1. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

Author : Syd Field

Screenplay: The Foundations Of Screenwriting offers a step-by-step guide about screenwriting, from the concept to a finished script, and is written by the master screenwriter himself.

Screenplay: The Foundations Of Screenwriting is an upgraded version of Syd Field’s classical guide in screenwriting for aspiring and experienced writers. The book deals with the inception of a concept, crafting and development of characters, and plotting the opening scene to the completion of a script. The book is updated with trends and perspectives on the evolving film industry. The book helps writers on the basics of screenwriting including building up engaging dialogues, character creation and development, how to build the story line, finding the right agent to market your book, and much more. The book also throws a fresh perspective on marketing and collaborations, along with the assessment of successful films, including American Beauty and the Lord Of The Rings series. Screenplay: The Foundations Of Screenwriting is available in paperback and was published by RHUS in 2005.

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2. Complete Screenwriting Course: A complete guide to writing, developing and marketing a script for TV or film

Author : Charles Harris

Designed to take you from the moment you first put your pen to paper to pitching and selling your completed screenplay, this is one of the most inspiring books on screenwriting you'll ever read.

Practical exercises will teach you the craft of writing for film and television, both mainstream and independent, the art of building your own plots, characters, dialogue and scenes. It gives you the skills you need to succeed and helps you critique your own work, meaning that at every step of the writing process you'll be producing the best scripts you can.

This book is filled with essential writing tools, including techniques for overcoming writer's block and how to find your unique voice. You will learn how to pitch and get your work optioned, how to work as part of a team and how to make the best use of social media - in all a comprehensive companion that you will keep coming back to as your career develops..

3. Your Screenplay Sucks

Author : William M Akers

A lifetime member of the Writer's Guild of America who has had three feature films produced from his screenplays, Akers offers beginning writers the tools they need to get their screenplay noticed.

4. The Coffee Break Screenwriter : Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time

Author : Pilar Alessandra

A leading Hollywood screenwriting instructor shows anyone who's ever wanted to write a screenplay how to do it 10 minutes at a time.

5. The 21st-Century Screenplay: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Tomorrow's Films

Author : Linda Aronson

The 21st-Century Screenplay is a comprehensive and highly practical screenwriting manual. An eagerly anticipated successor to the author’s internationally acclaimed book Scriptwriting Updated, it covers classic to avant-garde scripts, from The African Queen and Tootsie to 21 Grams, Pulp Fiction, Memento, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Whether you want to write features, shorts, adaptations, genre films, ensemble films, blockbusters, or art house movies, this book is your road map, it takes you all the way from choosing a brilliant idea to plotting, writing, and rewriting a successful script. Featuring a range of insider survival tips on creativity under pressure, time-effective writing, and rising to the challenge of international competitions, The 21st-Century Screenplay is essential reading for newcomers and veterans alike.

6. The Nutshell Technique

Author : Jill Chamberlain

Veteran script consultant Jill Chamberlain discovered in her work that an astounding 99 percent of first-time screenwriters don't know how to tell a story. These writers may know how to format a script, write snappy dialogue, and set a scene. They may have interesting characters and perhaps some clever plot devices. But, invariably, while they may have the kernel of a good idea for a screenplay, they fail to tell a story. What the 99 percent do instead is present a situation. In order to explain the difference, Chamberlain created the Nutshell Technique, a method whereby writers identify eight dynamic, interconnected elements that are required to successfully tell a story. Now, for the first time, Chamberlain presents her unique method in book form with The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting.

7. Getting It Write : An Insider's Guide to a Screenwriting Career

Author : Lee Zahavi Jessup

There are plenty of books about the craft of screenwriting, and a handful about pitching your screenplay. However, little can be found on how to go from writing to pitching in the professional space. There is no formula, no three-step plan. Getting It Write: An Insider’s Guide to a Screenwriting Career unlocks pragmatic guidance for constructing a screenwriting career, delivered by a sought-after industry authority who works with writers both novice and professional. Never pulling any punches, the book aims to decode Hollywood, prepare the writer for the road ahead, and offer tangible avenues for screenwriting success.

8. Inside Story

Author : Dara Marks

What is the secret to writing a great screenplay?

Whether you’re a beginning screenwriter or an A-list Academy Award winner, all writers struggle with the same thing: to get to the great script inside.

Step by step, Inside Story guides you through an extraordinary new process that helps identify your thematic intention—what your story is really about—and teaches you how to turn that intention into the driving force behind all your creative choices. The result is a profound relationship between the movement of the plot and the internal development of character, which is the foundation for the transformational arc.

9. My Story Can Beat Up Your Story

Author : Jeffrey Alan Schechter

My Story Can Beat Up Your Story! is the same powerful, easy-to-learn system that industry insiders have used to generate millions of dollars in script sales and ?assignments. In a clear, step-by-step fashion, this book is a fun, eye-opening,? brain-expanding, and often irreverent guide to writing stories that sell. Covering everything from Heroes to Villains, from Theme to Plot Points, from cooking up good ideas to a business plan for smart writers, this book forever eliminates that horrible feeling every writer goes through staring at the blank page and wondering what comes next?

10. Into the Woods

Author : John Yorke

We all love stories. But why do we tell them? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke, creator of the BBC Writers' Academy, has brought a vast array of drama to British screens. Here he takes us on a journey to the heart of storytelling, revealing that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative forms - one that echoes the fairytale journey into the woods and, like any great art, comes from deep within. From ancient myths to big-budget blockbusters, he gets to the root of the stories that are all around us, every day.