Question: What are the most useful screenwriting books?

Another open forum question — from Jill Sim:

What would you consider to be your favorite, most useful, books on Screenwriting and Story?

Jill, you might want to check out two posts — here and here — as both have numerous suggestions from GITS readers.

As to me? For starters, books directly about screenwriting and storytelling:

“Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting,” Syd Field

“Story,” Robert McKee

“The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structures for Writers,” Christopher Vogler

“The Art of Dramatic Writing,” Lajos Egri

“Gardner’s Guide to Screenplay: The Rewrite,” Jule Selbo

I’m also a big proponent of reading screenwriter interviews about story and screenwriting. Here is a short list of those books:

“Backstory: Interviews With Screenwriters, Volumes 1–4,” edited by Patrick McGilligan

“American Screenwriters: The Insiders’ Look at the Art, the Craft, and the Business of Writing Movies,” edited by Karl Schanzer & Thomas Lee Wright

“The Screenwriter Looks at the Screenwriter,” William Froug

“The New Screenwriter Look at the New Screenwriter,” William Froug

“Screenwriters,” Joe Engel

“The Craft of the Screenwriter,” John Brady

Two good books focused more on the history of screenwriting:

“What Happens Next,” Marc Norman

“Screenplays: How 25 Scripts Made It to a Theater Near You — For Better of Worse,” David S. Cohen

Two books not about screenwriting, but fantastic reading about storytelling and creativity:

“In the Blink of an Eye,” Walter Murch

“Songrwriters on Songwriting,” Paul Zollo

Readers will doubtless add to the list.

Finally, there is nothing like reading actual scripts. Lots of them. Hundreds and hundreds of screenplays. Immersing yourself in screenplays will benefit you both in terms of your conscious awareness of structure, format, style, etc, but also your unconscious sense of how story works. 

You might check out the “14 Days of Screenplays” posted on the right side of the blog — two different versions. Fantastic way to ‘grok’ screenwriting.

Comment Archive