I’ve heard a number of very successful screenwriters say something to this effect: “Screenwriting books are bullshit. To learn the craft, you should read great screenplays.”
I get it. There are B.S. elements to most screenwriting books I’ve seen. And reading great screenplays–even bad ones, actually–is an irreplaceable way to learn. But hey big time screenwriters, I think you’re really overstating the case.
Let me back up for a second. I’ve written three feature-length scripts and two TV pilots. One script won first prize in a major contest and another was a finalist. I’ve been represented by an agent, and I’ve gotten my stuff read, but none of that qualifies me as the kind of “successful screenwriter” I referred to in the opening of this post. I’ve never sold a script. So, if you’re more comfortable taking the advice of the big time guys, now’s the time to click over to JohnAugust.com. (A fabulous site, by the way.)
But here’s something I think I know: Screenwriting books are like many products in the marketplace. They can be helpful without being the magical things they claim to be.
No matter how many times Blake Snyder tells us that he is giving us the way to write a Hollywood movie, he’s wrong about that. There is not one formula. I teach screenwriting to high school kids who are able to poke holes in the supposed universality of Snyder’s beat sheet within about ten minutes. I’d be a foolish writer if I didn’t recognize that this book exaggerates its power to explain.
But here’s my point. I’m equally foolish if I don’t recognize that there’s some brilliance in his screenwriting template. The same goes for Syd Field and some others. These guys have figured out some things that it would have taken me decades to notice about how cinematic narratives are structured. (Yeah, I know. Aristotle too, though I dare you to try to write a great screenplay on nothing but Aristotle’s advice.)
So here’s my advice:
Read the screenwriting books. Store away what’s helpful. Leave behind the rest. In the end, create structures that serve your stories rather than vice versa.
And yeah. Read screenplays.