 | Save the Cat!: The Only Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
Buy new: £6.43 / Used from: £5.31 A concise and inspiring read; this is my favourite screenwriting book at the moment. I'm following Blake's recommendations while writing my latest feature script.
|
 | How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method by Viki King
Buy new: £4.51 / Used from: £1.50 Some of the ideas from Save the Cat! originated from Viki's book. Personally I found it too "touchy-feely", but others might like her style and approach.
|
 | How to Be Your Own Script Doctor by Jennifer Kenning
Buy new: £7.38 / Used from: £4.54 Short book with lots of practical advise to "debug" your screenwriting.
|
 | The Third Act: A Structural Approach to Writing Great Endings by Drew Yanno
Buy new: £7.03 / Used from: £4.56 Focuses on the final act of your screenplay. Lots of examples from recent movies.
|
 | Crafty TV Writing: Thinking Inside the Box by Alex Epstein
Buy new: £10.79 / Used from: £5.20 Alex has a great blog that is well worth subscribing too. This is one of the better books on writing for modern television. He also wrote "Crafty Screenwriting" but I do not own it (yet).
|
 | Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434: The Industry's Top Teacher Reveals the Secrets of the by Lew Hunter
Buy new: £10.79 / Used from: £7.35 I have only just got this, but the first few pages of the introduction got me salivating.
|
 | An Talking Funny for Money by Pamela Lewis
Buy new: £16.63 / Used from: £9.60 I bought this to help me do the voices for my animated children's shorts.
|
 | Writing the Action Adventure Film: The Moment of Truth by Neill Hicks
Buy new: £8.09 / Used from: £4.25 This one has a few practical ideas but overall it is too much like an academic essay for my taste.
|
 | The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J.Michael Straczynski
Buy used from: £4.50 As a fan of Babylon 5 I had to buy this one. A bit old-fashioned and dry.
|
 | How to Adapt Anything into a Screenplay by Richard Krevolin
Buy new: £7.36 / Used from: £4.10 Most films are adaptions. What is the process?
|
 | The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker
Buy new: £9.56 / Used from: £8.85 A weighty tome in more ways than one.
|
 | Screenplay by Disney: Tips and Techniques to Bring Magic to Your Moviemaking by Jason Surrell
Buy used from: £6.77 Another of my favorites: small, concise, funny, inspiring.
|
 | 500 Ways to Beat the Hollywood Scriptwriter: Writing the Screenplay the Reader Will Recommend by Jennifer M. Lerch
Buy new: £5.86 / Used from: £2.48 Basically a long check list of everything you should review before submitting your script.
|
 | Characters and Viewpoint (The elements of fiction writing) by Orson Scott Card
Buy new: £6.57 / Used from: £3.80 Targetted at novelists, but still useful for screenwriters.
|
 | The Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein
Buy new: £8.08 / Used from: £7.48 A handy reference and summary of human psychology.
|
Listmania!
