Resources
There are an awful lot of screenwriting resources out there and the choices can be pretty overwhelming for someone new to the craft. After burning through my own mountain of screenwriting and storytelling books (read "every one I can get my hands on"), these are the ones I would recommend.
Keep in mind that this is merely a list of books that have proven most useful to me. Anybody who's been working at this for a while will almost certainly have their own favorite resources on the subject, and you can bet that what works for one person might not work for another. I've rated the books from one to five stars based on how helpful they've been to me in the long run.
**"Making a Good Script Great" by Linda Seger
Borrowed this from the Library because it's one of the most popular and recommended books on the basics. Although I highly recommend it to beginners (like me), I am glad I didn't buy it because I didn't learn anything new. It's a fast read and covers a lot of basics using such stalwarts as WITNESS, "BACK TO THE FUTURE and ROMANCING THE STONE to illustrate her points.
***"The Big Deal: Hollywood's Million-Dollar Spec
Script Market" by Thom Taylor
While not a "How-to" book, it's an awesome read and really educates one about important aspects of the business. Loaded with true stories of successful (and not so successful) screenwriters. Very credible, as most of the content comes from interviews with ex agents, writers (both working and unworking), and development executives.
****"The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for
Storytellers & Screenwriters" by Christopher Vogler
Vogler used to be a bigshot at Fox. He's advised on a lot of Disney classics and is quoted a lot in "The Big Deal". Many of the story guys and development execs at Disney swear by it.
***"The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier
This workbook-style book has an awesome chapter on how to handle and correctly format unusual things (such as handling inserts, interruptions, etc.). It also has a fair amount of sample query letters, loglines, script excerpts, etc.
****"Adventures In the Screen Trade" by William
Goldman
Very funny. A bit dated but both entertaining and educational.
****"Which Lie Did I Tell" by William Goldman
More of Goldman's genius. Good reading even if you aren't interested in becoming a writer.
*****"The Art of Dramatic Writing" by Lajos Egri
Originally published in 1946. One of my favorites - I've reread it several times and consult it frequently. Just goes to show you that there are certain things that have worked for the stage and the screen throughout time and that you can only break away from principles once you've mastered the principles . . .
*****"Story" by Robert McKee
This is my "bible". A lot of people find it a difficult read but those colleagues of mine that understand it, love it . . . I disagree with those who say it's a "how-to write a script" book - it's more of an analysis of why good stories work. And once you know why we love our favorite movies . . .
***Doing It For Money: The Agony and Ecstasy of Writing and Surviving in Hollywood edited by Daryl G. Nickens for The Writers Guild Foundation
A fascinating collection of essays on screenwriting by working screenwriters. I especially like the variety of tales included in the book - it's nice to read stories from people who have had positive experiences working in Hollywood.
***The Screenwriter's Survival Guide: Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War by Max Adams
The best book I've read on the topic of "surviving". I'm amazed at how many people garner that first big meeting or win that prestigious script competition but then flounder because they are unprepared and/or had an unrealistic idea of what to expect next. Max has won the awards, had her stories produced, and so dispenses that kind of everyday, real-world writer's wisdom that most of the other books neglect.
After reading so many other books, the Syd Field ones about "how to write screenplays" seem kind of weak. Having said that, however, SCREENPLAY: THE FOUNDATIONS OF SCREENWRITING and SELLING A SCREENPLAY: THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD happened to be the very first books I read on the subject and I learned a lot from them at the time (film schools use them).
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading actual produced screenplays -- both good ones and bad ones. It takes the same amount of time as watching a movie (two hours or so) and if you read one a week, that's 52 a year. I'm amazed at the impact this has had on my own writing. There are a few websites that offer free scripts for downloading but because nearly every screenwriting blog out there already has links to the best websites I won't bother listing them again here.
If you're new to the business, then I hope this list helps and if you're a seasoned screenwriter (professional or not), then I'd love to hear which publications - listed or not listed - worked (or didn't work) for you.
Keep in mind that this is merely a list of books that have proven most useful to me. Anybody who's been working at this for a while will almost certainly have their own favorite resources on the subject, and you can bet that what works for one person might not work for another. I've rated the books from one to five stars based on how helpful they've been to me in the long run.
**"Making a Good Script Great" by Linda Seger
Borrowed this from the Library because it's one of the most popular and recommended books on the basics. Although I highly recommend it to beginners (like me), I am glad I didn't buy it because I didn't learn anything new. It's a fast read and covers a lot of basics using such stalwarts as WITNESS, "BACK TO THE FUTURE and ROMANCING THE STONE to illustrate her points.
***"The Big Deal: Hollywood's Million-Dollar Spec
Script Market" by Thom Taylor
While not a "How-to" book, it's an awesome read and really educates one about important aspects of the business. Loaded with true stories of successful (and not so successful) screenwriters. Very credible, as most of the content comes from interviews with ex agents, writers (both working and unworking), and development executives.
****"The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for
Storytellers & Screenwriters" by Christopher Vogler
Vogler used to be a bigshot at Fox. He's advised on a lot of Disney classics and is quoted a lot in "The Big Deal". Many of the story guys and development execs at Disney swear by it.
***"The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier
This workbook-style book has an awesome chapter on how to handle and correctly format unusual things (such as handling inserts, interruptions, etc.). It also has a fair amount of sample query letters, loglines, script excerpts, etc.
****"Adventures In the Screen Trade" by William
Goldman
Very funny. A bit dated but both entertaining and educational.
****"Which Lie Did I Tell" by William Goldman
More of Goldman's genius. Good reading even if you aren't interested in becoming a writer.
*****"The Art of Dramatic Writing" by Lajos Egri
Originally published in 1946. One of my favorites - I've reread it several times and consult it frequently. Just goes to show you that there are certain things that have worked for the stage and the screen throughout time and that you can only break away from principles once you've mastered the principles . . .
*****"Story" by Robert McKee
This is my "bible". A lot of people find it a difficult read but those colleagues of mine that understand it, love it . . . I disagree with those who say it's a "how-to write a script" book - it's more of an analysis of why good stories work. And once you know why we love our favorite movies . . .
***Doing It For Money: The Agony and Ecstasy of Writing and Surviving in Hollywood edited by Daryl G. Nickens for The Writers Guild Foundation
A fascinating collection of essays on screenwriting by working screenwriters. I especially like the variety of tales included in the book - it's nice to read stories from people who have had positive experiences working in Hollywood.
***The Screenwriter's Survival Guide: Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War by Max Adams
The best book I've read on the topic of "surviving". I'm amazed at how many people garner that first big meeting or win that prestigious script competition but then flounder because they are unprepared and/or had an unrealistic idea of what to expect next. Max has won the awards, had her stories produced, and so dispenses that kind of everyday, real-world writer's wisdom that most of the other books neglect.
After reading so many other books, the Syd Field ones about "how to write screenplays" seem kind of weak. Having said that, however, SCREENPLAY: THE FOUNDATIONS OF SCREENWRITING and SELLING A SCREENPLAY: THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD happened to be the very first books I read on the subject and I learned a lot from them at the time (film schools use them).
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading actual produced screenplays -- both good ones and bad ones. It takes the same amount of time as watching a movie (two hours or so) and if you read one a week, that's 52 a year. I'm amazed at the impact this has had on my own writing. There are a few websites that offer free scripts for downloading but because nearly every screenwriting blog out there already has links to the best websites I won't bother listing them again here.
If you're new to the business, then I hope this list helps and if you're a seasoned screenwriter (professional or not), then I'd love to hear which publications - listed or not listed - worked (or didn't work) for you.
posted by Rochelle Smith at 8:01 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Rochelle, I've read almost all of these books too and agree, they are at the top of the stack.
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