Screenwriting

The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives by Lajos Egri (Touchstone, 1972)

This is my favorite book that deals with understanding how theme is expressed through story. Though Egri focuses on plays, the material is entirely applicable to all writing including screenplays and novels. Though his non-Christian worldview bleeds through at times, he nevertheless has a better understanding of the search for significance at the heart of all human behavior than some Christians do. He totally demolishes the modernist myth that messages and agenda in drama can be avoided. He proves that all great stories through history have an agenda, a message, or a moral. He then helps you to incarnate that moral into the dramatic conflict of your story. The Christian storyteller who understands this will stand head and shoulders above a postmodern creative culture that denies underlying order and rules. – BG

Writing Screenplays That Sell by Michael Hauge (HarperResource, 1991)

This is a great nuts and bolts book for screenwriting. Hauge’s strength is his presentation of how character and motivation drive story and plot. He explains inner and outer motivation along with inner and outer conflict and how these all interact and express theme. Hero, nemesis, reflection and romance are among the basic components of successful Hollywood movies that sell. Excellent for outline development. He also includes a good introduction to the basics of format, scene writing, dialogue, three act story structure, and how to market yourself and break in to Hollywood. He has an excellent analysis of Karate Kid to illustrate his points. I keep going back to this book when I need refreshers. - BG

John Truby’s “Great Screenwriting Class” (at truby.com on the web)

Though this is not a book, I highly recommend this lecture tape/CD series he has on “Great Screenwriting.” His teaching was probably the most influential on my own education. He is both theoretical and practical, giving not merely concepts, but also specific parameters and steps that are necessary to a satisfying story. Great balance. Rather than the classic three-act structure, he uses the 22 Building Blocks. These steps are more fluid but, quite frankly, they fit within the 3-act structure anyway, so fear not. What I liked about this teacher was his grasp on the importance of redemption expressed through story. He has a better handle on the morality, theme and redemption of a movie than those who discourage “messages” in movies. And I also recommend any of his other lecture tapes and CDs on different genres. They are excellent handles on the common elements in each genre. – BG

The Understructure of Writing for Film and Television by Ben Brady and lance Lee (University of Texas, 1988)

This is a great “how to” book for writers of both film and television. The strength of this book is in it’s understanding of dramatic conflict and how it is displayed through character. The heart of every good story, and even scene is understanding how conflict moves and flows and changes the story and characters. A sure-fire antidote to writer’s block. They use lots of examples from movies to illustrate their points. – BG

The Healing Power of Stories: Creating Yourself Through the Stories of Your Life by Daniel Taylor (Gill and Macmillan, 1996)

A hard to get book, but worth the effort. Taylor gives a thoughtful analysis of the power and necessity of story within our lives. But not merely in the culture we consume, like books, television and movies, but also in how we live out our own lives, making sense of and discovering meaning in our personal histories. We are characters following a plot in the story of our life. He explains how stories shape our worldview which then determines how we see the world. But he defends this as biblical and Christian in essence. He also clarifies that all stories are not equal, and how the Christian worldview is the necessary foundation for narrative. A great foundation for understanding the importance of story from a Christian view. - BG