Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

This is perhaps the most widely recognized screenwriting book of them all. Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat is a brilliant look at the industry with a bias towards what type of material sells. Here is an excerpt from a review.

The premise of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat screenwriting book is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of what kinds of scripts sell and more importantly, what sells in Hollywood. As the tag line of the book suggests, all you need to do is save the cat and everyone is happy in the end. Yes, Hollywood loves happy endings because they feel it is necessary to send people home after a movie feeling good.
This book’s relevance, by today’s standards, has faded somewhat over the last few years as we have seen a rise in successful movies that have no happy ending. That said, the largest mainstream audience is still the G-rated crowd and they love their happy endings.
As far as being a book that can teach you how to write a good screenplay, it is not. I originally read this book three times because I kept feeling like I had missed something. Every time I sat down to attack one of my scripts and apply some Blake Snyder to it, I realized I couldn’t; it is too light on screenwriting specifics.

Save the Cat — So what is it good for?
This title should be called “The Last Book on Screenwriting you should read”. It won’t help with the actual writing but every screenwriter should have this book floating around in his or her consciousness when working on a script. If you are interested in playing the game (writing for success instead of artistic fulfillment), know the rules.
It is a great read that every screenwriting junkie should flip through. I really did laugh my pants off.

Here you can find the full review for Save the Cat eBook

Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger

A Screenwriting Book Review For “Making a Good Script Great”
By Gregory Adams

Linda Seger’s screenwriting book “Making a Good Script Great” has developed a bit of a cult-like following over the past years. It is a very good book for scriptwriting that provides a lot of real world examples to accentuate her points; this I believe is the primary reason for its success. She just plain has a good way of illustrating what she talks about through popular reference. It does not offer the same easy to follow specifics of a title like Screenwriting Goldmine by Philip Gladwin, but it is definitely in the category of must read literature.

Other Relevant Titles by Linda Seger

Some other books of note (worth reading) by this author are Advanced Screenwriting, Making a Good Writer Great, Creating Unforgettable Characters and The Art of Adaptation.

Making a Good Script Great

This one covers all the screenwriting book essentials like subplots, motivation, turning points, beats, back story, and themes; all described in easy to understand language and referenced with a variety of movies for relevant emphasis.

The book follows the typical screenwriting curriculum by being organized into four different sections on story structure, idea development, character development, and a case study for punctuation. What makes this book successful is Seger’s ability to use popular movies as a reference for defining each element of structure she introduces; this makes all her points relevant and illustrates the professional success of those that have implemented similar techniques.

Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger is one of the better books on the art of screenwriting and should be on every writers bookshelf. Although Linda herself has not written many successful screenplays her book is highly regarded and has helped many writers to improve their work.

More Good Reads:
Another screenwriting book to read would be ScreenwritingGoldmine by Philip Gladwin or Trottier’s book The Screenwriters Bible (which is a gem for helping you actually sell your script; it comes with contact and query forms and a marketing action plan). You will want this one at some point too.

You can grab these and other important books on the art and craft of screenwriting at: http://www.squidoo.com/screenwriting-book.

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Writing Drama; a Comprehensive Guide for Playwrights and Scriptwriters by: Yves Lavandier

Writing Drama by Yves Lavandier is a two-part study in creating a successful screenplay. He begins with the fundamental mechanics of writing good drama like obstacles, conflict and characterization and moves into an examination of plot points, structure, irony, comedy and many more essential elements.
He eventually gets down to the actual creation of a working script and includes short sections on adaptations, short films, documentaries, and writing for children.
Yves Lavandier is an extraordinarily intelligent man with a strong sense of story telling ethics and this book is often considered too complex and heavy for the American Marketplace. He is a true artist and this is reflected in the style of his book. Consider this one a must read.

More comments on this book may be found here.

You can order it Online from Best Screenwriting Books or look for it in a store near you.

The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script

First off, I just don’t know where to begin with this one. It is a bible. It would take an entire book to properly review The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script. Because it is more of a complete package than just a book, it is difficult to review. You know, but I will try.
David Trottier has given us a thick read with an army of support material and industry insight. It is a complete guide to writing, formatting and selling your script and is an absolute must have for any writer. This book and Screenwriting Goldmine are never far from my reach.

Stuff you get
1. He shows you proper screenplay format in a variety of forms.
2. You get 50+ pages of sample scenes and a complete analysis of each one.
3. A load of worksheets that have detailed instructions that guide you in creating a strong marketing plan.
4. Sample contact and query letters for pitching your script.
5. And a bunch of other stuff all geared towards writing and selling your script.

The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by David Trottier is a bible that every writer should possess. This book is what you will probably use to forge a career.

Screenwriting Goldmine by Philip Gladwin

This screenwriting ebook by Philip Gladwin may be the fastest route to a production worthy script available. It is a brutally short 65 pages of screenwriting gems, insight and technique. It is relatively simple and to the point. There are no wasted pages, it is all good stuff. He pretty much guides you from blank page to first draft, telling you what you should be thinking about and when you should be thinking it.

He is very big on planning your script and then just filling in the color. He has been (and still is) a working professional for 2 decades and knows how to craft a production worthy script. Look him up on the International Movie Database. Screenwriting Goldmine is probably the best start any aspiring screenwriter can get. Structure is so important and thats what he is about.

Here are some links if you want to grab a copy (either one works). His book was $130 in stores a few years ago, and I haven’t seen it in a book store since. I believe it is only available Online as an E-Book (how I got mine) and thankfully, because it’s an ebook it only costs $50-60. It is worth every penny.

Screenwriting Ebook

Screenwriting Book