The 10 Best Screenwriting Books

Editor's Notes

November 06, 2019:

One could easily make the argument that Hollywood movies have become more formulaic over the years. Whether or not you think this is a bad thing, it has resulted in an environment in which screenwriting books have a lot of the same things to say about structure. Where they have an opportunity to vary is in the understanding of how and why certain structures prevail on screen, how to build unique and compelling characters within those structures, and how to interpret your story in the context of film history in a way that can inform the particular structural tools you should apply.

The heavy hitters in this category have all remained so for many years, with some titles reaching back into the heyday of American independent cinema, so the list as a whole didn't see a big shakeup. The arrival of John Yorke's fantastic Into The Woods is an exception that forced us to remove another tome from the ranking, and we chose Making a Good Script Great for the chopping block, as it was perhaps the most remedial volume in the bunch.

The Art Of Dramatic Writing is likely the best option for character development, as it teaches writers to begin with a premise and develop their characters in relation to it, where Christopher Volger's The Writer's Journey works more from a hero's journey perspective, which — if you're not careful — can result in passive protagonists who let the story drive them, rather than the other way around.