Hey fellow writers. Question. As I only started writing actually scripts around 6 months ago, I realize I have a lot to learn, analyze, and remember. I only recently got to a point where I have some extra money to spend on a few books on Screenwriting and I realize (with Amazon's help) that there are quite a bit of different books from different authors with different experiences. Anybody got any recommendations as to what they have found a great tool or educational resources to help improve their scripts. Thanks in advance.
Screenwriting : Books on Screenwriting by Tarus Rhinehart
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Here are some books that are so ubiquitous that screenwriters often have casual offhand conversations about them and people are assumed to know what the books say. Not all of these may be for you, but you basically need to have a cultural awareness of them. The Screenwriter's Bible - Dave Trottier Story - Robert McKee The Writer's Journey - Christopher Vogler Screenplay - Syd Field The Screenwriter's Workbook - Syd Field Save the Cat - Blake Snyder Save the Cat Strikes Back - Blake Snyder Making a Good Screenplay Great - Linda Seger Writing Screenplays that Sell - Michael Hauge The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell (not a screenwriting book but extremely influential) Also John Truby, I can't recall the title right now because I felt Vogler was basically the same but better. Save the Cat is the most divisive, I personally feel it is better for "happy" movies while other titles work better for serious dramas. Field is not very dense, Trottier is the de facto format guide, and McKee and Vogler are much heavier on information. There are a few others but I think this is a good starting list. Surely other commenters will fill in the blanks.
Thank you very much. I recently order "The Screenwriter's Bible" by it seems to have gotten lost by USPS lol. But if I wanted to focus on writing for television, is there any ones on your list that I should read first or do they all cover television writing as well as features?
Coffee Break screenwriter
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The Screenwriter's Bible is awesome
I agree, Daniel but I might also add, for someone still learning, David Trottiers - The Screenwriter's Bible is pretty much an essential tool.
Tarus: do check out the book discounts available to us on Stage32 --- then do a price check elsewhere to compare.
Check with your local library (and librarian) as well. You might be able to borrow copies of a dozen books, see what you like, then buy the ones that fit you best. And do remember to check with the librarian. Often small regional libraries will network together to allow borrowing from each other in an interlibrary loan process, that gives you wide access to books.
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Fomat is easy to learn, you could buy a book like The Screenwriter's Bible (also helps with basic structure, but you can find information about proper format online for free. I think you can go to the WGA site and they have something practical to use. I've got a lot of books for various reasons, but a few that stand out as ones that have affected my writing is The Hero's Journey (Vogler) and Save the Cat (Blake). I also have a lot of DVDs which include Karl Iglsias (sp?) Truby's Genre DVDs, William Martell (he's here on the site) Little Blue Books. I would read reviews and then decide, but the reality is that writing is unique to each writer and only you will know which material connects with you. Also, when you read the book, don't take everything literally. If you disagree with something they promote, simply disregard it and move onto the next. You'll develop your own style eventually. Good luck.
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Save the Cat has been helpful for my co-writer and me.
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Once you have formatting and most of the "how to" down, go for 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
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Save the Cat The Perfect Pitch Writing Movies for fun and Profit Screenwriter's bible These are a great place to start, but there's so much information out there, they just really get you started. Welcome aboard! Best of luck to you with the craft.
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While a number of screenwriters find these hot-to books helpful, the best lessons in this business usually come from reading screenplays in draft-- not shooting script -- form. You can find these all over the Web to download for free (usually). The basic drill: read a script once for the story, then a second time to analyze how it was put together. Start with films you've responded to and that are in the genre you think you'd like to write.
Can't answer because I have a horse in the race or a dog in the hunt or whatever...
Well, my book "A Screenwriter's Journey to Success" of course coming early next year on Amazon - ;-) HA! But also John Truby's THE ANATOMY OF STORY and Robert McKee's STORY. Two excellent books to own. And Christopher Vogler's THE WRITER'S JOURNEY, THE WAR OF ART by Stephen Pressfield and yes, SAVE THE CAT by Blake Sneider but beware - there is not a cookie cutter formula for screenplays, meaning just follow these steps and add scenes and you'll have a good script. These books among other teachings are to open your mind and then you add your own elements of style. Watch movies every day -- continually read piles of screenplays - that is vital to your learning. Books will only get you so far. Take webinars, seminars, workshops and then write, write and make mistakes, write bad scripts, learn, get rejected, move forward and take your lumps as criticism is a rite of passage for all writers. Here is the first 13 minutes of my webinar for FREE about asking yourself if you have what it takes to survive this screenwriting journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDpATxFs-9o