Paul for all the truth bombs and paving the way. You can read all my books for me anytime!
Easy listening, funny, honest & raw! A gem and a keeper,
I think I’ll listen again…more please A+++

Best Book

A solid book about the truth in anything in life: there is no easy way, no short cut, no cheat to become successful. It takes hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. I have nothing but respect for Paul Guyot for his words of advice for not just screenwriting, but other aspects of life. If you want to learn about screenwriting AND are willing to give it everything you got chasing that vision, this book is perfect for you! Thank you Paul!

The author’s sense of humor and unabashed honesty.

This book is absolutely spectacular.

At first I thought to myself “I could have saved hundreds of dollars and years of my life if I’d just read this book before the others!”

Then I realized:
A) The book was only published the year before I read it and
B) If I hadn’t read the other books first, I wouldn’t have appreciated how spot-on this one is!

Absolutely liberating!

I can’t begin to tell you how meaningful and explosively powerful this book is. After trying to write and being restrained by all the “rules” I’m thankful to Paul for telling the truth and just setting the record straight. I can’t wait to read the other books he recommended as well as writing with a New perspective. A must read for anyone who wants to become a screenwriter or any writer for that matter.

Even the few things I disagreed with I was still inspired by

This is going to be a classic text for screenwriters. Guiot imparts a lot of solid knowledge about both the art and business of writing screenplay, but best of all is that he manages the amazing trick of giving you a brutal reality check on how much you must work to succeed while simultaneously making you feel you really can get there. This screenwriter is an honest and generous soul.

In my headline I mention disagreement. What I have in mind is that I don’t fully buy his near total dismissal of the study of story structure. There’s no way many of the great screenplays out there weren’t in part constructed with planning and analysis, although I’m sure that often happens during the many rewrites Guiot urges us to prepare for. He repeatedly underlines how it’s not this or that theory but that it’s THE WRITING that matters, and of course that’s true, but THE WRITING surely can include deliberate work on structure and theme. To me, that sounds like a romantic simplification. Would you tell a painter not to bother with composition, color theory, perspective, and anatomy, because what matters is THE PAINTING? Yet, I acknowledge that this excellent man knows much more than I and so I share this doubt in full awareness I may be partly or entirely wrong, and even if I’m right, Guiot’s emphasis on practicing the actual craft of writing and writing and writing is still a beautiful, inspiring, and necessary thing. I’ll be rereading this book soon. My strongest recommendation.