There are thousands of different screenwriting books in the world. Here is a glimpse at 5 screenwriting books that my USC students have read and found useful:
The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood’s Top Writers. Written by Karl Iglesias, this book offers interviews with professional screenwriters who give insight to the entire process of screenwriting, from writing to selling, and beyond.
How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method. Written by Viki King, this book focuses on turning the writing process into a quick and painless effort, by writing from your heart and then rewriting from your head.
Blake Snyder wrote this instructional book on how to construct a screenplay. Snyder takes an entertaining, accessible approach that is also easy and enjoyable to follow for many writers.
Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434: The Industry’s Premier Teacher Reveals the Secrets of the Successful Screenplay. Lew Hunter has written this book to provide people with a look at basic rules of screenplays today and throughout history so that people can understand them before they start changing or breaking them.
Pitching Hollywood: How to Sell Your TV and Movie Ideas. Written by two producers and pitchmen, Jonathan Koch and Robert Kosberg teamed up with Tanya Meurer Norman to create this book about how to pitch ideas successfully.
Of course there are many more screenwriting books that are out there that you might find useful which aren’t listed here. Being able to understand the process from someone else’s perspective never hurts, and by reading screenwriting books you might discover advice that supports your own, natural instincts for creation.
About the Author: Pen Densham is an award winning producer, director and author of screenwriting books. This site provides free screenwriting tips and resources and helps you learn how to successfully write and sell screenplays.
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