Reviews of the best books for script development.
Of the hundreds of books on screenwriting and allied subjects - from psychology to salesmanship - most are a total waste of time. To save you years of wasted reading, we at ScreenLab have spent our own wasted years checking out which are worth your attention and which should go straight to the local charity shop. And we've even set up links so you can buy them direct from Amazon and save those extra minutes of clicking.
- Favourites
- Adaptation
- Alternative Writing
- Basic Rules
- First Draft Writing
- Genre
- Other Kinds of Writing
- Psychology for Writers
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FAVOURITES
Alternative Scriptwriting - Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush (Focal Press). Probing thoughts on the rules and how (and why) to break them. We've read many books on the rules of screenwriting (and there are some good ones) but the only two that probe deeply into why the rules of screenwriting work, and when and why they don't are - this one and Linda Aranson's.
From the first, Dancyger and Rush treat the reader (/writer) with intelligence and respect, offering solid and thought-provoking analysis of such hoary old themes as act structures and useful hints on how to use (and adapt) them. Although expensive, the book is worth its money alone just for the chapters on that much-maligned and highly neglected issue of genre. If it has a weakness, then it lies in the area of how to translate those theories into actual, living practice (for this see Aronson and Goldberg). But overall, if you've ever wanted to do more than just put the turning points where Fields and McKee tell you to, then this is a must-read.
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Gardner provides stimulating exercises, discussion of conventional and unconventional story structures and a reading list of contemporary fiction writers that is essential to anyone who wishes to become an accomplished writer in any form.
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David Allen has spent years organising people and has boiled down his philosophy into a series of simple yet scarily effective steps, from dealing with the thousands of demands on your time, through to planning your projects in the most efficient way and deciding on the very best thing to do next. Before you know it, you'll be clearing your inbox and creating time to do those things you really enjoy.
I was sceptical. Tried it, and it works. Highly recommended for all workoholics, and non-workoholics, who want to get that script finished and get a life at the same time.
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Hitchcock's Secret Notebooks - Dan Auiler (Bloomsbury). Fascinating first-hand materials from a master at work. Hitchcock's Secret Notebooks is actually a collection of notes, scraps, transcriptions of meetings, sketches, development breakdowns and storyboards from beginning to end of Hitch's career.
And if that hasn't got you salivating then there's (for example) a side by side comparison of the whole of four different treatments for Rebecca (including a stage adaptation), Hitchcock's detailed notes for the sound mix of The Birds, and so many detailed notes on story discussions that you feel you've been sitting in Hitchcock's office with him.
For Hitchcock fans, there's confirmation (if it were ever needed) that he was deeply involved with the writing of his films, even if he never took a screenwriting credit. For writers and directors there's a wealth of insights into the creative process of one of cinema's most original and distinctive voices. My only gripe that at 570 pages I was left wanting more!
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Based on immensely detailed lecture notes and personally drawn storyboards from Mackendrick's teaching days at California Institute of the Arts, it draws on the fruits of a long and successful career, taking the reader from how to nurture first ideas, through to drafting, rewriting and breaking down scripts for shooting. While the chapters on film grammar, shooting and editing are good, the sections giving live examples from his experience of working with some of the great writers are worth the money alone.
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Screenwriting Updated - Linda Aronson (Silman-James Press, LA). One of the very best screenwriting textbooks I've read, Aronson's book will work for you as an introduction to the basics, and then stay with you as you develop and begin to delve into more advanced issues such as non-standard structures and flashback structures.
Aronson is an experienced script consultant and teacher as well as a successful fiction writer, and has aimed her book equally at beginner and experienced writers, neither of whom should be disappointed. Starting at the very beginning with the very basics of creativity, she moves on from there to a very solid and practical approach to building a story premise. The first half of the book continues to develop the basics, but even here I suspect more advanced writers will still find useful ideas and story tools.
The second half then moves up a gear, looking at screenwriting structure from a fresh angle, including both standard and non-standard approaches. A chapter on films whose structure didn't work is well worth detailed reading. If I want to be nitpicking, the end sections on dialogue and treatment writing feel like afterthoughts, added under pressure of a publisher wanting a book that covers all the bases. These are elements that need more space to develop. But as I say, these are minor niggles in a book has already become a key textbook in major film schools and will be much thumbed on your reference shelf.
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Excellent both for basics and advanced, and not just for actors but all those involved in radio drama.
Radio Acting: Studio Work, Radio Adverts, Voice-Overs, Voice Production, Technical Production (Stage and Costume): Studio Work, Radio Adverts, Voice-Overs, ... Technical Production (Stage and Costume)
Click here to buy now
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