A practical reading list for writers who want to own the craft.
There are thousands of recommended books for writers, most for beginners, rather fewer for the more advanced. All aim to help writers, and the best writing books actually do that.
But however good you are, you can't learn enough and as you read more, the more you own the subject itself.
Try this — my personal list of the very best.
Adaptation
Turning fact, fiction and novels into screen stories.
- The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film — Linda Seger Henry Holt & Co. One of the few books that concentrate specifically on adaptations. Excellent.
- Screening the Novel — Gabriel Miller Ungar. Compares eight US films with their source novels — an interesting and thought-provoking critical study.
- Graham Greene: The Films of his Fiction — Gene Phillips Teachers College Press. Insights into the changes that take place when adapting.
Alternative Writing
Advanced craft, rule-breaking and deeper story thinking.
- Alternative Scriptwriting — Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush Focal Press. Probing and advanced thoughts on the rules and how — and why — to break them.
- The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers — John Gardner Vintage Books. Aimed at short story and novel writing, but full of insights into story, character, style and genre that are highly relevant to screenwriters. Intermediate to advanced.
Basic Rules
Structure, story, character and the essential rules of screenwriting.
- The 21st Century Screenplay — Linda Aronson Allen & Unwin. Excellent and practical, covering both the basics for beginners and the non-basics for more advanced writers, from traditional forms to non-linear storytelling. Review
- How To Write a Movie in 21 Days — Viki King Harper and Row. Good overview — strong on first-draft writing. Beginners, but I still refer to it regularly.
- Making a Good Script Great — Linda Seger Samuel French. One of the classic texts on editing and redrafting.
- Plot: Element of Fiction Writing — Ansen Dibell Writers’ Digest Books. Deals primarily with short stories and novels, but is eminently applicable to screenwriting. Good on subplot, balance and exposition.
- Story — Robert McKee Methuen. The guru’s guru. Strong on key elements of storytelling and scene construction. Better for editing a draft than getting the words onto the page.
- Screenwriting for Narrative Film and Television — William Miller Hastings House. Looks at the basic rules and touches on some of the alternative approaches.
- The Understructure of Writing for Film and Television — Ben Brady and Lance Lee University of Texas Press. Good primer on the basics of cinema storytelling.
- Writing Screenplays That Sell — Michael Hauge Elm Tree Books. Good for character analysis.
- The Art and Science of Screenwriting — Philip Parker Intellect. Contains some very good sections and material on different genres, although its dry, scientific style may prove hard work for some writers.
First Draft Writing
Getting unstuck and getting words onto the page.
- Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind — Natalie Goldberg Shambala. First-draft writing — how to get it on the page. Two of my most regularly recommended books for writers who are stuck trying to get started.
Genre
How genres work, shift and carry meaning.
- Alternative Scriptwriting: Rewriting the Hollywood Formula — Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush Focal Press. A probing book on the rules and how — and why — to break them. One of the very few to deal with genre in any depth.
- The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers — John Gardner Vintage Books. Contains considerable insights into the craft and art of creating stories and characters, style, genre and other issues relevant to screenwriters.
- Hollywood Cinema — Richard Maltby Blackwell. Includes a chapter on genre.
- Seeing is Believing — Peter Biskind Pluto Press. Subtitled “How Hollywood Taught us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties.” A fascinating analysis of how different genres can be adapted to different political ends.
Novel Writing
Language, close reading, craft and the novelist’s mind.
- How to Read a Novelist — John Freeman Corsair. Conversations with top novelists by a top critic, from Grass and Murakami to Doris Lessing and Jonathan Franzen.
- Nabokov’s Favourite Word is Mauve — Ben Blatt Simon & Schuster. A gem that tests old writers’ tales with data, from openings and clichés to adverbs and bestselling authors.
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft — Stephen King Hodder and Stoughton. The art of clear, readable, quality writing by a master of the craft. Much of this applies as much to screenwriting as to literature.
- Reading Like a Writer — Francine Prose Union Books. Inspiring and insightful, moving from sentences and paragraphs to character, dialogue and gesture, with discussion of the greats.
- Zen in the Art of Writing — Ray Bradbury Capra Press. Stimulating and wise, from an author who knows whereof he speaks.
Psychology for Writers
Emotions, archetypes, decisions and the behaviour beneath story.
- Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman Bloomsbury. Masterful insights into the role of emotions in decision-making, maturity and life in general.
- Focusing — Eugene T. Gendlin Bantam New Age. How to use your inner feelings as a guide to making key decisions.
- Frogs into Princes — Richard Bandler and John Grinder Real People Press. A good introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming.
- Games People Play — Eric Berne Penguin Books. The definitive book on how people screw up by taking on unconscious roles to play.
- Memories, Dreams, Reflections — C. G. Jung Fontana. The great-grandaddy. Cut out the middle-men and go straight to the man who started all this stuff about archetypes, heroes and more.
- Use Your Head — Tony Buzan BBC Publications. The grandaddy of them all: how to use your brain better. Very practical.
Screenplays
Finding scripts to read, study and compare.
Amazon’s Used & New links can be a surprisingly useful source of remarkably cheap scripts of all kinds. Either search for the screenplay you want or browse the full selection.
Selling
Pitching yourself, understanding markets and asking well.
- Ask for the Moon and Get it! The secret of getting what you want by knowing how to ask — Percy Ross with Dick Samson GP Putnam’s Sons. A more personal angle on selling yourself.
- The Movie Game: The Film Business in Britain, Europe and America — Martin Dale Cassell. A good overview of the way films are made and marketed around the world, though any book will be partly out of date by the time it is printed.
- The Tao of Sales: The Easy Way to Sell in Tough Times — E. Thomas Behr Element. One of many books on selling, with a useful non-aggressive flavour.
- Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook A&C Black. Vital reference works for TV and film companies, agents, publishers and magazines, together with useful advice sections.
Writing for TV
Series, serials, soaps and professional television drama.
- Made for Television: Euston Films Limited — Manuel Alvarado and John Stewart BFI/Thames Methuen. Detailed history of one of the most successful TV drama studios in the UK, including excellent treatments and proposals for single dramas, series and serials.
- Writing for Television: Series, Serials and Soaps — Yvonne Grace Kamera Books. A solid introduction to the world of the professional TV writer from a highly experienced award-winning screenwriter and producer. My review
Keep reading
Explore more writing craft, books and screenwriting resources.
Continue through Charles Harris’s books, articles and writing resources for more on storytelling, screenwriting, crime fiction and craft.
Thank you for this list. Just wanted to say that some of the links are not working anymore.
Hi Anna
Thank you – yes, thank you. I’m glad you like it. You’re right about the links. Amazon changed its system, ruining all my links. I’m in the middle of bringing them up-to-date and hope to get them all working again as soon as possible.
Best wishes
Charles
Thank you for sharing a great list. This is very helpful article specially for writers
Thank you, Derek. And do feel free to suggest any additions.
Thank you so much for this list it was so helpful.
Thank you. And feel free to suggest any more that you feel could be helpful.