The 10 Best Screenwriting Books

Now in its third edition, Making a Good Script Great emphasizes rewriting as a necessary step towards finishing a feature-length screenplay. With worksheets and checklists at the end of each chapter, this is an excellent choice if you need an extra push to get started.

Full of interesting anecdotes and personal experience, Adventures in the Screen Trade offers a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a screenwriter working in Hollywood. Though it's not exactly a writing how-to, it can help you decide if the film industry is right for you.

Pick up The Writer's Journey to delve into the philosophy behind what makes some scripts truly enduring. Arguing that all great narratives contain mythic archetypes and are structured around a hero's journey, this book is for screenwriters who love to think deeply.

If you find the traditional three act dramatic structure too limiting, The Anatomy of Story can help you make your script flow more organically. John Truby's unique 22 step method of designing plot, characters, and moral conflicts accounts for higher-concept stories.

Before there were movies, there were plays -- that's why Lajos Egri's classic how-to book, The Art of Dramatic Writing, is still frequently used by screenwriters today. His insights on the psychological patterns of characters will inspire you to take your craft seriously.

If the tough love approach is what you seek, Your Screenplay Sucks! could be just the thing to whip your writing into shape. This book delivers concise tips and practical exercises suitable for anyone who is already working on a script, but struggling with writer's block.

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting teaches dramatic structure using the "paradigm worksheet," a diagramming method that readers can apply to their own work. Its discussions of the film industry and good writing habits make it great for beginners.

With instructions on proper script formatting and advice on selling your work, the updated, sixth edition of The Screenwriter's Bible is geared towards business-minded writers eager to see their words lifted off the page and onto the silver screen.

For writers who want a crash-course in story structure, Save the Cat is great. Authored by a big-budget Hollywood insider in a funny, accessible tone, this book breaks down the beats of a script into a formula that readers will either find revelatory or too simplistic.

Remember that seminar scene in "Adaptation"? That was Robert McKee, author of Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. His detailed book analyzes the arcs and dynamics at work within scenes, dialogue, and the overall narrative.