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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Discussion of...    Books  ›  Screenwriting books. Moderators: Old Time Wesley, Chris_MacGuffin
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  Author    Screenwriting books.  (currently 2822 views)
ajr
Posted: November 24th, 2009, 5:26pm Report to Moderator
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Hi - I'm new here, but thought I would weigh in since I find this topic interesting...

I read 7 books before I started writing, including one by Sid Field, and to be honest, I didn't find him helpful.  His mantra is of course the 3 act structure and he rarely strays from it long enough to give pragmatic advice IMO...

The 3 I found most helpful were:

Screenwriting For Dummies (I kid you not) - Laura Schellhardt
Crafty Screenwriting - Alex Epstein

and for formatting:

The Hollywood Standard - Christopher Riley

Also a great read was Eric Lax's interviews with Woody Allen.  Fascinating insight into his career and his writing process.


Click HERE to read JOHN LENNON'S HEAVEN https://preview.tinyurl.com/John-Lennon-s-Heaven-110-pgs/
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Sparrow
Posted: May 7th, 2011, 10:43am Report to Moderator
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Yes The Screenwriter's Bible (3rd Edition or better if there is one by now) by David Trottier is a good read but I'd say get it from the library and save your money for ink and paper as the best way to learn how to write screenplays is to READ screenplays, ones you've either seen the movie to already or are from produced writers you respect such as The Wachowski's (even if it is unproduced).


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dogglebe
Posted: May 7th, 2011, 12:46pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Sparrow
the best way to learn how to write screenplays is to READ screenplays


Yes and no.

While screenplays are often great models, they don't explain why things are formatted the way they are or what is wrong in formatting.  

Also, too often, a beginner will model his script after a shooting script and not a spec script.  This just isn't right.  Often, these model scripts are by established writers who can get away with breaking formatting rules.  The new writer hasn't earned that right yet.


Phil  
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