Im going to buy from amazon Sid Fields SCREENPLAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF SCREENWRITING as Sandra Elstree suggest to me.

Is any other book worth buy it? ( i hope yes).......

The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier has its moments too. It's a good start-up tool if you're new to the game. Just remember though, books can only teach you so much.

Quoted from sniper The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier has its moments too. It's a good start-up tool if you're new to the game. Just remember though, books can only teach you so much.

Thanks Rob , i made the order .......

Im not new in the game of sceenwriting , but you can say im new in reading screenwriter's books.....

Michael Hauge-Writing Screenplays That Sell
I've recently finished this book and plan to read Save The Cat next.  Hauge's book discusses writing and also the business side. Worth a read, IMO.

You have all the material at your fingertips on your computer... You should be more resourceful. Syd and Trottier can teach you the fundamentals of structure, but they can't teach you how to tell a better story. You either have it or you don't.  You can structure a shitty story flawlessly, but guess what? It's still a shitty story...

I've read every book you can think of about it. I've taken classes and workshops... I've talked to countless many. I've done it all... Talked to producers and agents. None of them gave me an idea for a screenplay.
G'luck

Quoted from Baltis. You have all the material at your fingertips on your computer... You should be more resourceful. Syd and Trottier can teach you the fundamentals of structure, but they can't teach you how to tell a better story. You either have it or you don't.  You can structure a shitty story flawlessly, but guess what? It's still a shitty story... I've read every book you can think of about it. I've taken classes and workshops... I've talked to countless many. I've done it all... Talked to producers and agents. None of them gave me an idea for a screenplay. G'luck

He has a point. Bit downbeat like, but true.

I'd say it's not so much the initial ideas that make story. They come to you as you plan then write and rewrite. Er, I digress as usual.

If you've a fair idea what you're doing I found Denny Laine's "How Not To Write A Screenplay" invaluable as he points out all the mistakes people make. He does have the odd strange idea but don't we all?

The vast majority of it though I found to be spot on. Great examples from pro scripts from famous and not so famous films. It was about half the price of all those arse numingly dull books too.

You're welcome.

RV

Hi Dimitris,

I would also recommend The Screenwriter's Bible from David Trottier. It will teach you the fundamental principals of story telling, structure and formatting (but it does go over the top a bit in the formatting department). It’s nice and easy to read and I do find myself opening it up now and again for something or another.

Adam

Thanks guys for the feedback.

Unfortunately i have allready make the order so i can't consider buying some of the books you mention.

I dont expect from someone who wrote a book to teach me how to write.... I write for 30 months now , allready 4 features behind me , and i think im a good story teller ( or maybe a deluded one....). I want to buy these books because i have never take any cources and i feel its very UNprofessional to become a screenwriter without any practical knowledge.... Ok i have read many scripts, i  have learn many things from various sites but a book can be no harm.

Maybe it helps , maybe not.....

But im excited to read them. Im excited to anything in screenwriting........

Quoted from Dimitris Thanks guys for the feedback. Unfortunately i have already make the order so i can't consider buying some of the books you mention. I dont expect from someone who wrote a book to teach me how to write.... I write for 30 months now , already 4 features behind me , and i think im a good story teller ( or maybe a deluded one....). I want to buy these books because i have never take any courses and i feel its very Unprofessional to become a screenwriter without any practical knowledge.... Ok i have read many scripts, i  have learn many things from various sites but a book can be no harm. Maybe it helps , maybe not..... But im excited to read them. Im excited to anything in screenwriting........

A simple trip to the library couldn't hurt... They have all these book and more, ya know. Also, if you're hell bent on reading up about screenwriting... The only book you really need to read is "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood" by Joe Eszterhas.  It's the single best book I've ever read covering the business. Sure it has little to do with structure and all that, but it educates you and prepares you for the bumpy road you're about to travel on should you venture off into the world of writing.

It's like this... A dictionary has a shit ton of words in it... Words you probably use everyday. How often do you pull it out a day and reference it? Screenwriting is no different. Once you learn what a word means, you seldom go back and try to learn what it means again. Same wiith screenwriting... Once you learn it, you  won't be going back time and time again trying to hammer out why the character cue's are placed where they are or how they are.  

Same with music... I've been playing professionally for almost 10 years -- unprofessionally for 14. You don't see me going back trying to learn how to chord a C or an F. I've learned and moved on.  

What is the meaning of this long rant? Well, check the books out and be done with it. Learn what you need to. Take notes and move on. Don't waste money on books you'll never read again. Waste the money on good software to write with. Movies you can study up on or an inflatable date...

G'luck

Quoted from Baltis. A simple trip to the library couldn't hurt... They have all these book and more, ya know. Also, if you're hell bent on reading up about screenwriting... The only book you really need to read is "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood" by Joe Eszterhas.  It's the single best book I've ever read covering the business. Sure it has little to do with structure and all that, but it educates you and prepares you for the bumpy road you're about to travel on should you venture off into the world of writing. It's like this... A dictionary has a shit ton of words in it... Words you probably use everyday. How often do you pull it out a day and reference it? Screenwriting is no different. Once you learn what a word means, you seldom go back and try to learn what it means again. Same wiith screenwriting... Once you learn it, you  won't be going back time and time again trying to hammer out why the character cue's are placed where they are or how they are.   Same with music... I've been playing professionally for almost 10 years -- unprofessionally for 14. You don't see me going back trying to learn how to chord a C or an F. I've learned and moved on.   What is the meaning of this long rant? Well, check the books out and be done with it. Learn what you need to. Take notes and move on. Don't waste money on books you'll never read again. Waste the money on good software to write with. Movies you can study up on or an inflatable date... G'luck

Baltis thanks for the advices and the infos.... You know maybe you are right about the books , i hope they have some interesting things in them , not only structure.... We will see maybe they will help.....

P.S. A trip to library? Here in Greece you can't find a sreenwriting book in library.

P.S. 2 The books costs me only 16 euros( 21 dollars) so its not a big amount at all.

Quoted from rendevous If you've a fair idea what you're doing I found Denny Laine's "How Not To Write A Screenplay" invaluable as he points out all the mistakes people make. He does have the odd strange idea but don't we all?

If I remember correctly it was pretty funny too.

I agree with Baltis that no one can teach you how to tell a better story, however, maybe some people are like me, never short on ideas, but lack the skill to write a great script and reading and learning how to is something I really need to do.

A book that's on my list to get is Steve Tesich's "Karoo". I would love to get inside the mind of this gentleman.

From Wikipedia:

His novel Karoo was published posthumously in 1998. Arthur Miller described the novel: "Fascinating—a real satiric invention full of wise outrage.” The novel was a New York Times Notable Book for 1998. The novel also appeared in a German translation as Abspann.

I MUST read this book late 2009 or beginning of 2010. I'm looking forward to it so very much! And I thank SOMEONE here on Simplyscripts for including it in one of there posts back, I don't know how long ago.

Sandra

The books are here... (The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier, Screenplay the foundation of screenwriting by Syd Field).

I was so excited and start reading imediately. Starting with Syd Field's book. It is nice to read such a passionate story about screenwriting and film making. If you live here you would understand. Noone here cares for such things!

Thanks everyone for the recomendations.

Bit late in the day, I know, but I'd also recommend J Michael Straczynski's "Complete Screenwriting", a great book by a great writer.

I'd also second Baltis' choice of the Eszterhas book, which is also excellent.

I recommend:
"Story" by Robert McKee
"Save The Cat" by Blake Snyder

Also, Blake's website still has all his blogs on there. Great stuff. Great Loss

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.

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).

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