Screenwriting: The 5 Required Books Every Writer Must Read

Introduction...

There are literally hundreds of screenwriting books out there and I had to read damn near everyone of them as a Screenwriting Major at USC. Below are the five best. But they're more than just the best - they are absolutely required if you want to make a run at being a writer.

Scroll down to read the reviews and when you're done, roll over to Amazon via the links at the bottom of the page.

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REQUIRED: Save the Cat!

(Links to Amazon at the bottom)

The title says it all. This is by far the greatest book on screenwriting I've ever read. If you think you have a great idea for a movie, Mr. Snyder here will show you exactly how to turn that idea into a sellable script.

See, the key, according to him, (and I have to agree) is to be able to come up with a simple premise and pay off that premise over the length of the entire script. Snyder tells you exactly how to do this by covering such invaluable topics as how to plan your entire story before you write (AKA beating it out), what traps to avoid through the middle, and a variety of different ways to start thinking about this daunting task of screenwriting.

If you get nothing else on this list, get this for sure. The Amazon link is at the bottom of this article.

REQUIRED: How to Write a Movie in 21 Days

You may not believe it, but if you follow this short, inspirational, fun guide, you will find yourself with a movie script in 21 days. There are, of course, no guarantees on how good it will be, but in my experience, sometimes the hardest possible thing for a writer is putting words on a page.

This book is especially essential if you've never written a screenplay before. While you may be a beginer at the art of screenwriting, you are not a novice movie-goer. Vicky cultivates your innate movie-goer abilities and turns them into power-writer abilities.

I found this little book to be perfect for really intuiting the oft frustrating structures of a script. Using it will make you a structure architect and in addition to all the knowledge you'll gain, you'll have a script to show for it at the end.

REQUIRED: Story by Robert McKee

If the last book was perfect for the beginner, Robert McKee's famous book on screenwriting is a must-have for the professional. (Robert McKee, by the way, is the screenwriting guru that Nicholas Cage visits in the movie Adaptation).

Congratulations, you've found the bible on screenwriting.

It's so essential that I sell you on this book, I'm going to pull the review straight from Amazon:

In Story, McKee puts into book form what he has been teaching screenwriters for years in his seminar on story structure, which is considered by many to be a prerequisite to the film biz. (The long list of film and television projects that McKee's students have written, directed, or produced includes Air Force One, The Deer Hunter, E.R., A Fish Called Wanda, Forrest Gump, NYPD Blue, and Sleepless in Seattle.)

McKee is passionate about the art of screenwriting. "No one needs yet another recipe book on how to reheat Hollywood leftovers," he writes. "We need a rediscovery of the underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate talent."

See. He's serious. And if you are, too, then buy, read, and memorize this book. Today.

REQUIRED: Writing Down the Bowns

Okay, this book isn't exactly about screenwriting per se, but let me remind you that writing for screen and television is, of course, only a sub category of the greater art that is putting pen to page. It is because of this that all writers must have this book. I have literally given it as a gift to nearly everyone I've found to be even remotely artistic.

Again from Amazon...

Wherein we discover that many of the "rules" for good writing and good sex are the same: Keep your hand moving, lose control, and don't think. Goldberg brings a touch of both Zen and well... *eroticism* to her writing practice, the latter in exercises and anecdotes designed to ease you into your body, your whole spirit, while you create, the former in being where you are, working with what you have, and writing from the moment.

REQUIRED: Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

What do Jesus, the Buddha, Luke Skywalker, King Arthur, Shrek, Simba, Hamlet, and countless other characters from our mythic history have in common? They've all gone on a hero's journey. And odds are that if your character is going on any kind of adventure (whether internal or external) you can utilize this structure to touch your audience in a very deep (no, not sexuall) way.

This book breaks down that mythic structure and and adapts it for the writer. It's a damn good read. I've used it for ever thing I've written. See, when I'm writing, I often struggle with "and then what should I write?" syndrome, which forces me to get up from my desk, pull out this book and read through the various stages that history's greatest characters have gone through.

Infinite inspiration. For sure.

REQUIRED: Now That You've Read the Reviews... Buy the Books (or, you know, check them out at the library)

	Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need Price: $11.91 List Price: $19.95
	How to Write a Movie in 21 Days Price: $7.81 List Price: $15.00
	Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting Price: $19.68 List Price: $35.00
	Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Pocket Classics) Price: $8.50 List Price: $8.95
	The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition Price: $15.98 List Price: $26.95