Screenwriting : Syd Field - Screenplay anybody read this book?? by Stephen Quaranta Jr.

it's the first book every single screenwriting major is given in college. it's one of the first major ones written. so, sure, it's worth reading.

Exactly. I had to read it when I took a screenwriting course in university. It was simple enough, and I have to say, of all the screenwriting books out there, it is the only one worth salt. It leaves out all the personal opinion and hard-lined rules and gives you a general sense of structure. Every other book I have read on the subject is utter nonsense.

I've read a lot of screenwriting books and I think it's one of the better ones. That being said, I think it was mentioned in another thread that the best thing an aspiring writer can do is read scripts. As many as you can. I learned way more by reading screenplays than by reading books.

Yes. It's worth reading.

I read that like 8 years ago.

Great book and instructor, great friend of writers, and great lover of film. RIP, Mr. Field. Good luck, Stephen!

I've read several books, in and out of school. I have personally never read this one. Most of the books, for me, didn't really help. I felt like the more I read the more I was getting roped into these specific molds of how a story should be told. For me, the best learning I ever got was just from reading scripts. I focus on Tv writing, so I found as many pilot scripts I could find and I read every single one. Especially those that were similar in tone and genre. So my advice, take what you read in the book with the thought that it's just a roadmap, not a solid set of rules. Then read every script under the sun to see how the pros do it, and then start writing.

I've read many screenwriting books and Fields' first two books are the best I've read. I go back to them time and time again.