Anyone wanting to learn scriptwriting - whether it’s for stage, screen or comic book page - needs to read only one book, really, to learn the craft. Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee is to screenwriters what a Catholic Bible is the the Pope: the first and most definitive source of information for their career.
McKee’s focus may be screenwriting, but his book is really about the fundamentals of good storytelling. Folks in Hollywood pay thousands of dollars for his classes, and if you can get the same wisdom from a $25 book, that’s a great trade-off!
I valued my college education but McKee’s book taught me as much about being an effective writer as six-plus years of training and two college degrees. Highest recommendation.
