Screenwriting : Screenwriting Classes - Stephanie Palmer by Arial Burnz

They're both good starts, others that I enjoy & often refer back to are Blake Snyder - Save the cat, Writing Movies for Profit - Robert Garant and Thomas Lennon, Michael Hauge books such as Writing Screenplays that Sell, Your Screenplay Sucks - William Akers, Lucy V. Hay books, The Coffee Break Screenwriter - Pilar Alessandra & Complete Screenwriting Course - Charles Harris.

I'll double dip with Paul. "Your Screenplay Sucks" is a must have.

Arial! Oh my gosh, so many great resources to choose from! I really like Stephanie and she's really resourceful. I can't remember if I've done the starter kit specifically, but her books and website are great resources. Personally, I would also read any of Michael Hauge's books that interest you (he has a few). William Goldman's books are must-reads. I would avoid any how-to books or books that promise "results" in x number of days. Reading scripts will help much more than any how-to books!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Paul, I have about 1/2 of the books you mentioned, so I'll get the other half.

Double-dipping is okay, Philip, as long as you turn it over before you dip again. LOL

And thank you, Erin!! I'll dive into those, too. I have one of Mr. Goldman's and I ADORE his screenplays and fiction books.

I subscribe to her newsletter, but had to, at one point, ask her/her admins to change their settings because I was being bombarded with marketing stuff nearly every single day. Her program looks really good, but I have not done/bought it.

My favorite screenwriting books are Richard Krevolin's 'Screenwriting from the Soul', Syd Field's 'Screenplay' and Michael Hauge's 'Writing Screenplays That Sell'. Chris Vogler's 'The Writer's Journey' is on my list of must-reads.

Thank you, Monique!! Great input!

Besides writing classes and reading books, take a hands-on filmmaking class. Learn to tell stories with a camera, actors, crew. The best filmmaking deal is Los Angeles Community College on Melrose Avenue, close to Paramount Studios.

Classes are $120 a semester!

You can earn a screenwriting or filmmaking certificate. The Teachers there are all UCLA grads and as a student you can borrow their film equipment for free!

AWESOMESAUCE!! Dan-the-MAN!! Thank you so much! And Bill, thanks so much for the additional references!! (Arial scribbles notes furiously)

Being in LA you have access the writers guild. You can go and sit in there and read any scripts. I believe it's 3rd and Fairfax. They also offer evening classes at the writers bookstore. I went to Chapman in Orange County. We had a lot of the same professors from USC. One of my professors wrote SAVE THE CAT....It's not perfect but it will give you the basics.

Thank you, David and Ryan! Great information. :D

I recommend Ryan's suggestion of The 21st Century Screenplay - excellent book and worth the $$$ as it deals a lot with non-linear scripts... like Pulp Fiction and Run Lola Run for instance.

Excellent notes, Brian! Thanks!!

Right, Bill! I think Aaron Sorkin said it best - Aristotle's Poetics are the basic framework for the rules of drama (http://amzn.to/2s1Tlug) and probably something on which most storytellers can agree. Great input, Bill! Thanks!

Aaron Sorkin is brilliant. I read Poetics but got a headache. I'll just buy the notes off the guy that read Poetics. Its as heavy as the Hero's Journey.

LOL - I was going to do the same thing!

What I can see so far it seems there is an entire industry based on ''How to pitch or sell'' The reality is : we can't timely and physycally get them all. I would suggest to chose the ones who does not bombard your e-mail box with ''pitches'' every day.