Books on Writing Screenplays

iforgot120 · Jun 11, 2009

I'm very new here (this is my third post. I'm keeping tally) and completely new to screenwriting; I figured an easy way to learn without taking classes (I'm planning on taking classes) would be to buy some books, read them, and use them as firewood (possibly in that order). To save money, I want books that would be useful at as many stages of proficiency as possible.

What are everyone's thoughts on these, and what other books would you recommend?

Save the Cat - Blake Snyder

Backwards & Forwards - David Ball Ph.D (Ph.D, so it must be good)

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting - Robert Mckee

I hope everyone's okay with Amazon as my vendor-of-choice.

alleycat · Jun 11, 2009

The Screenwriter's Bible, David Trottier, as a basic and advanced reference.

Save the Cat and Story are both well worth reading in my opinion.

Somewhat similar to Save the Cat is Your Screenplay Sucks!, William Akers. Full disclosure: the guy who wrote it is a neighbor but that's not why I'm recommending it, it's actually full of concise and useful information. Akers is a professor at Vanderbilt University who has written feature film screenplays, as well as teaching screenwriting.

You might also enjoy The Anatomy of Story, John Truby.

There are probably a half-dozen others I could recommend, but like all book recommendation, a lot depends on the person who going to read it. Some people will love a certain book, while there will be a certain percentage who find it useless. The Amazon reviews will probably be helpful for these types of books.

Cyia · Jun 11, 2009

I used Screenwriting 101 as a tool when I first started learning the basics. It's short, straightforward and easy to follow.

iforgot120 · Jun 11, 2009

The person reading the books is going to be me. I can link you to some of my profiles on various dating websites if you want a better look at my personality to see if I'd like a book, if you want.

But, yes, I did foresee that. I was more hoping for a list of read-worthy books for me to pick through.

On a somewhat-related note, how many books on this subject did you guys pick up, if any?

Also, I keep hitting = when I mean to hit -. Is this an early sign of dyslexia?

alleycat · Jun 11, 2009

iforgot120 said:
The person reading the books is going to be me. I can link you to some of my profiles on various dating websites if you want a better look at my personality to see if I'd like a book, if you want.

I don't think that's necessary. I just meant that it's impossible to say whether another person will get the same thing out of a book that the person recommending the book did. Goes for best-sellers as well as books on writing.

If you want a list of "read worthy" books, you could follow the links to other books on Amazon (look up The Screenwriter's Bible and then look at the other book recommended, then follow the links to other books from those, etc). Or you could take a look at the list of books on screenwriting published by Michael Wiese Productions (publisher of both Save the Cat and Your Screenplay Sucks!). I've found that most of the book published by Wiese are well done.

dpaterso · Jun 11, 2009

I came by a copy of Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting and thought it would be kinda superficial and cheesy, because of the look of the graphic "notes" in the page margins, but it's packed with good advice and insights.

-Derek

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 11, 2009

Among the others mentioned (I highly recommend Save the Cat and Story -- which is dense and academic but very good), also check out William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade. It's more autobio than how-to, but it does explore the process of writing more, which is interesting in its own right.

odocoileus · Jun 12, 2009

One vote for Backwards and Forwards. Lovely little book.

My outline, with some some additions.

"Scripts contain bones, not people."

Ball reminds us that at any given time, a big chunk of the audience wants to get up and take a piss. Our mission is to write something so engaging that they forget about peeing til the show's over.

iforgot120 · Jun 12, 2009

alleycat said:
I don't think that's necessary. I just meant that it's impossible to say whether another person will get the same thing out of a book that the person recommending the book did. Goes for best-sellers as well as books on writing.

I was kidding. :]

Story and Save the Cat are apparently very popular here so I'm definitely going to pick those up. Backwards and Forwards was recommended to me (not personally, but whatever) by Second City so I'd be hesitant to pass over that. I'm also definitely going to check out The Screenwriter's Bible and everything else listed, though.

Does three or four books on this seem like too many? Would they repeat what the other books say?

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 12, 2009

iforgot120 said:
Does three or four books on this seem like too many? Would they repeat what the other books say?

Yes. The overlap is not insignificant, but it's the differing perspectives that make promiscuous reading like this the best choice -- you've got the freedom (and the options) to use what works and drop what doesn't.

iforgot120 · Jun 12, 2009

Ah, that makes sense. I guess that's also where the reader likes or dislikes the book depending on who he or she is.

On a related note, are there any good books on writing series bibles?

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 12, 2009

iforgot120 said:
Ah, that makes sense. I guess that's also where the reader likes or dislikes the book depending on who he or she is.

On a related note, are there any good books on writing series bibles?

Not that I'm aware of, though some books covering TV writing might specifically address it.

There is the series bible for David Simon's The Wire (1st season only) which, if you're familiar with the show, will probably drop some knowledge on you: http://www.shanerichmond.net/?p=303

Others might be available online, too.

alleycat · Jun 12, 2009

Story, The Screenwriter's Bible, and Save the Cat each take a somewhat different view of the subject. There would be some overlap, of course, but it wouldn't be like you had three really similar books. You might want to read those first before deciding on other books to buy. Those three alone would give you a good basic screenwriting course. Maybe throw in Selling Your Story in 60 Second by Michael Hauge or one of the other books that's been suggested as optional reading.

iforgot120 · Jun 12, 2009

@Hang of Thursdays: I'm not familiar with the show, but I will be once I read that. Examples are just as good as books telling you how to do something, so thanks much for that.

@alleycat: Yeah, I think I'm going to go ahead and buy those three for now because they seem to be the most highly reviewed.

yakkity · Jun 12, 2009

Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat" is 'the last book on screenwriting you'll ever need.'

The second book in the series is "Save The Cat Goes to The Movies," and is worthwhile reading as well.

http://www.blakesnyder.com

Kosh · Jun 12, 2009

If you find your screenplay is too "episodic", Jeff Kitchen's Writing a Great Movie is a really good analyzing tool. Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach goes great with Jeff Kitchen's book, as well as most others. Writing for Emotional Impact shows how to make your script a great read, and The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters is great for those in need of a mentor.

WriteKnight · Jun 12, 2009

Dozens of good ones out there. Some will speak to your tastes, some will pass over your head. How many different ways are there for teaching Piano???

Couple of my favorites. "How to Write a Movie in 21 Days" - Vicki King. Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers", and "Screenwriters on Screenwriting" - Engel I find myself leafing through those when I'm feeling a little stuck, or needing inspiration.

EDIT: Okay, I checked my shelf - I own ten books specifically on/about screenwriting. Not counting Goldman's Autobiography, or "Fatal Subtraction" - a MUST read for anyone interested in the tortured ins and outs of having an idea 'stolen'. I have dozens of other books on Filmmaking and 'the biz' which might also speak tangentially to screenwriting.

iforgot120 · Jun 12, 2009

Wait I just realized something: will these books help me with writing tv shows, too? Because I'm all for writing movies but I'm more into writing tv shows.

Kosh · Jun 12, 2009

iforgot120 said:
Wait I just realized something: will these books help me with writing tv shows, too? Because I'm all for writing movies but I'm more into writing tv shows.

The Anatomy of Story will aide you in writing anything. The Complete Book of Screenwriting is also good; samples of various formats are included and it's written by J. Michael Straczynski, who has been a writer and producer on many shows and cartoons.

alleycat · Jun 12, 2009

Another book that you probably want to at least be familiar with is Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field.

The book is both loved and reviled, but it's often referenced in other works. Sometimes it's cited to make a point about the three-act structure; at other times it's cited merely so the new author can disagree with Field's ideas. You can get a paperback version for something like $10 so it won't break your bank to get it even if you eventually come to dislike it as much as some others do.

killbox · Jun 12, 2009

Hmmm. Just another perspective here:

Maybe its just me but I never actually read a book on screenwriting. I grew up writing and one day decided I want to try my hand at a script so I just read a script and went from there.

Was a rough start but everything I learned about script writing, I learned from reading scripts. Scripts every week. At one point I remember reading 4 in one day.

Scripts that sold a week ago, scripts that never sold. Anything and everything that was good (and sometimes bad). I still swear by script reading, its all I have ever done.

Scripts are free. You can find any script you want just about and you learn a lot from reading a good script as well as learning what NOT to do in a bad one.

And the coolest part is that by regularly reading scripts that are going wide or selling, you get a real feel for the pulse of the market or knowing what is selling right now.

Kosh · Jun 13, 2009

killbox said:
Hmmm. Just another perspective here:

Maybe its just me but I never actually read a book on screenwriting. I grew up writing and one day decided I want to try my hand at a script so I just read a script and went from there.

Was a rough start but everything I learned about script writing, I learned from reading scripts. Scripts every week. At one point I remember reading 4 in one day.

Scripts that sold a week ago, scripts that never sold. Anything and everything that was good (and sometimes bad). I still swear by script reading, its all I have ever done.

Scripts are free. You can find any script you want just about and you learn a lot from reading a good script as well as learning what NOT to do in a bad one.

And the coolest part is that by regularly reading scripts that are going wide or selling, you get a real feel for the pulse of the market or knowing what is selling right now.

Yeah, reading scripts is extremely important, but I find most of the stuff I get from them is locked in my self-conscious. Sometimes, there's something off about your script you can't put your finger on, books on screenwriting can help you analyze your own script.

iforgot120 · Jun 13, 2009

That's how I feel about it, too. Learning from example is without a doubt the best way to learn but you need something to guide you through the less obvious aspects, too.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. I'll definitely look into all of them.

Jim McLain · Jun 21, 2009

My fovorites are The Screenwriters Bible and Writer's Journey. Both are very good.

Books on Writing Screenplays

iforgot120

alleycat

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Hang of Thursdays

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Hang of Thursdays

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alleycat

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iforgot120

yakkity

"what?"

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iforgot120

Kosh

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More often than not...

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iforgot120

Jim McLain