French Literature Reviews - 2026

Y. Lavandier, Évaluer un scénario
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Yves Lavandier, Évaluer un scénario,

Les Impressions Nouvelles, "Réflexions faites" series, 2020.

EAN13: 9782874497681.

Are you a beta reader? Do you select fiction projects? Are you a script consultant? Do you participate in a writing workshop? Are you a commissioning reader? Do you supervise writing projects? Do you hold a decision-making position (in production or elsewhere) and regularly evaluate written texts? Or perhaps you are a writer yourself. Then this book is for you. Drawing on his extensive experience as a script doctor and writing supervisor, Yves Lavandier presents—with humor and outspokenness—an approach that encourages rigor, as well as authenticity and humility.

This book offers "a set of principles and tools dedicated to the reading of a work of fiction. Some stem from an understanding of the mechanisms outlined in La dramaturgie and Construire un récit. Others derive from my practice as an educator and consultant. Because script evaluation is of such paramount importance, I included the word "script" in the title. However, I believe that theater and even novel professionals will also find valuable insights within these pages." (Yves Lavandier)

Read an excerpt on the publisher's website...

*

Yves Lavandier was born on April 2, 1959. A playwright, filmmaker, and script doctor, he was trained at Columbia University by Frantisek Daniel, Stefan Sharff, and Milos Forman. He has written and staged puppet plays, written and directed about a dozen short films, and a feature film released in 2001 starring Émilie Dequenne and Gérard Jugnot: Oui, mais.... He is also an educator and the author of La Dramaturgie, which has long been established as a standard reference, alongside Construire un récit and Évaluer un scénario.

The practice of script analysis occupies a central position in the professional development of film and theatrical projects. By focusing on the structural mechanisms of storytelling, practitioners aim to move beyond subjective impressions toward a more systematic understanding of narrative coherence. This approach often involves examining how character arcs, pacing, and dramatic tension function within a screenplay. Within the broader field of screenwriting studies, such methodologies seek to bridge the gap between creative intuition and the technical requirements of production, ensuring that the fundamental components of a story are effectively aligned for their intended medium.

Yves Lavandier’s Évaluer un scénario builds upon his previous contributions to the study of dramaturgy, specifically referencing the principles detailed in La dramaturgie and Construire un récit. The book addresses beta readers, script consultants, and commissioning editors, and notes that the concepts regarding narrative structure are applicable to theater and novels. Readers interested in the technical aspects of script development may find this examination of evaluation practices relevant to their own work.