ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Offbeat Script Writing Books for Serious Screenwriters

Updated on January 31, 2021

Not every script writing book retreads the same material.

There are a lot of great screenwriting books in print. Many of those scriptwriting books offer brilliant insights into how to properly and effectively compose a screenplay. Unfortunately, there are several books on screenwriting that are more than a bit derivative. They rehash a lot of the same material. Besides, a lot of the books' advice is irrelevant...but that is another story for another day.

And then all those gimmick-oriented screenwriting tomes try to deliver the elusive and long sought after "perfect formula" for crafting a screenplay. With these words, a hefty "buyer beware" warning is levied. Screenwriting is not a talent developed through following a gimmick.


And then there are some truly novel and unique books out there. For those fans of the art of writing a script, adding the following three offbeat and interesting writing-a-script books to your collection might be a wise plan.


Within these three books, a great deal of unique material brings the books alive. Those looking to hone their craft, reading what these excellent books have to offer, are worth the investment.



Three Unique Script Writing Books


Not every book on the subject of screenplays follows a tired How to scriptwriting paradigm. Nor are they all of the screenwriters on screenwriting mold. There are quite many excellent screenwriting books that cover the topic from unique and different angles. The following three books definitely change from the ''same old, same old '' so many books on screenplays embody.


How Not to Write a Screenplay by Denny Martin Flinn


You could call this book the inverse of the common ''how to scriptwriting'' books on the market. While you might think the book might be a cynical one based on its title, it is a very well written and intelligent book that covers the common mistakes new (and even experienced) screenwriters are prone to make. The goal of this book is to help eliminate common errors that automatically make a screenplay bad. If you do not want an excellent script to be sunk, picking up this book would greatly help.


Good Scripts, Bad Scripts: Learning the Craft of Screenwriting Through 25 of the Best and Worst Films in History by Tom Pope


What is better than learning from your mistakes? Not making any mistakes and observing those mistakes made by others. If you want a great book covering major, supreme errors committed by screenwriters, you will find this book a must-have for your screenwriting library. Sure, there are chapters on really great screenplays such as Chinatown and Romancing the Stone. Admit it, though; you want to read the chapters on the rotten films that make it to the screen. My favorite chapter is the one that deals with The Last Action Hero. This utterly disastrous screenplay was the first notorious bomb for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the vast narrative errors in the screenplay contributed to the fiasco. Reading that chapter alone will give you a lot of food for thought about how a script's decent idea can go painfully wrong.


Going to the Movies: A Personal Journey Through Four Decades of Modern Film by Syd Field

Anyone with even a passing interest in scriptwriting has read Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Serious students have read his other how to scriptwriting works. This particular book intends not to teach anyone the art of screenwriting. Instead, it is a mix of an autobiography and a film lover's journey of cinema appreciation. For those that want an insight into who Syd Field is, this book is well worth reading and rereading.


A Never-Ending Library of Script Writing Books


As you can see, these books each have a different take on how to write a screenplay. These are not gimmicky works. They are serious and well thought out. And yes, they can be quite a bit of fun to read. Adding them to your library would be a smart move.


Of course, there are far more excellent screenwriting books on the market that are well worth reading. If you are serious about scriptwriting, then you will want to keep adding such excellent books to what should be an always-growing collection.


Not the Theater of the Absurd


Last, it is essential to note that offbeat does not mean absurd or ridiculous. There are sure to be gimmick oriented screenwriting books that offer very foolish or silly advice. Niche books do have to set themselves apart to stand out from the crowd. No one is going to fault this approach when the advice provided is helpful and makes sense. However, awful advice will hurt a newbie screenwriter who is trying to receive serious consideration for their work. If the direction seems dubious or the style professed just too off the wall, put the book up for sale on eBay and get some of your money back.


You can also check out:

On Writing the Average Screenplay

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)