(Part 2) Top products from r/Screenwriting

Welcome to the community! Happy to see a new face join in; I'm a little new to reddit myself, but, I've got a few places and lessons that have helped me develop my craft in a major way.

1. You don't need film school to be a filmmaker. Period. The only things you need are an idea, the ability to make the time develop it, and the passion to see your project through to any kind of distribution. Actually, coming from an IT background might put you in a better position than many of us; some of the more customizable screenwriting tools like Scrivener could benefit from an understanding of coding so as to make the program truly your own. Never feel like just because someone has a degree in the field that they are somehow more qualified to tell a story than you; write, write honestly, and write often. Those are the only prerequisites.
   
   
2. I recommend two books as primary sources: Story by Robert McKee and The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier. The former is for actual story development and the latter is the only formatting book you'll ever need. These books were very formative for me, but, it still takes a lot of practice to master the craft; above all things said in these books, nothing replaces sitting down and just writing. That first draft will be rough, because it is for everyone. To keep yourself grounded when it feels like it's impossible to save your current draft, I read Stephen King's On Writing. This book, while not directly related to screenwriting, is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. It's so much more than just instruction, it's an honest memoir that is meant to speak to the writing process and its tribulations. I cannot recommend it enough.
   
   
3. For free blogs, I recommend https://johnaugust.com for anything screenwriting. His prose is fantastic, and always a joy to read, and most of his blogs actually center on aspects of screenplays oft neglected by theory and craft books.
   
   
4. Video Essays are a mixed bag. Some channels are fantastic and consistently informative, like Lessons From The Screenplay (YouTube). Others are designed to hook you in to a watch loop; which is dangerous when you're starting out as a writer. It's recommended to disengage and recharge your batteries with these between writing sessions, but, be careful not to over-indulge. The worst thing you can do is get caught up in criticisms of other works and neglect creating your own.
   
   
5. There are dozens of legitimate options for screenwriting software, each with their own merits and drawbacks. Final Draft is the (expensive) industry standard, Fade In is an emergent favorite among some circles, Celtx is web-hosted freeware, and Scrivener is a robust and intimidating toolbox with nigh-infinite possibilities. At the end of the day, it will not matter what you use, just the efficiency at which you write with it. Experiment. Try each one when you have the ability to use their trials. Decide for yourself, because no one can be certain they'll love any particular software over another.
   
   
6. Finally, read screenplays! It is so under-spoken how much reading produced speculative scripts (meaning scripts that were sold for production) will help your writing. My personal favorite screenplay is Bill Lancaster's second draft of The Thing (1981 for the draft, 1982 for the final film). Study how the characters interact with one another, the situations their own paranoia brings them to, and how the author creates mystery through ambitious writing. Just as in the final film, Lancaster is able to evoke unease in the reader by scene set-up and bare-bones character conflicts. It differs wildly from the film at many points, and arguably would have been a worse film had it been produced verbatim. It's a perfect example of how the first, or even the second, draft will not be the end of things; you will ALWAYS rewrite, and that is a god send! Your script may become a classic in the third or fourth draft, but you'll never know if you're satisfied with the first.
   
   Welcome to the craft. If you want some coverage on your draft, I'd love to give feedback once you're ready. Cheers!

• Writing the Romantic Comedy
  by Billy Mernit
  
  
• Not on Kindle, which is my main gripe. Very useful structure.
  
• Supposedly the ebook is a coming. I'm ready.
  
  
• Writing the Comedy Blockbuster: The Inappropriate Goal
  by Keith Giglio
  
  
• Save the Cat but focused specifically on writing comedies. Really focuses on making sure you derive maximum conflict from your protagonist meeting your premise.
  
  
• Elephant Bucks: An Insider's Guide to Writing for TV Sitcoms
  by Sheldon Bull
  
  
• A decades long professional writer and showrunner tells you how to write a sitcom. You're dumb if you wanna write sitcoms and haven't cracked this open yet.
  
  
• How to Write Funny: Your Serious, Step-By-Step Blueprint For Creating Incredibly, Irresistibly, Successfully Hilarious Writing
  by Scott Dikkers
  
  
• Again, a professional explains how he works. Dikkers was head writer on The Onion for years and years.
  
  
  
• Writing the Pilot
  by William Rabkin
  
• Again, a veteran showrunner explains what he knows.
  
  
• Screenwriting is Rewriting: The Art and Craft of Professional Revision 1st Edition
  by Jack Epps Jr
  
• Fucking gold. I'd read it even before you start a first draft.
  
  
• William Martell Blue Books
  
• Three Hundred Pages on Act Two and how to craft it. Three Hundred and Ten pages on the first ten pages of your screenplay! Three hundred and ninety! Pages! On! Action lines!
  
• Essential if you want to really dig deep on a specific skill of screenwriting.
  
  
  
• Writing for emotional impact : advanced dramatic techniques to attract, engage, and fascinate the reader from beginning to end by Karl Iglesias
  
• A very useful lens to think about screenwriting through. I'd consider this the intro to the kind of specificity that the Blue Books will break down into.
  
  
• Writing Movies for Fun and Profit by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
  
• Four quadrant movies are probably the hardest movies to do well. And these guys did them, very well. Plus the book will make you laugh as you read it.
  
  
• Writing the Other by by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward
  
  • Which is a practical guide to writing about experiences that are not your own, with a focus on race, gender, and sexual orientation.
    
• It'll definitely inform my take the next time reddit implodes on who can write what character.
  
  
  ----------
  
  The only non Screenwriter on the list are Scott Dikkers, Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward.
  
  -----
  
  
  I'm Currently going through:
  
  
• Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It by James Geary
  
  • I am always trying to be smarter and funnier. And funny smart people get hired.
    
    
    
• Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron
  
• The science behind why we enjoy narrative and how that can guide writers to write well.
  
  And want to read:
  
  
• The Hero Succeeds: The Character-Driven Guide to Writing Your TV Pilot by Kam Miller
  
• Working Writer. 500 pages on characters in a pilot. Real world examples. Of course I want to read this.
  
• I think I heard about it from Paperteam, or a blog post on the WGA Foundation page.

Do you have a background in comedy? Having experience in improv and/or sketch comedy will definitely be helpful. If you're near any major city, there are probably classes that you can take.

In terms of sketch writing, there are two main things you're going to need to understand. First, and arguably the most important, is the idea of Game. It's the fundamental pattern of what makes funny things funny. The inside joke that is crafted between the performers and the audience.

The second thing is just writing believable dialogue and characters you can invest in. You could have an incredible idea for a sketch, but if the dialogue is weak, then it's going to be harder to keep the audience's attention. Since you're on r/screenwriting, you probably have a good sense of this, so we'll focus on the Game.

In terms of resources, there are a number of great books on improv theory (unfortunately not very much about sketch, but at their core, the scene structure is quite similar).

The Upright Citizens Brigade just released a book that I haven't read yet, but seems like it focuses a lot on game, so it might be helpful. Truth in Comedy is another popular book about improv.

Once you understand the basics of how a comedic scene is crafted, I'd say just watch a lot of sketches. Watch SNL, Britanick, Good Neighbors, anything you can find online. Notice what their Game is. How they build and present their characters. It's the same thing with screenwriting. Once you know the pieces of a strong screenplay, you notice when they're done well or poorly in every movie you see. Then, find a style of comedy that is meaningful and funny to you and start writing!

Sorry for the huge post. I hope this was helpful! Best of luck!

Here are some resources I’ve found interesting and/or useful.

Books

There are over 10,000 results for “screenwriting” when you search for books on Amazon.com, and at least one new screenwriting book is published every week.

Here are some “how to” books I recommend:

• How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
  
• Screenplay (Syd Field)
  
• Story (McKee)
  
• Writing for Emotional Impact
  
• Save the Cat (series)
  
• The Screenwriter’s Bible
  
• My Story Can Beat up Your Story
  
  There are also good books about the screenwriting life. Some of my favorites are:
  
  
• What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting
  
• Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
  
• Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
  
• Just the Funny Parts: … And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club
  
• The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers’ Tales From The Hollywood Trenches
  
  

  Software
  

  
  Some of the most popular screenwriting format programs include:
  
  

• Celtx (free; upgrades available)
  
• Highland (free, with $49.99 pro upgrade)
  
• Final Draft ($249.99 for Final Draft 11; considered over-priced and widely-loathed, but also the industry standard)
  
• Movie Magic ($99.99 for version 6)
  
  More options are discussed here, and you can find about 40 screenwriting programs at The Writer’s Store.
  
  Most programs have free trials, so you can see which one you like best before you commit.
  
  Having screenwriting software is necessary (IMHO) but not sufficient to write a properly formatted screenplay. The software will let you designate dialogue as V.O. (voice over) or O.S. (off-screen), but it won’t explain when you use which. For that, and for many other things, you need to read something that gets into the details of formatting, like The Screenwriter’s Bible.
  
  Many format programs have lots of bells and whistles including:
  
  
• virtual index cards that can be moved around on virtual cork boards,
  
• text-to-speech (so you can hear robots read your screenplay out loud), and
  
• collaboration functions (which are actually useful if you and your writing partner are in different locations or don’t want to crowd around the same screen).
  
  There are also specialized software programs that supposedly help with plotting and structure, character development, etc., but I’ve never used any.
  
  

  Screenplays
  

  
  You can often find screenplays for produced movies by googling the name of the movie along with “PDF.”
  
  Scott Myers has collected a list of 100+ scripts made available by studios and production companies here.
  
  Scripts often appear online around awards season (roughly the three months before the Oscars) but they may disappear later. So if you find a copy of a script you really want to study, it’s a good idea to download and save it.
  
  You can also try Simply Scripts, The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb), and Drew’s Script-O-Rama.
  
  Many libraries and bookstores carry published scripts, but often the format will be somewhat different from the original version.
  
  

I've done a few different methods, and there's probably hundreds more to try. Everyone will have their own opinion, so the best thing to do is try a few, and see what works best for you.

My first ever screenplay was a book adaptation, and I literally opened the book and re-wrote it in screenplay form, page by page, line by line. It was terrible and I will never show it to anyone, but it helped me learn screenplay format.

In general, the treatment usually didn't help me plan my story much. These days I usually just write treatments if it's necessary to send a summary of my script to someone.

Another method is the step outline, where you list out each scene, and the jist of what happens. The problem I found with this one is that it doesn't lend itself to a good screenplay structure.

The method I use now is a notecard method, in which each notecard represents "sequences", not nessesarily scenes. So it could be a cluster of scenes, each driving towards a singular point - "this is the set of scenes where the hero goes on the date, they go to point a, b, and c, and then kiss at the end". Usually these are 5 minute chunks of time, though some are longer and some are shorter. The point is, every 5 minutes or so, something actually needs to happen. There needs to be some kind of conflict, news, tragedy, change or big deal going on.

I use the Story Solution to come up with the sequences, and order them. There's a lot of helpful solutions in the book for what characters typically go through in the course of a movie.

So for act 1, I'll have 6 sequences, and I make sure the hero gets introduced at the appropriate spot, we see the love interest and/or antagonist by the end of act 1, and there's an inciting incident in there, and so on.

For act 2, I'll divide it up into two sets of 6 sequences, making sure my midpoint is a pretty big deal. Usually I'll have sequence 12 on a few different notecards.

Then act 3 is usually 2-4 more notecards. The first one, of course, is the showdown with the adversary or love interest. Then the rest are to wrap it up.

You can lay them all out on a table, read them out loud, add stuff in, move stuff to where it makes more sense with the character arc. I really like having physical cards I can touch and move around.

Then, I write! Sometimes I put the log line in a card at the top, hang it from my computer, and read it out loud before I get started each day. It keeps me focused on my goal.

Anyhow, as I said, what works for me may not work for you. But the best way to find out is to try! Make sure you keep writing every day, even if it's 1 page, and finish your stuff!

I certainly won't discourage you from learning the craft of screenwriting. There are a ton of great resources available to you that will help you understand the format, the structure, the art, and the industry including:

• Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
  
• The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
  
  ... as well as the other books and script databases suggested by redactors in other comments in this thread.
  
  However, I suggest you finish writing your story as a novel before you dive into the screenplay version.
  
  You see, even though you have an outline, you may learn new things about your characters and story as you write it out.
  
  Additionally, you say that you "haven't had much motivation" to finish the book. What makes you think that you'll have the motivation to both start and complete a screenplay, then? Please please please trust me when I say that writing is 0% having the best idea in the world and 100% working your ass off to shape that idea and build it into a story. It takes creativity, sure. But it also takes a shit-ton of determination and hard work. It takes the will to work even when you don't feel like working, even when you're lacking inspiration, even when you've just worked a 10 hour shift, your girlfriend broke up with you, your dog puked on the carpet and all you want to do is get drunk with your buddies and play MarioKart.
  
  And when you've finally finished your story, you'll look back on everything you sacrificed for your art and understand how beautiful it really is to create something.
  
  (Then you'll realize that you need to do a rewrite and you'll want to shoot yourself!)
  
  Most importantly -- at least in my opinion -- a book is a finished product, while a screenplay is a blueprint for an expensive, difficult production and post-production process.
  
  If you have a book, you can self-publish it. You can send it to literary agents and publishing houses. You can put it up on iTunes or Amazon and throw a few hundred dollars against some internet advertising to drive readers to it. You can give it to friends and family as a holiday/birthday gift.
  
  If you have a screenplay, you can ... uh ... well, it's going to be tough. Yes, you can still submit it to agents and production companies. Or you can try to produce it yourself, which will take a cast and crew and most likely a lot of money and time. And yeah, it's totally valuable to dive into that world, but producing is a completely different skill that will take you years and years and years to master.
  
  But if you've completed that book and experience some success with the story you've told, it will make it a LOT easier for people to see the value in investing in your story. And, having already completed telling your story in prose, you may find it a lot easier to translate your book into a screenplay.
  

I'd start with Save the Cat because it's a fun read and does a great job of laying down the basic structure without over-complicating things.


After you've got that down I'd move on to something a bit more theoretical. I would highly recommend The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. It's about playwriting but the structure is similar and it really impressed upon me the importance of structuring a plot around a character and not the other way around.


I'd also recommend The Sequence Approach as a supplemental structure to the traditional 3 Act structure. The book basically breaks a screenplay into a number of goal-oriented sequences that help guide you towards a satisfying resolution.


I'd keep Story by Robert McKee and Screenplay by Syd Field around for references, but they are more like text books for me and not really inspiring.


One of my professors in grad school wrote a book called The Story Solution based on his own interpretation of story structure. Similar to the sequence approach, he breaks out a screenplay into 23 'hero goal sequences' that keep your story grounded and moving forward, while ensuring that your hero is making progress and completing his character arc.


Also, in answer to your beat question: A beat is the smallest block of measurable plot. a collection of beats make a scene, a collection of scenes makes a sequence, a collection of sequences make an act, a collection of acts make a narrative. Every beat of your screenplay needs to serve the premise in some way or you end up with a bloated script that will drag. Many times writers will actually write 'a beat' into their script to show that there is silence or a pause that is significant to the plot. An example might be a brief pause before a character lies to another character.

For a broad and comprehensive overview with less technical information, go for Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk, along with any of his wonderful articles.

For the technical specifics of modern screenwriting, The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley is solid, though it's really not that complicated and I wouldn't worry too much. Just use a program like Celtx to do your formatting and you're sweet.

If you want to blow your mind with dogmatic but largely correct info on the structuring of effective stories in general go for The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri, written about playwriting but incredibly relevant.

I also recommend you learn the basics of filmmaking. I personally believe it's vital to properly writing screenplays (rather than generic writing dressed in screenplay clothes). The stuff's got to be shootable, designed for a reasonable budget, and more importantly, suited to the film medium itself.

A great book for that is On Film-Making by Alexander Mackendrick.

I also highly recommend In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch, written about editing and invaluable. Editing is the essence of film as we know it, so it's in your interests to know it intimately.

ScriptNotes podcast. Literally everything you need to know and how to apply it. They even have this PDF called "The 100 Most Commonly Asked Questions About Screenwriting" that you can download for free here. Would post the actual file, but it's live, meaning it's updated periodically. So I recommend signing up.

If your interested in writing for television the TV Writer's Workbook is a must have. Simplifies everything and uses actual examples from the author's work ("Everybody Loves Raymond") to iterate points.

But most importantly, read. Everything. Especially screenplays. Like, a lot. Start with your favorite movies (or shows). Then go back and watch the film (or episode). What works? What doesn't? And why?

Good luck!

Here are two screenwriting books that I really love that don't get a lot of love:

Writing for Emotional Impact and The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters by Karl Iglesias. Those two go pretty unnoticed but are really insightful.

I also really enjoy:

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television and The Film Director's Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques by Judith Weston. It really helped give me an understanding on how actors look to find their performances and has really informed how I write both dialogue and character actions.

Let the Crazy Child Write!: Finding Your Creative Writing Voice by Clive Matson is great for just untethering your inner critic in some ways.

Lastly, a bit of an unexpected one The Definitive Book on Body Language which gives some interesting insight on how people behave.

I'm in a similar situation, I've read Ellen Sandler's The TV Writer's Workbook. She wrote for Everyone Loves Raymond and the book is very helpful IMO. She advised the following on choosing which show to spec for.

• 1- The show must be on-air. Off-air means it's an old show and not relevant. Any show on-air for more than 5 years is too old to spec for, it's not keeping with the trends.
  
• 2 - It should be a hit show. Hit shows won't likely be cancelled by the time you write your spec. People are familiar with show and character. Hits are copied. Clones are looking for staff. If you wrote a spec of a show they cloned, it shows you can write for the show. Hit shows should be in the top 25-30 in rankings, check Neilsen ratings. Check awards, if it has won or been nominated for Emmys, Golden Globes and Guild Awards (Screen Actor, Director's Guild, Writer's Guild), the industry is aware of the show.
  
• 3 - If you have a connection with someone from a show (cast, crew, etc.), they can get you scripts of that show for you to study. You can also ask for feedback on your spec from one of the writer's on the show.
  
• 4 - Write for a show you like. If you don't like it, it'll show.
  
  Hope that helps. If you need more info on the book, please PM me.

If you have the time and money to spend learning by their structure, why not, it'll give you alot of benefits you'll find handy in the future.

I'm not confident saying this but you'll probably find whatever they are teaching there for free on the internet.

I see that they offer courses by Karl Iglesias who wrote The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers which I remember preordering a long time ago, it included talks with working screenwriters, taught it was a great read.

Ultimately it comes to this:
PROS: Instructor, lectures, fast paced.
CONS: Costs money-you could find what they teach anywhere on the NET/books

EDIT: You said "it seems it should be a lot easier locating beats and acts in a series where commercials doesn't mess everything up." -- I'd say the opposite is true for television. You literally have act breaks on the page for network shows. It really doesn't get clearer than that.

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I struggled with this a lot because I attempted TV pilots after writing features. While simon2it's approach makes a lot of sense, I'd also recommend keeping a few other things in mind:

In network television, commercial breaks DO equal act breaks (at least, that's the norm). And that does mean up to seven acts as opposed to the traditional 4/5 because the number of breaks are on the up. So for studying television structure, broadcast shows (1 hr dramas and 1/2 hour sitcoms) are the best point of entry for newbies, or writers who're trained in features. Watch as many pilots as you can (as these typically lay the structural foundation for episodes to follow), and READ as many pilots as you can. You'll find act breaks on the page. These are available online, but if you struggle to find them, drop me a PM with your e-mail ID and I'll send you a few. I just checked the pilot script for ABC's American Crime, and it has five acts (maybe I'll watch the pilot in a couple days and let you know how this reconciles with the commercial breaks). Mr. Robot doesn't have act divisions on the page.

Next, I'd advise against approaching television structure using Save The Cat or any similar paradigm. I suppose it's theoretically possible, but in my experience, you need to shed "feature thinking" if you really want to understand television structure, which is more liberal and allows you to just focus on telling a really good story. For instance, sitcom episodes are often not goal-driven (as is the norm in features), but tend to build towards a future event which serves as a third-act set piece. Network procedurals might be comparable to features, but things will get really muddy if you use a feature lens to understand cable and streaming.

In sum, to understand television structure: watch tv pilots, and read tv pilots and episodes. Everything you can get your hands on. That's the best education you could possibly have. If you'd like to complement this with theory, I'd recommend these books:

Writing the TV Drama Series, by Pamela Douglas
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-TV-Drama-3rd-Professional/dp/1615930582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452403878&sr=8-1&keywords=pamela+douglas

Future of Television, by Pamela Douglas
http://www.amazon.com/Future-Television-Guide-Creating-World/dp/1615932143/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452403878&sr=8-2&keywords=pamela+douglas

Into the Woods, by John Yorke
http://www.amazon.com/Into-Woods-Five-Act-Journey-Story/dp/1468310941/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1452403897&sr=8-9&keywords=into+the+woods

Daniel Calvisi's books & seminars are helpful -- I'm reading this one right now and it was worth the buy:

https://www.amazon.com/STORY-MAPS-Structure-One-Hour-Television/dp/0983626685/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1L4GN8POKEJFF&keywords=daniel+calvisi&qid=1571069394&sprefix=daniel+calvisi%2Caps%2C345&sr=8-2

I also love this breakdown in The Atlantic re: half hour comedies:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/cracking-the-sitcom-code/384068/

Good luck!

WRITING THE PILOT, by William Rabkin

Other people will have more experience with this and probably some better recs, but I found this to be a succinct and helpful summary of how the blueprint of a successful pilot differs from other forms. It's written for American TV (so the idea is 100+ episodes), but I think it's useful for anything with sustained story lines and looooong arcs (and you can always choose to truncate the arc and have 'em learn nothing and end up right where they started for the next season / episode / whatever).

I'm in the same boat. I've found countless books on feature structure/writing, but hardly anything about how to write/plan a damn tv show lol So far, I really like Crafty TV Writing, it gives you a general run-down about what makes a good tv series, coming up with episode ideas, different approaches to the pilot, and a bunch of other cool stuff. It seems more geared towards sitcoms than dramatic TV, but I still think it's worth checking out.

Dr. Strangelove

Act One: General Ripper initiates Plan R.

Act Two: General Ripper goes batshit bonkers and everyone else tries to stop the impending nuclear apocalypse.

Act Three: There's a glimmer of hope, and it is gloriously snuffed out in one of the best examples of black comedy in all of cinema.

I could break down more of them, but I have work to do. But I will say that I have NEVER read a screenwriting book that DIDN'T mention Chinatown. It's a go-to film for discussing narrative and dramatic principles.

I hope that if you have any aspirations of being a screenwriter that you read all of the comments in this thread. I also recommend this book, which I found invaluable when I first started writing screenplays.

I personally really enjoyed Joe Eszterhas's book (https://www.amazon.ca/Devils-Guide-Hollywood-Screenwriter-God/dp/0312373848). It's mainly anecdotal tidbits, but some of them are genuinely hilarious. There are a few similar ones on Amazon that might also be helpful.

Happy to help. Professor's name is David Howard. Here are his books, if you're interested in more from him.

https://www.amazon.com/Tools-Screenwriting-Writers-Elements-Screenplay/dp/0312119089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479269952&sr=8-1&keywords=david+howard

https://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Great-Screenplay-Storytelling/dp/031235262X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479269952&sr=8-3&keywords=david+howard

I found this book, from the Gotham Writers' Workshop, to be a very helpful and comprehensive guide to story structure, formatting, character development, outlining, etc. This should serve as a good starting point. Just keep in mind that screenwriting is a visual art. You're putting together the blueprint for a film, so the writing itself should be sparse but effective. Unlike literature, screenwriting focuses more on craft than it does on turn of phrase or the "art" of writing.

Grit and determination are mandatory to make it in this biz - not to get all weird and shit, but I found this book to be helpful. I'm 32, and I'm just hitting my stride (in terms of output, my shit still blows) and part of getting to a place where I can write 30-40 pages a week was by learning how to buckle down and fucking get shit done.

EDIT - There's no secret, you just gotta fucking crank pages. BUT I do find the Pomodoro method helpful where I write for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break and repeat. Its nice because I spend those 5 minutes on reddit which I love :)

Two books that I found very helpful:

[The Anatomy of Story by John Truby](https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Story-
Becoming-Master-Storyteller/dp/0865479933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494365551&sr=8-1&keywords=john+truby)

(Also look him up on Youtube: Anatomy Of Story: The Complete Film Courage Interview with John Truby)

and

Three Uses of the Knife by David Mamet

Ya know, I'm not much of a book peddler. I think reading any book on conventional screenplay structure is just one more angle on the same damned thing. Save the Cat is the go-to accessible encapsulation of all that convention. Read it if you haven't read it.

But a book that reeeeaaaally helped me was The Story Solution. Yes, it's about 3 act structure, but from a really different angle. Most structure conversation revolves around beats, Highs, Lows, Turning Points, etc. Where as this examines what our hero's goals are, what he or she is actively trying to accomplish at a given stage in your story. If the conventional story beats are the bones, this book is more about the muscle and tendon.

not necessarily. characters commonly get paired off for stories, see IASIP.

the basic wisdom is that there are 6 to 8 archetypes of sitcom character. (this book lays out 8: https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Characters-Comedy-Sitcom-Writing/dp/0977064123)

in multi-cams all of these characters often inhabit the same main setting (Cheers, Big Bang Theory), and sometimes in single cam too (The Office, P&R, 30 Rock).

and time allotted per story is usually a hierarchy. A story might be 13 minutes, B story 5 minutes, and C story 2 minutes (with 3 beats throughout the show).

also OP, check out Ellen Sandler's TV Writer's Workbook. She's teaches you to track # of characters/scenes. if you break down your favorite shows/eps or at least shows you think are similar to your idea, you'll get a sense of your answer.

Into the Woods is posted here often. I'm currently reading it. It's fantastic. Definitely recommend it.

Edit: Hah - whoops. Just realized I posted this on the wrong thread. I suppose its still relevant.

1. Yes, I own it.
   
2. Don't think so. Haven't finished Story. It's extremely academic for me (dry and boring).
   
3. I love screenwriting books. They get my blood pumping and remind me that I CAN DO THIS. Favorite at the moment: How Not to Write a Screenplay (got it for $0.01 used).

Gonna give you a quick tip set here -- generally this kind of comment is going to get grabbed by automod because it looks spammy and promotional. That's not to say it is, it's just what the automod thinks when it sees these components.

Probably the reason for that is because they're isolated links to amazon, rather than links that are in context.

I'd also, just in the interest of staying within the framework of the question, include remarks that speak to the question itself rather than recommending additional resources. This individual did not ask for book recommendations, they asked for first hand commentary. That isn't to say book recommendations are unwarranted, just that they need to be treated as a secondary offering after your own opinion.

​

Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic writing. I always defer to Egri because he taught Woody Allen. If it's good enough for Woody Allen, it's good enough for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Dramatic-Writing-Lajos-Egri/dp/1434495434http://www.amazon.com/Art-Dramatic-Writing-Lajos-Egri/dp/1434495434

Grit: the Power of Passion and Perserverence

The Screenwriter's Bible

Writing Movies: The Practical Guide to Creating Stellar Screenplays

Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare

And browse Simply Scripts.

Three Uses of the Knife - David Mamet

One of my favorites, and pretty heady stuff, but Mamet plays no games when it comes to drama.

>the art of dramatic writing

Just to be clear, you are talking about this book?

I just ordered...STORY MAPS: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot (Volume 4) by Daniel P. Calvisi

It's arriving tomorrow and will let you know ;)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983626685/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This sub gets this question about 5 times a week and I think a sidebar link should be created, kind of like the "What Software Should I Use" link in /r/VideoEditing.

Here's the one book I would suggest.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Movies-Practical-Creating-Screenplays/dp/159691145X

Reading.
Lots and lots and lots of reading to get the sense of how stories evolve and unfold.
then, if youre really serious, find a short-ish one you like and type it out page by page so you can get a sense of the pace of actual writing and then adapt it to your own.

oh yeah, and lots of reading.

and when in doubt, get this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816

http://www.amazon.com/The-Grand-Budapest-Hotel-Illustrated/dp/1623160510

https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Write-Screenplay-Screenwriters/dp/1580650155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506791901&sr=8-1&keywords=how+not+to+write+a+screenplay

Coincidentally, just saw this:
http://kenlevine.blogspot.de/2015/01/what-i-look-for-in-spec-pilot.html


This can be found online, if you look around
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Pilot-William-Rabkin-ebook/dp/B004UWPQOE

You can buy it from Amazon, ether paperback or on Kindle.

Video: Lessons from the Screenplay’s Black Swan vs Whiplash

Script: Monster

Book: Three Uses of the Knife

This book, http://www.amazon.com/Crafty-TV-Writing-Thinking-Inside/dp/0805080287 and the Nerdist Writer's Panel

God, I fucking hate Robert McKee. As /u/streetparker said, he is a total hack. He's only sold one script (which was never produced) and claims he knows what makes a good story. I've read "Story" for two different screenwriting classes and I hated it both times.

If you want a book that's a good resource and tells it like it is, read The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God! by Joe Eszterhas.