Screenwriting Books

[mellvern]

Hi, I need some names of the best books that learn the professional scriptwriting in Hollywood.
Thank you.

[UserName]

I didn't know books could learn.

[Wolfy262]

I'm working my way through Bill Martell's BLUE BOOK series.

I'd recommend these over anything else I've read to date.

I feel like a guy who's just discovered fire, when everyone else has already got the wheel. :eek

[Adam Isaac]

I still need to grab those.....I began my journey into screenwriting on his website, but haven't made the necesary transaction for his books.

I heard his CD Classes were excellent too.

[James Wilde]

Take a look at 'Writing Your Screenplay' by Cynthia Whitcomb. Her chapter on storyboarding is great and helped me a lot.

[Kenn Hoekstra]

The two best books for beginning screenwriters, in my opinion, are "The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier and "Screenplay" by Syd Field.

--Kenn

www.kennhoekstra.com (http://www.kennhoekstra.com)

[Adam Isaac]

I lost respect for Syd Field's SCREENPLAY after I read STORY by Robert McKee & attended his seminar.

The screenplay-in my opinion-cannot be broken down into the paradigm he's come up with.

Not disagreeing......just giving a beginning screenwriter's opinion.:D

[Krstn150]

I'm a big fan of Bill Martel's Secrets of Action Screenwriting, but recently picked up The Megahit Movies book by Richard Michaels Stefanik and although it's a little pricey ($49.00 eeek) it's well worth it. Alot of my friends recommended it, and finally I broke down & got it -- I wish I had earlier!

It breaks down story design & structure of major movies, examines emotion, humor, plots, theme, conflicts, sub-goals, plot twists, character development...etc., and gives examples from many films.

Like Bill's book, this one's easy to read & a great resource. ;)

[dlshooter]

If your looking to get any of Martells books I'd try getting them from his website. Didn't know how dependable or fast his mail order service was so I went with amazon for a buck more but with free shipping...been waiting about 3 weeks now and still not even an e-mail notice of it being shipped. When they'll get it in stock I have no idea. You're probably better off getting it from his site.

[Matt Mosley]

Syd Field SUCKS!

you want THE SCREENWRITER's BIBLE 3rd EDITION (or better) by David Trottier.

[Gillyflower Cooms]

I've got the book by Stefanik. It does have alot of really good stuff in it but he loses some credibility by uisng his own loglines that suck ass. The forward to his book is written by our very own "creativexec".

[morphitologist]

The only book you'll ever need to read about screenwriting:

How NOT To Write a Screenplay

[Burakus]

Eugene Vale's The Technique Of Screenplay Writing is great.

[DaveBFX]

I am shocked to see no one has listed "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell (the book George Lucas admits inspired Star Wars), "The Art of Dramatic Writing" by Lajos Egri, or "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler.

Required reading for any writer.

[GluSniffa]

I have read "Screenplay" by Syd Field, "How to Write a Selling Screenplay" by Christopher Keane and "The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier.
I didn't like Field's book very much at all and got the most use out of the Keane and Trottier books. I highly recommend the Bible as it is has a lot of useful things including glossaries and terms and all sorts of stuff.

[AnconRanger]

John Gardner's THE ART OF FICTION and ON BECOMING A NOVELIST.

May find helpful.

[Inkdaub]

I'll hop on the Bible bandwagon...it's the best format book there is. I'm not really interested in craft books, though I have read Field's Screenplay. I also read the Poetics translation called Poetics for Screenwriters.

I think the best books on screenwriting are the Goldman books and any books collecting interviews with actual writers. There is a surprising amount to learn and be inspired by in those interviews.

[TwelveMile]

Story Sense: A Screenwriter's Guide for Film and Television by Paul Lucey.
The best! Paul was my favorite screenwriting teacher at USC. This book is essentially both parts of his advanced screenwriting class--and more. It's excellent, and I would recommend it to everyone.