Books for Screenwriters
THE ABSOLUTE BEST BOOK THAT ANY WRITER CAN BUY (whether you are a screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, etc.): The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition by Christopher Vogler
Writing the Screenplay by Alan Armer
A well-written screenplay is the single most important ingredient in making a successful motion picture or television show. Alan Armer mixes time-honored theory with down-to-earth practical advice, giving beginning and advanced students the benefits of his experiences in both the entertainment industry and the college classroom. He balances professional screenwriting methods with techniques that explain and clarify those methods for students. What truly makes this text vital is his knack for tapping the creative spirit of aspiring screenwriters to become competent writers who can deliver fresh stories that "glow in the dark." Essential topics include organization and structure, conflict, dimensional characters, dialog, subtext, comedy, the profession, among others. Candid, personal discussion by top industry professionals; examples, anecdotes, and scenes from popular films; and challenging screenwriting projects illuminate the realities of successful screenwriting.
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
Filled with updated material—including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analyses of recent films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings--Screenplay presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. Discover:
•Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important
•How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one
•Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay
•How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay
•Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay
•The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more.
•Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important
•How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one
•Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay
•How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay
•Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay
•The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more.
The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
The Writer's Journey explores the powerful relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style that's made it required reading for movie executives, screenwriters, playwrights, scholars, and fans of pop culture all over the world. The updated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself.
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.
Screenwriting For Dummies
So you want to be a screenwriter? Whether you want to write a feature film or a TV script or adapt your favorite book, this friendly guide gives you expert advice in everything from creating your story and developing memorable characters to formatting your script and selling it to the studios. You get savvy industry tips and strategies for getting your screenplay noticed!
- The screenwriting process from A to Z -- from developing a concept and thinking visually to plotline, conflicts, pacing, and the conclusion
- Craft living, breathing characters -- from creating the backstory to letting your characters speak to balancing dialogue with action
- Turn your story into a script -- from developing an outline and getting over writer's block to formatting your screenplay and handling rewrites
- Prepare for Hollywood -- from understanding the players and setting your expectations to polishing your copy and protecting your work
- Sell your script to the industry -- from preparing your pitch and finding an agent to meeting with executives and making a deal
- The latest on the biz, from entertainment blogs to top agents to box office jargon
- New story examples from recently released films
- Tips on character development, a story's time clock, dramatic structure, and dialogue
- New details on developing the nontraditional screenplay -- from musicals to animation to high dramatic style
- Expanded information on adaptation and collaboration, with examples from successful screenwriting duos
Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!
The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by Dave Trottier
The "Screenwriter's Bible" is one of the most popular, authoritative, and useful books on screenwriting. A standard by which other screenwriting books are measured, it has sold 150,000 copies in its ten-year life. Always up-to-date and reliable, it contains everything that both the budding and working screenwriter need under one cover - six books in one! Features: How to Write a Screenplay - a concise course on screenwriting basics; Correct Format for Screenplays and Teleplays - a style guide to the latest in industry-accepted formats; Steps to a Stunning Script - a step-by-step guide to the screenwriting process from nascent idea through revisions; Writing Your Breakthrough Spec Script - the keys to a marketable script; How to Sell Your Script - marketing and sales strategies and information about today's marketplaces; and, Resources - lists of industry contacts and useful screenwriting tools and services. This new edition offers expanded coverage of dialogue writing and character development, the latest in proper screenplay format, a new section on jumpstarting your career, new advice on creating and delivering pitches, more new successful writing tips and pointers, new and revised writing exercises, updated film examples, and an expanded index.
Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make It Great by William M. Akers
A lifetime member of the Writer's Guild of America who has had three feature films produced from his screenplays, Akers offers beginning writers the tools they need to get their screenplay noticed.
The Last Word: Definitive Answers to All Your Screenwriting Questions by Tom Lazarus
A comprehensive, practical resource with over a hundred informative chapters that give the reader screenwriting techniques to raise the level of their writing and the marketability of their scripts.
Ten Simple F*cking Rules for Writing a Great F*cking Screenplay by Dwayne Alexander Smith and A.J. Sheppard
A humorous guide to the craft of screenwriting.
The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby
John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby’s own unique approach to building an effective, multifaceted narrative.