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Best Books for Writers

“The rules have changed. True power is held by the person who possesses the largest bookshelf, not gun cabinet or wallet.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

Here I present a very incomplete list of books that have proved invalvuable in my pursuit of screenwriting. Many of these will help writers of any medium. A few will be useful to folks who pursue any creative endeavor.

“Three Uses of the Knife” — David Mamet
A thorough examination of the nature of drama. Mamet spends a good deal of effort addressing the idea of “escalating conflict.” A story is only engaging if the stakes are constantly rising for the main character. Other issues related to good drama are also discussed.

“On Writing” — Stephen King
A combination of a memoir and a how-to book, King offers some useful advice for aspiring writers while detailing his own journey.

“The Night in Question” — Tobias Wolff
A collection of excellent short stories. A masterpiece of subtle drama. The type of stories that send chills down your spine without your even noticing.

“Screenplay” — Syd Field
Many established screenwriters dismiss Field’s how-to text as a cookie-cutter method of writing scripts and claim his method stifles creativity in young writers. I agree to an extent. But for the new writer, with little or no concept of story structure, this is an excellent introductory course. Master it, then feel free to deviate from the paradigm at will.

“Adventures in the Screen Trade” — William Goldman
One of the best screenwriters of the last 25 years writes a behind-the-scenes account of his adventures in Hollywood. Toss in a few how-to sections, and you’ve got an entertaining and enlightening read.

“Poetics” — Aristotle
As resistant as I am to anything not written in Modern English, this was a tough read. Translated as clearly as possible from its original Greek text, “Poetics” is Aristotle’s indispensible treatise on the nature of drama. Be prepared for a ton of run-on sentences (it seems the Greeks were not huge fans of the period or the paragraph), but if you can make heads or tails of it, you’ll recieve some time-tested theories on what makes good drama, and why drama is an essential part of society.

“Understanding Comics” — Scott McCloud
Hands-down, the best discussion of any story-telling art form I have ever read. Inventive and engaging, this book is a brilliant discussion of the history of comics, why and how they work, and where the art may go next. I’d consider this required reading for students of any story-telling medium.

This list will be updated as I think of more books.

– Mike Lizzio

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