"First rate analysis at a cut-rate price." — Creative Screenwriting

Clicking on the following book titles will take you to their pages on Amazon.com, where you can order them online.  Clicking on the Web addresses will take you to their sites.

Recommended Books

The Technique of Screen & Television Writing by Eugene Vale, Prentice-Hall 1982.  The absolute best book on structure for the movies, covering every possible mistake a screenwriter can make.

Story:  Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee, Harper-Collins 1997.  A brilliant analysis of why we tell stories, the structures that have evolved in cinema narrative, and the dynamics that translate themes into action.

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter, Perigee 1995.  A practical and inspiring guide by the former chair of U.C.L.A.'s screenwriting department.

AFI Guide to Writing Great Screenplays for Film and TV by Dona Cooper, IDG Books Worldwide 1994.  A unique and refreshingly flexible examination of films as roller coasters.

Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger, Samuel French Trade 1994.  A smartly written and practical approach for fixing whatever ails your script.

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field, Dell Books 1984.  Written by the godfather of all script gurus, this book was revolutionary in its analysis of movie paradigms.

Recommended Web Sites

Creative Screenwriting (creativescreenwriting.com).  Voted best screenwriting publication by screenwritersutopia.com, here you can read incisive comments on the scripts of current movies and interviews with their writers.

InkTip (inktip.com).  Get your script seen by hundreds of industry professionals by posting it on InkTip.  With your membership, you receive at least one free lead per week via their newsletter.

Scriptologist.com (scriptologist.com).  "The Portal for Screenwriters, Filmmakers, and Actors," this catch-all site offers film news and tips, along with a vast directory of agents, managers, and production companies.  You can read articles on screenwriting and peruse their huge library of produced scripts.

The Scriptwriters Network (scriptwritersnetwork.org).  A rich source of information and a virtual water-cooler for networking film and TV writers.

Done Deal (scriptsales.com).  Breaking news about script and pitch sales, who bought them and for how much.

The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe (scsfe.com).  "Simply the Best Screenwriting Conference in the World™" is how many attendees describe this annual, 5-day immersion into the craft and business of writing for the movies.

Absolute Write (absolutewrite.com).  Devoted to all types of writing, this no-nonsense, information-rich zine also publishes a bi-weekly newsletter on the hottest new markets.

The Weekly Script (weeklyscript.com).  What better way to learn screenwriting than by reading a good script?  Download your fix at The Weekly Script.

Drew's Script-O-Rama (script-o-rama.com).  A huge repository of produced screenplays and teleplays you can download at the click of a mouse.

The Writer's Store (writersstore.com).  The specialty source for screenwriting books and software, with a low-price guarantee and free shipping on Web orders.

Internet Movie Database (imdb.com).  Everyone's favorite searchable database of film and TV reviews, credits and assorted movie trivia.

Filmmaking.com (filmmaking.com).  If what you really want to do is direct, then make this site your home page.  A portal to news and articles on all aspects of film production.

Variety Online (variety.com).  The entertainment industry's venerable trade paper now has a presence on the Internet.

The Hollywood Reporter (hollywoodreporter.com).  Variety's formidable competition, and required reading by all entertainment execs.

Ain't It Cool (aint-it-cool-news.com).  A forum for entertainment news and reviews, this Internet institution, run by an outspoken Texan, gets much of its information from Hollywood insiders.

Ask.com (ask.com).  The first place to visit when you have any question about anything, this intelligent search engine offers custom profiles and folders for saving your research.

HighBeam Research (highbeam.com).  The poor-man's LexisNexis™, this service (formerly eLibrary) lets you search thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, radio transcripts, and images simultaneously for a yearly fee of $199.95 or $29.95 per month.  An introductory, 7-day subscription is free.

Wikipedia (wikipedia.org).  A free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, it draws upon the entire Internet community for its sources.  While its wealth of arcane information grows daily, it may not be entirely accurate.

Encyclopedia Britannica (britannica.com).  Forget shelling out big bucks and buying a new bookcase to hold it all.  You can now search the world's most respected encyclopedia on the Web.  Requires a subscription ($11.95/mo. or $69.95/yr.), but you can try it out for 72 hours for free.

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Copyright © 2008 by Michael Ray Brown.  All rights reserved.
Last modified: December 17, 2009