Screenwriting 101: 20 Books on Writing You Should Read
A back to school syllabus of some of the best books on writing, directing, filmmaking, and art in general.
Summer is ending which means it’s back to school season. One of the best times of year to be a writer, in my opinion, because it also means you can and should be stocking up on school supplies. Pens, pencils, notepads, giant desk calendars, whatever little organizational doodads might be helpful to you personally.
And with that in mind (and given the fact that readership of the substack basically doubled over the past month) I thought it might be nice to harness the back to school energy and provide for you a syllabus of some of my favorite books about the craft. These are not all going to be about screenwriting per se but they are all about story, structure, art, and the exploration of the inner psyche (the most valuable tool of all when it comes to writing a movie, IMO).
I’m sure if you subscribe to this substack you’ve probably read some of these already, but it’s never a bad time to pick up a new reference book that just might unlock a new way of thinking.
So, without further ado, here are my recommendations, with thoughts about each. We’ll start with the real basics of screenwriting, and then branch off into the slightly less on topic books that are also extremely valuable resources (even if they’re not technically about screenwriting).
And if you have any books you’ve especially found useful or inspiring, please let me know in the comments, as I basically always have a copy of some sort of artists’ book on my bedside table. Currently that’s Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act.
If I were teaching a screenwriting 101 course, these would be on the syllabus:
Screenplay by Syd Field
This is probably the most straightforward and practical guide to how to write a movie that I’ve personally read. There’s a reason people have been reading this since 1979. This is a no-nonsense quick read that feels extremely useful for plotting, structure, and the general basics. A must have.
Story by Robert McKee
You don’t need to attend one of the $450 courses that were parodied in Adaptation, you can simply read the book. McKee’s book is dense, biblical in weight, and extremely prescriptive in what it tells you to do. So I would say read it, learn the rules, and then do your best to not worry too much about the rules anymore. But, if you’re ever stuck, like the bible, you can always fish back through it for spiritual guidance.
Poetics by Aristotle
Written around 335 CE, Aristotle’s writing as translated is extremely dry and academic to the point of being more a philosophy text than anything else, but you have to give the man credit for defining “catharsis,” and telling writers to do their best to evoke “pity and fear.” You can’t go through a writing program without reading Aristotle, and debating whether his viewpoints on tragedy still apply or feel reductive to a modern audience.
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
Look, Blake Snyder is no Aristotle. But you’re going to have to read this in order to keep up with executives, because, like it or not, this really has become the one book that almost everyone in Hollywood quotes. Did Blake Snyder ever write any great movies using his formula for success? No. Is it a particularly interesting or innovative approach to storytelling? Also no. Can you force most movies into fitting this formula if you squint a little bit? Sure. It’s reductive, but that also makes it a quick read and an easy rubric for explaining the three act structure. Not to mention, it’s helpful to be conversant in the lingo everyone else will be using (even if it’s reductive and only really works for a certain kind of Western hero story).
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
This is sort of the big daddy book of meta-narrative. Why do we tell the stories we tell? What do they all have in common? Can we break them down in a meaningful and repeatable way? Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey has become the de facto way that everyone in Hollywood talks about and analyzes story, and serves as the basis for most of the other books on the subject in some way, shape, or form. Do I think every story needs to work this way? No. But it’s a super useful language to be able to speak, and as you probably already know, it’s the one George Lucas became obsessed with as he was developing Star Wars.
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim
This is a quite academic text, but it’s one that was on the syllabus at NYU’s Atlantic Acting School back when I was in college (I did not attend Atlantic, I just was only friends with actors) and I am so glad I stole this book from my roommate’s shelf. No academic course on writing would be complete without some literary analysis, and Bettelheim spends the entire book looking at fairy tales through a psychoanalytic lens. What could we as a society be teaching through our repeated use of these stories of children lost in the woods, and witches, and magic? Some of the psychological underpinnings of the book feel a bit dated (there’s a lot of Freud and Jung) but the conceit is a really powerful one. To understand a story we can’t just talk about what happens, we also have to talk about its deeper psychological meaning. What does it mean to us to tell a story? And this book is an incredible resource at demonstrating how to analyze text in order to get to the bottom of that deeper meaning.
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock
I am personally sick and tired of the hero’s journey, and think Murdock has written a really compelling book about a different kind of storytelling. Instead of a story of a hero climbing a mountain to defeat an antagonist in an epic battle, Murdock depicts the heroine’s journey as one of sinking down and collapsing inwards. Her diagram of a story feels strikingly like Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, but it is all about personal and interior growth, rather than vanquishing a dragon in the Campbellian sense. And frankly, that’s very exciting to me, and opened my eyes to the idea that Western stortytelling tropes do not need to define how stories work. This would be a great read for producers and executives in particular, because it will provide you an entirely new way of thinking about how to develop material, one that isn’t quite as rigid as the stodgy old men of Hollywood who mostly populate this reading list.
The 21st Century Screenplay by Linda Aronson
Speaking of non-traditional structures, Linda Aronson’s book breaks down all sorts of different story structures available to film including split protagonists, ensemble stories, antiheroes, and so much more. If you are trying to write a “nontraditional” screenplay, there’s a pretty good chance this book has a list of great examples of similar films and dissects how and why those work as well as they do. This is one of the screenwriting books I most often reference!
The Expanded Syllabus: books that aren’t just about screenwriting but are still incredibly valuable reads
On Writing by Stephen King
This really is just one of the seminal texts on writing. Stephen King’s approach is very practical, entirely unfussy, and it combines fiction writing advice with a really compelling memoir. I love how blue collar and workaday King’s approach to writing sounds. Get your butt in the chair and write every day. It’s as simple as that.
Three Uses of the Knife by David Mamet
No comment on Mamet as a man. But as the writer of a text on writing, he does a very good job explaining how to write a compelling drama.
[If you like Mamet’s writing, I’d also recommend his book On Directing Film. It’s a practical (and quite short!) guide to how he approaches everything in the filmmaking process]
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Wow. This book is in and of itself an entire semester long course on constructing the short story, taught through the lens of Russian Literature. I never really connected with Russian Literature until reading this book, in which Saunders makes it eminently relatable. And I have never in my life read a better explanation and guide to how and why rewriting and revisions work. Saunders brings you into the way he thinks about a story, and his iterative approach to reading and rereading and rereading. This is a dense workbook of a text, but boy oh boy do I recommend it. Also you should follow along with his substack if you aren’t already, there’s no smarter writer about writing out there.
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
This is more memoir than anything else, but it’s nice to hear tales from Old Hollywood and be reminded that the business was crazy then too. Goldman is a great writer, period, and it’s always good to keep in mind his primary message of the book: “Nobody knows anything.” It was true then, and it’s true today.
Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
A very practical combination of advice and Hollywood gossip, this fits into the same camp as Goldman’s book, but it’s all about the process that comes after the writing… which, as it turns out, is a lot of the movie making. Lumet is brilliant, and does some very nice post-mortem reflection on what does and doesn’t work about his various projects over the years.
Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics by Michael Rabiger
This is a really good primer on directing. Even if you don’t want to be a director, it’s good to know how they’re going to be thinking about things like composition, visual storytelling, talking with actors and crew, and everything about filmmaking that happens after the script. Every single part of the filmmaking process completely re-shapes the end product, and it’s important to know as much about all of it as you can.
Film Directing Shot by Shot by Steven D. Katz
A staple of directing textbooks, this one is all about visual storytelling. How to break down a script and think about the composition and construction of meaning in each and every frame. A great great great thing to keep in mind as a writer.
Directing Actors by Judith Weston
If you are interested in directing your own work, I’d recommend taking an acting class at some point, and definitely reading a book about directing actors. You can overcome just about anything in a film except for bad sound and bad acting!
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Superb writing advice that can (and should) be applied to any medium. Not to mention fun and funny and light. Every writer I know recommends this book and for good reason!
Okay, so these are more self-help books than “writing” books, but sometimes that’s what you need!
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
This is another book about getting your butt in the chair. Pressfield has written what feels more like a self-help book about art than a guide to making art, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a swift kick in the pants. I think some of his philosophy is a little too boot camp / military coded for me, but hey, if you’re feeling stuck, maybe that’s what you’re looking for. I do think he’s onto something in here about “Resistance” being the main thing that all writers face, and all writers have to find ways to overcome.
Writing from the Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo
A book about combating writers’ block! I love a psychology / self-help art book, and this definitely fits the bill. Palumbo digs into the why behind writing, and the why behind not writing.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
This book changed my life! Yes it’s very “woo woo.” But personally I’d much rather read woo woo than drill sergeant, and you can’t really argue with the fact that millions of people have read this, followed Cameron’s guide, and had their lives changed for the better. I highly highly highly recommend doing this if you are feeling stuck as an artist. If you are doing it, you’ve got to commit. It’s a weeks-long experience, but genuinely one of the most profound and life-changing programs you will undertake as a writer.
Well, there’s your list! Better start reading!
How do these picks strike you? If you were writing your own screenwriting curriculum are there any you’d strike from the syllabus or demand be included?
And how do you all feel about this Screenwriting 101 format? Any other back to school basics you’d like me to cover?
Let me know in the comments.
Stellar list!
Just a fantastic list, I would add two more books to it:
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin and Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons by Mike Reiss.