As I outlined in the Introduction, I set out to write a book full of ideas and inspiration, and useful for the screenwriter as a guide – not a manifesto – for creating wonderful screenplays.
The book has covered all aspects of the craft of screenwriting – from getting ideas and developing them, to structuring scenes and writing dialogue – as well as some of the more practical aspects of promoting and selling your work. The latter are often missing from screenwriting books, so it felt right to include them and combine them with the nuts and bolts of craft.
I learned a lot about screenwriting through writing this book. Really thinking deeply about how screenplays work has opened up new and fresh ideas for me to consider the next time I write and teach. For me, the case studies have provided a lot of this insight and inspiration. Whether learning about worlds through Juno, cast design through The Kids Are All Right, character voice through Notes on a Scandal, or theme through Me and You and Everyone We Know, analysing stories that work has crystallised even more my knowledge and understanding of how, as screenwriters, we write a story on the page that’s intended for the screen. And I use the word ‘through’ quite deliberately here. We don’t learn ‘from’ existing stories, because that’s reactive and feels like we’re trying to copy. Instead, we learn ‘through’ existing stories because we understand how things work and proactively apply them to our own practice.
The following resources have been mentioned in the book, and are examples of what I think are good and useful references for any screenwriter. There are many, many more, of course, but these are the ones I personally have faith in.
Aronson, L (2011), The 21st-Century Screenplay: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Tomorrow’s Films, Los Angeles: Silman-James Press
Ashton, P (2011), The Calling Card Script: A Writer’s Toolbox for Screen, Stage and Radio, London: Methuen
Batty, C (2011), Movies That Move Us: Screenwriting and the Power of the Protagonist’s Journey, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Batty, C & Cain, S (2010) Media Writing: A Practical Introduction, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Batty, C & Waldebäck, Z (2008), Writing for the Screen: Creative and Critical Approaches, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Cain, S (2009), Key Concepts in Public Relations, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Campbell, J (1993), The Hero with a Thousand Faces, London: Fontana Press
Dancyger, K & Rush, J (2006), Alternative Scriptwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules (4th ed), Oxford: Focal Press
Davis, R (2008), Writing Dialogue for Scripts (3rd ed), London: A&C Black
Davis, R (2004), Developing Characters for Script Writing (3rd ed), London: A&C Black
Duncan, S (2008), Genre Screenwriting: How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell, New York: Continuum
Field, S (2003), The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting, London: Ebury Press
Gulino, PJ (2004), Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach, New York: Continuum
Harper, G (ed) (2012), Inside Creative Writing: Interviews with Contemporary Writers, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Hiltunen, A (2002), Aristotle in Hollywood: The Anatomy of Successful Storytelling, Bristol: Intellect
Hoxter, J (2011), Write What You Don’t Know: An Accessible Manual For Screenwriters, New York: Continuum
Indick, W (2004), Psychology for Screenwriters: Building Conflict in Your Script, Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Jacey, H (2010) The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters, Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Kallas, C, (2010) Creative Screenwriting: Understanding Emotional Structure, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Mahon, N (2011), Basics Advertising 03: Ideation, Worthing: AVA Publishing
McGilligan, P (1992, 1997, 1997, 2006, 2010), Backstory [series], Berkeley: University of California Press
McKee, R (1999) Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, London: Methuen
Moritz, C (2008) Scriptwriting for the Screen (2nd ed.), London: Routledge
Owen, A (2004) Story and Character: Interviews with British Screenwriters, London: Bloomsbury
Rabiger, M (2005), Developing Story Ideas: Finding the Ideas You Haven’t Yet Had (2nd ed), Oxford: Focal Press
Scott, KC (ed) (2005), Screenwriters’ Masterclass: Screenwriters Discuss their Greatest Films, London: Faber and Faber
Seger, L (2011), Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath, Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Seger, L (1998), Creating Unforgettable Characters: A Practical Guide to Character Development in Films, TV Series, Advertisements, Novels and Short Stories, New York: Henry Holt & Co
Vogler, C (2007), The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Voytilla, S (1999), Myth and the Movies: Discovering the Mythic Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films, Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Waldebäck, Z & Batty, C (2012), The Creative Screenwriter: Exercises to Expand Your Craft, London: Methuen
Yoneda, KF (2011), The Script-selling Game: A Hollywood Insider’s Look at Getting Your Script Sold and Produced (2nd ed), Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions
Australian Short Films – www.australianshortfilms.com
The Australian Writers’ Guild – www.awg.com.au
BBC Film Network – www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork
BBC Writersroom – www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom
The BFI – www.bfi.org.uk
British Council Film – www.film.britishcouncil.org
Celtx – www.celtx.com
Cinema16 (short films) – www.cinema16.org
Final Draft – www.finaldraft.com
Indiegogo – www.indiegogo.com
Inktip – www.inktip.com
Kickstarter – www.kickstarter.com
The London Screenwriters’ Festival – www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com
MovieScope Magazine – www.moviescopemag.com
PleaseFundUs – www.pleasefund.us
Screen Australia – www.screenaustralia.gov.au
Screen International – www.screendaily.com
The Script Factory – www.scriptfactory.co.uk
Script Magazine – www.scriptmag.com
Shooting People – www.shootingpeople.org
Skillset – www.creativeskillset.org
The Smalls – www.thesmalls.com
Spanner Films (crowd funding) – www.spannerfilms.net/crowd_funding
Vimeo – www.vimeo.com
The Writers’ Guild of America, East – www.wgaeast.org
The Writers’ Guild of America, West – www.wga.org
The Writers’ Guild of Canada – www.writersguildofcanada.com
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain – www.writersguild.org.uk
The Writers’ Guild of New Zealand – www.nzwg.org.nz
YouTube – www.youtube.com