“What are the best Screenwriting and Script Books Of All-Time?” We looked at 182 of the top Screenwriting books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 28 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Screenwriting” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 150+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 28 Screenwriting Books

28 .) Conversations with Wilder written by Cameron Crowe

Lists It Appears On:

• Industrial Scripts
• Studio Binder

In Conversations with Wilder, Hollywood’s legendary and famously elusive director Billy Wilder agrees for the first time to talk extensively about his life and work. Here, in an extraordinary book with more than 650 black-and-white photographs — including film posters, stills, grabs, and never-before-seen pictures from Wilder’s own collection — the ninety-three-year-old icon talks to Cameron Crowe, one of today’s best-known writer-directors, about thirty years at the very heart of Hollywood, and about screenwriting and camera work, set design and stars, his peers and their movies, the studio system and films today. In his distinct voice we hear Wilder’s inside view on his collaborations with such stars as Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, and Greta Garbo (he was a writer at MGM during the making of Ninotchka. Here are Wilder’s sharp and funny behind-the-scenes stories about the making of A Foreign Affair, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Love in the Afternoon, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and Ace in the Hole, among many others. Wilder is ever mysterious, but Crowe gets him to speak candidly on Stanwyck: “She knew the script, everybody’s lines, never a fault, never a mistake”; on Cary Grant: “I had Cary Grant in mind for four of my pictures . . . slipped through my net every time”; on the “Lubitsch Touch”: “It was the elegant use of the super-joke.” Wilder also remembers his early years in Vienna, working as a journalist in Berlin, rooming with Peter Lorre at the Chateau Marmont — always with the same dry wit, tough-minded romanticism, and elegance that are the hallmarks of Wilder’s films. This book is a classic of Hollywood history and lore.

27 .) Down and Dirty Pictures written by Peter Biskind

Lists It Appears On:

• Industrial Scripts
• Script Secrets

DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES chronicles the rise of independent filmmakers and of the twin engines the Sundance Film Festival and Miramax Films that have powered them. Peter Biskind profiles the people who took the independent movement from obscurity to the Oscars, most notably Sundance founder Robert Redford and Harvey Weinstein, who with his brother, Bob, made Miramax an indie powerhouse.

26 .) Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc written by Dara Marks

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Script Reader Pro

What is the secret to writing a great screenplay? Whether you’re a beginning screenwriter or an A-list Academy Award winner, all writers struggle with the same thing: to get to the great script inside. Step by step, Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc guides you through an extraordinary new process that helps identify your thematic intention-what your story is really about-and teaches you how to turn that intention into the driving force behind all your creative choices. The result is a profound relationship between the movement of the plot and the internal development of character, which is the foundation for the transformational arc. The transformational arc is the deeper line of structure found inside the story. Knowing how to work with the arc enhances your ability to: ? Express your unique point of view ? Give meaning and urgency to the line of action ? Infuse your characters with richness, subtlety, and surprise ? Develop a powerful emotional undercurrent ? Make your stories stand out and get attention A strong transformational arc is the single most important element that makes the difference between a good screenplay and a great one. Inside Story delivers what the name implies: it’s the real inside scoop on how to write a great screenplay with depth, dimension, and substance. It is a must-have for any serious screenwriter, playwright, or novelist.

25 .) Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434 written by Lew Hunter

Lists It Appears On:

• Five Books
• Script Secrets

The conductor of UCLAUs legendary graduate workshop–Screenwriting 434–guides readers through every stage of the screenwriting process by actually having them write an original screenplay.

24 .) Poetics written by Aristotle

Lists It Appears On:

• Five Books
• Goodreads

The plot is the source and the soul of tragedy’ In his near-contemporary account of Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, The Poetics introduces into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis (‘imitation’), hamartia (‘error’), and katharsis (‘purification’). Aristotle explains how the most effective tragedies rely on complication and resolution, recognition and reversals, centring on characters of heroic stature, idealized yet true to life. One of the most powerful, perceptive and influential works of criticism in Western literary history, the Poetics has informed serious thinking about drama ever since. Malcolm Heath’s lucid English translation makes the Poetics fully accessible to the modern reader. It is accompanied by an extended introduction, which discusses the key concepts in detail and includes suggestions for further reading.

23 .) Save The Cat Strikes Back! written by Blake Snyder

Lists It Appears On:

• Eric Ian Steele
• Script Reader Pro

Inspired by questions from the author’s workshops, lectures, and emails, this book listened and provides tips, tactics, and techniques to solve your writing problems and create stories that resonate: The 7 warning signs you might have a great idea or not; 2 sure-fire templates for can t-miss loglines; and, more.

22 .) Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told written by Blake Snyder

Lists It Appears On:

• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads

In the long-awaited sequel to his surprise bestseller, Save the Cat!, author and screenwriter Blake Snyder returns to form in a fast-paced follow-up that proves why his is the most talked-about approach to screenwriting in years. In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Snyder delivers even more insider’s information gleaned from a 20-year track record as ?one of Hollywood’s most successful spec screenwriters, ? giving you the clues to write your movie. Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives readers the key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, from Alien to Saw, from 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters who came before you tackled the same challenges you are facing with the film you want to write ? or the one you are currently working on.

21 .) Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories written by Peter Hanson

Lists It Appears On:

• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads

Discover the secrets of Hollywood storytelling in this fascinating collection, in which fifty screenwriters share the inside scoop about how they surmounted incredible odds to break into the business, how they transformed their ideas into box-office blockbusters, how their words helped launch the careers of major stars, and how they earned accolades and Academy Awards. Entertaining, informative, and sometimes startling, Tales from the Script features exclusive interviews with film’s top wordsmiths, including John Carpenter (Halloween), Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia), John August (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and David hayter (Watchmen). Read along as: Frank Darabont explains why he sacrificed his salary to preserve the integrity of his hard-hitting adapta-tion of Stephen King’s novella The Mist. William Goldman reveals why he’s never had any interest in directing movies, despite having won Oscars for writing All the President’s Men and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Ron Shelton explains why he nearly cut the spectacular speech that helped cement Kevin Costner’s stardom in Bull Durham. Josh Friedman describes the bizarre experience of getting hired by Steven Spielberg to adapt H. G. Wells’s classic novel War of the Worlds—even though Spielberg hated Friedman’s take on the material. Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) analyzes his legendary relationship with Martin Scorsese. Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) reveals why the unrelenting hype around his multimillion-dollar script sales caused him to retreat from public life for several years. Tales from the Script is a must for movie buffs who savor behind-the-scenes stories—and a master class for all those who dream of writing the Great American Screenplay, taught by those who made that dream come true.

20 .) The 21st-Century Screenplay: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Tomorrow’s Films written by Linda Aronson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Script Reader Pro

The 21st Century Screenplay is the much-expanded successor to the author’s Scriptwriting Updated. Many books in one, it offers a comprehensive, highly practical manual of screenwriting from the classic to the avant-garde, from The African Queen and Tootsie, to 21 Grams, Pulp Fiction, Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Whether you want to write short films, features, adaptations, genre films, ensemble films, blockbusters or art house movies, this book takes you all the way from choosing the brilliant idea to plotting, writing and rewriting. Featuring a range of insider survival tips on time-effective writing, creativity under pressure and rising to the challenge of international competition, The 21st Century Screenplay is essential reading for newcomer and veteran alike.

19 .) The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller written by John Turby

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Goodreads

John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby’s own unique approach for how to build an effective, multifaceted narrative. Truby’s method for constructing a story is at once insightful and practical, focusing on the hero’s moral and emotional growth. As a result, writers will dig deep within and explore their own values and worldviews in order to create an effective story. Writers will come away with an extremely precise set of tools to work with–specific, useful techniques to make the audience care about their characters, and that make their characters grow in meaningful ways. They will construct a surprising plot that is unique to their particular concept, and they will learn how to express a moral vision that can genuinely move an audience.

18 .) Adventures in the Screen Trade written by William Goldman

Lists It Appears On:

• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads
• Industrial Scripts

No one knows the writer’s Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood’s inner sanctums…on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and other films…into the plush offices of Hollywood producers…into the working lives of acting greats such as Redford, Olivier, Newman, and Hoffman…and into his own professional experiences and creative thought processes in the crafting of screenplays. You get a firsthand look at why and how films get made and what elements make a good screenplay. Says columnist Liz Smith, “You’ll be fascinated.

17 .) How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make written by Denny Martin Flinn

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Screenwriter In Hollywood

All good screenplays are unique, but all bad screenplays are the same. Flinn’s book will teach the reader how to avoid the pitfalls of bad screenwriting and arrive at one’s own destination intact.

16 .) How to Write a Movie in 21 Days written by Viki King

Lists It Appears On:

• Caole Kirschner
• Goodreads
• Screenwriter In Hollywood

The ultimate survival guide, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days takes the aspiring screenwriter the shortest distance from blank page to complete script. Viki King’s Inner Movie Method is a specific step-by-step process designed to get the story in the writer’s onto the page. This method guides the would-be screenwriter through the writing of a movie. It answers such questions as: How to clarify the idea you don’t quite have yet How to tell if your idea is really a movie How to move from what you want to say saying it How to stop getting ready and start Once you know what to write, the Inner Movie Method will show you how to write it. It also addresses such issues as: How to pay the rent while paying your dues What to say to your spouse when you can’t come to bed How to keep going when you think you can’t For accomplished screenwriters honing their craft, as well as those who never before brought their ideas to paper, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days is an indispensable guide. And Viki King’s upbeat, friendly style is like having a first-rate writing partner every step of the way.

15 .) The Coffee Break Screenwriter written by Pilar Alessandra

Lists It Appears On:

• Caole Kirschner
• Script Reader Pro
• Write And Co.

A leading Hollywood screenwriting instructor shows anyone who’s ever wanted to write a screenplay how to do it 10 minutes at a time.

14 .) The Hollywood Standard written by Christopher Riley

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Screenwriter In Hollywood
• Studio Binder

Finally a script format guide that is accurate, complete, authoritative and easy to use, written by Hollywood’s foremost authority on industry standard script formats.

13 .) Writing Movies for Fun and Profit written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant

Lists It Appears On:

• Any Possibility
• Screen Playlist
• Studio Binder

This is the only screenwriting guide by two guys who have actually done it (instead of some schmuck who just gives lectures about screenwriting at the airport Marriott); “These guys are proof that with no training and little education, ANYONE can make it as a screenwriter” (Paul Rudd). Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon’s movies have made over a billion dollars at the box office—and now they show you how to do it yourself! This book is full of secret insider information about how to conquer the Hollywood studio system: how to write, pitch, structure, and get drunk with the best of them. Well…maybe not the best of them, but certainly the most successful. (If you’re aiming to win an Oscar, this is not the book for you!) But if you can type a little, and can read and speak English—then you too can start turning your words into stacks of money! This is the only screenwriting book you will ever need (because all other ones pretty much suck). In these pages, Garant and Lennon provide the kind of priceless tips you won’t find anywhere else, including: -The art of pitching -Getting your foot in the door -Taking notes from movie stars -How to get fired and rehired -How to get credit and royalties! And most important: what to buy with the huge piles of money you’re going to make! Writing Movies for Fun and Profit will take you through the highs and lows of life as a professional screenwriter. From the highs of hugging Gisele Bündchen and getting kung fu punched by Jackie Chan to the soul-crushing lows of Herbie: Fully Loaded. Read this book and you’ll have everything you need to make your first billion the old-fashioned way—by “selling out” in show business! A portion of the authors’ proceeds from this book are being contributed to the USO of Metropolitan Washington, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving active duty military members and their families in the greater Washington, DC, region.

12 .) Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make It Great written by William M. Akers

Lists It Appears On:

• Action Romance Intrigue
• Goodreads
• Script Reader Pro

A lifetime member of the Writer’s Guild of America who has had three feature films produced from his screenplays, Akers offers beginning writers the tools they need to get their screenplay noticed.

11 .) On Directing Film written by David Mamet

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Goodreads
• Industrial Scripts
• Screenwriter In Hollywood

According to David Mamet, a film director must, above all things, think visually. Most of this instructive and funny book is written in dialogue form and based on film classes Mamet taught at Columbia University. He encourages his students to tell their stories not with words, but through the juxtaposition of uninflected images. The best films, Mamet argues, are composed of simple shots. The great filmmaker understands that the burden of cinematic storytelling lies less in the individual shot than in the collective meaning that shots convey when they are edited together. Mamet borrows many of his ideas about directing, writing, and acting from Russian masters such as Konstantin Stanislavsky, Sergei M. Eisenstein, and Vsevelod Pudovkin, but he presents his material in so delightful and lively a fashion that he revitalizes it for the contemporary reader.

10 .) The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives written by Lajos Egri

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Screen Playlist

Among the many “how-to” playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri’s classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives – why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise – a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior – and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Using Egri’s ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.

9 .) The Hero With A Thousand Faces written by Joseph Campbell

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Industrial Scripts
• Screen Playlist
• Studio Binder

The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today–and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence. Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture’s dreams onto a large screen; Campbell’s book, like Star Wars, the film it helped inspire, is an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. It is a must-have resource for both experienced students of mythology and the explorer just beginning to approach myth as a source of knowledge.

8 .) Writing Screenplays that Sell written by Michael Hague

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads
• Script Secrets

The up-to-date, acclaimed guide to writing and selling screenplays to today′s film and TV markets. This is the new screenwriter′s bible.

7 .) Making a Good Script Great written by Linda Seger

Lists It Appears On:

• Action Romance Intrigue
• Cinema Bandit
• Film Making Stuff
• Indie Film Hustle
• Script Secrets

Making a good script great is not just a matter of having a good idea. Nor is it a matter of just putting that good idea down on paper. In scriptwriting, it’s not just the writing but also the rewriting that counts. Making a Good Script Great focuses on the rewriting process and offers specific methods to help you craft tighter, stronger, and more workable scripts. While retaining all the valuable insights that have made the first edition one of the all-time most popular screenwriting books, this expanded, second edition adds new chapters that take you through the complete screenwriting process, from the first draft through the shooting draft. If you’re writing your first script, this book will help develop your skills for telling a compelling and dramatic story. If you’re a veteran screenwriter, this book will articulate the skills you know intuitively And if you’re currently stuck on a rewrite, this book will help you analyze and solve the problems and get your script back “on track.”

6 .) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft written by Stephen King

Lists It Appears On:

• Film Making Stuff
• Get Free Write
• Huffington Post
• Industrial Scripts
• Script Reader Pro
• Studio Binder

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 — and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

5 .) The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script written by David Trottier

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Script Secrets
• Write And Co.

This book provides a concise presentation of screenwriting basics. The author shows the correct formats for both screenplays and teleplays, and takes the writer through the writing and marketing process.

4 .) The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers written by Christopher Vogler

Lists It Appears On:

• Cinema Bandit
• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Industrial Scripts
• Studio Binder

Provides new insights and observations from Vogler’s pioneering work in mythic structure for writers.

3 .) Save the Cat! written by Blake Snyder

Lists It Appears On:

• Any Possibility
• Caole Kirschner
• Cinema Bandit
• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Screen Playlist
• Screenwriter In Hollywood
• Studio Binder
• Write And Co.

This ultimate insider’s guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who’s proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

2 .) Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting written by Syd Field

Lists It Appears On:

• Caole Kirschner
• Cinema Bandit
• Cinema Bandit
• Eric Ian Steele
• Goodreads
• Indie Film Hustle
• Screen Playlist
• Script Secrets
• Studio Binder

A generation of screenwriters has used Syd Field’s bestselling books to ignite successful careers in film. Now the celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author has updated his classic guide for a new generation of filmmakers, offering a fresh insider’s perspective on the film industry today. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are easily understood guidelines to help aspiring screenwriters—from novices to practiced writers—hone their craft. Filled with updated material—including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analyses of recent films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings—Screenplay presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. Discover: •Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important •How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one •Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay •How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay •Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay •The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more. With this newly updated edition of his bestselling classic, Syd Field proves yet again why he is revered as the master of the screenplay—and why his celebrated guide has become the industry’s gold standard for successful screenwriting.

1 .) Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting written by Robert McKee

Lists It Appears On:

• Action Romance Intrigue
• Caole Kirschner
• Cinema Bandit
• Eric Ian Steele
• Get Free Write
• Indie Film Hustle
• Screen Playlist
• Screenwriter In Hollywood
• Script Secrets
• Studio Binder

Robert McKee’s screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the “magic” of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

The 150+ Additional Best Books To Learn Screenwriting For Television And Film

21 Best Script Books For Aspiring Screenwriters Sources/Lists