Reddit reviews Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
We found 40 Reddit comments about Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Winner, International Moving Image Book Award
Start with these 3 books.
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First off, read anything by Carl Jung. His theories on archetypes and the collective unconscious form the groundwork upon which not only games, but the entire modern entertainment industry are built.
Basically Jung argues that there is a collective set of symbols and ideas that all humans, regardless of culture or upbringing will respond to. Understanding these symbols, and building your game around them - either as mechanics or story - allows you to influence how the player will respond.
Jung: A Very Short Introduction is a pretty easy way to get started. After you read that I'd suggest getting into the meat of Jung's own words with The Portable Jung (coincidentally edited by Joseph Campbell)
And with that, you should also read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. He takes Jung's ideas, and shows the specific symbols used in the Hero's Journey - one of the most common story types. People talk about the Hero's Journey all the time - but it's a really important concept to understand if you're doing any sort of creative works. Here are two quick video primers on it:
A more serious one: Ted Ed: What Makes a Hero
A more awesome one: Glove and Boots: The Hero's Journey :)
If you want to go further on the narrative route I'd also suggest The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker. He takes the Hero's Journey and shows how it is just one of several different plot archetypes, all of which have their own internal path, rules, and idiosyncrasies.
Now, in case you're thinking "Why are you sharing these books about narrative with me? Games are not stories!" remember that people have been responding to stories for all time - and good storytellers are masters at making people feel the desired emotion at the desired time.
Therefore I'd also direct you to Story By Robert McGee as well as Poetics by Aristotle. Both of these books look at story in a mechanical sense, and explain the precise methods storytellers (both ancient Greek ones and modern Hollywood ones) use to evoke emotions in the audience. These principles almost directly translate to game design.
After that I'd suggest looking at Chris Crawford's list of books all game designers should read. Unfortunately I can't find a copy of the list on the internet, but it's at the end of his book Chris Crawford on Game Design
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=STORY&qid=1572895252&sr=8-2
Ever since I read Chris Perkin's now largely lost blog, "The Dungeon Master Experience," I've always thought of a good campaign as being a good TV series. To summarize his thesis, each adventure is like an episode in a series that advances the overall plot of the campaign. It's often helpful to work within a basic, 3 Act Story Structure.
In Act I, something external happens--often called the "hook." The regular order of the world is upset. Goblins threaten the town. Someone has stolen a powerful artifact. A mysterious disease/curse/re-occurring event begins to affect villagers. The external event leads to some mystery or uncertainty that demands that the PCs resolve it.
In Act II, the PCs discover more information, the stakes get raised as the outcome becomes tied to the PCs personal motivations and they learn the win condition. The goblin horde isn't just any goblin horde. They're lead by a new charismatic and heretofore invincible overlord that threatens to unite all the tribes. He must be killed. The NPC who stole the artifact doesn't understand its true nature. If she continues to use it in some misguided way, it will destroy her and unleash unspeakable evil. She must see the error of her ways. The disease affects a well-loved, essential NPC (or PC) and it's only a matter of time before they die. They must assemble the cure in time.
In Act III, the PCs participate in a climatic event at the precise moment when the outcome will have the greatest impact. The leader of the goblin horde is on the verge of uniting the tribes through proving his worthiness in an act of god-like invincibility--until the PCs show up. The PCs discover the location of the secret ritual and arrive just as the NPC is about to complete it. The clock is striking midnight as PCs are rushing to assemble the last ingredients of the cure. Any superfluous action means the great NPC will surely die.
Ideally, this story structure means the PCs will own the outcome, especially when they fail. Their futile attempt to stop the charismatic overlord only further proves his invincibility. The goblin tribes now blindly follow him into battle. The PCs inability to stop the ritual means they bear responsibility and blame for the havoc the unspeakable evil wreaks. The NPC dies and leaves a power vacuum now more easily filled by evil NPCs. All of this becomes fodder for the next episode.
The best advice I've ever heard regarding Villains is that everyone is a hero in their own mind. The invincible overlord has been the victim of pain, death and destruction. It's time he ended it and showed the world who's boss. The misguided ritualist thinks she's summoning a being that will bring power or prosperity, but she's been tricked.
Here are some of the best resources I've found:
Chris Perkin's "The Dungeon Master Experience"
The Complete Book of Villains by Kirk Botula (Out of print, but I bet you can still find copies or PDFs somewhere)
The Book of Vile Darkness by Monte Cook
Story by Robert McKee (Not RPG related, but still amazing)
I'd be curious what other resources DM have been inspired by.
The most famous book on screenwriting is called Story by Robert McKee. He teaches workshops in Hollywood to aspiring screenwriters, and his whole thing is based in Campbell's analysis of The Hero's Journey.
Story - That it's focused on screenwriting is almost irrelevant. The information in this on story structure is astounding.
45 Master Characters - This is character development down to the nth degree.
Yeah, the Pixar list and a similar work--Invisible Ink--helped train me to "see" meta-structure in storytelling in my work and others. This was important groundwork for when I eventually buckled down and read Robert McKee's Story, which itself is the groundwork for many of these digested lists. But they were all important for me in the overall learning process and learning to abstract and adapt them to my own work.
I'd start with Save the Cat because it's a fun read and does a great job of laying down the basic structure without over-complicating things.
After you've got that down I'd move on to something a bit more theoretical. I would highly recommend The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. It's about playwriting but the structure is similar and it really impressed upon me the importance of structuring a plot around a character and not the other way around.
I'd also recommend The Sequence Approach as a supplemental structure to the traditional 3 Act structure. The book basically breaks a screenplay into a number of goal-oriented sequences that help guide you towards a satisfying resolution.
I'd keep Story by Robert McKee and Screenplay by Syd Field around for references, but they are more like text books for me and not really inspiring.
One of my professors in grad school wrote a book called The Story Solution based on his own interpretation of story structure. Similar to the sequence approach, he breaks out a screenplay into 23 'hero goal sequences' that keep your story grounded and moving forward, while ensuring that your hero is making progress and completing his character arc.
Also, in answer to your beat question: A beat is the smallest block of measurable plot. a collection of beats make a scene, a collection of scenes makes a sequence, a collection of sequences make an act, a collection of acts make a narrative. Every beat of your screenplay needs to serve the premise in some way or you end up with a bloated script that will drag. Many times writers will actually write 'a beat' into their script to show that there is silence or a pause that is significant to the plot. An example might be a brief pause before a character lies to another character.
I used to view films in the same way. I now to think of them as a way to find life, rather than escape it. Interpret it as you like.
Btw, I paraphrased this from the introduction to Story.
Sidney Lumet's book, Making Movies, covers most of the spectrum and is simply a great read.
As for other books, they are generally more technical. For screenwriting, there's McKee's Story; for editing, there's Reisz and Millar's Technique of Film Editing; for cinematography, there's Blain Brown's Cinematography Theory and Practice. And Lumet's book would complete this tetralogy, being a book essentially about directing.
>I've only very recently decided that I wanted to go into film making for a career ...
Start with the basics then. Read Save the Cat, Story, Screenplay, and The Screenwriter's Bible.
Ask yourself what your five favorite films in the world are, that you could watch over and over again. Buy them on Bluray, and find a copy of their shooting script. This website is a good start, although you may have to buy them from somewhere. Watch the movies, then read the scripts, then repeat.
Then, with both the theory and the execution in your mind ... start to think of conflict, of drama, of characters and themes and story arcs.
Bluntly, it sounds like you're putting the horse well before the cart.
When you walk into a movie that's usually what you need to expect. The characters of a film, regardless of primary, secondary or tertiary nature, should all be in a different place due to the events of the film than they were when the film began rolling. If they're not, then that's sloppy writing.
The whole point of a film is to show an evolution in story and character, and if there's no character evolution (especially in the protagonist/primary character) there's been a severe mis-step and that needs to be rectified ASAP. Sometimes though these mistakes slip through the cracks. Even "mindless blockbusters" like the last Transformers had an arc for Mark Wahlberg's character and Optimus.
If you're interested I'd give Story by Robert McKee a read, it was the first book my lecturer recommended to me before I began my film course and while I've learned more from simply watching movies the book still makes some damn good points about narrative structure and effect on character.
While I'm on the subject, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is getting a screenplay release, as did the Dark Knight Trilogy. Who else is with me for wanting screenplay publications of the DCEU films? That would be SWEET.
Doesn't seem like you're as interested in getting help with writing as you are in getting help with illustration.
Still, regarding writing, I strongly recommend reading Scott McCloud's two seminal books on comic books: Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics.
I learned as much about comics from reading those two books as I learned about film from reading Story, by Robert McKee.
I.e., my appreciation and understanding of both media forms increased exponentially.
Here are some resources I’ve found interesting and/or useful.
Books
There are over 10,000 results for “screenwriting” when you search for books on Amazon.com, and at least one new screenwriting book is published every week.
Here are some “how to” books I recommend:
There are also good books about the screenwriting life. Some of my favorites are:
Software
Some of the most popular screenwriting format programs include:
More options are discussed here, and you can find about 40 screenwriting programs at The Writer’s Store.
Most programs have free trials, so you can see which one you like best before you commit.
Having screenwriting software is necessary (IMHO) but not sufficient to write a properly formatted screenplay. The software will let you designate dialogue as V.O. (voice over) or O.S. (off-screen), but it won’t explain when you use which. For that, and for many other things, you need to read something that gets into the details of formatting, like The Screenwriter’s Bible.
Many format programs have lots of bells and whistles including:
There are also specialized software programs that supposedly help with plotting and structure, character development, etc., but I’ve never used any.
Screenplays
You can often find screenplays for produced movies by googling the name of the movie along with “PDF.”
Scott Myers has collected a list of 100+ scripts made available by studios and production companies here.
Scripts often appear online around awards season (roughly the three months before the Oscars) but they may disappear later. So if you find a copy of a script you really want to study, it’s a good idea to download and save it.
You can also try Simply Scripts, The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb), and Drew’s Script-O-Rama.
Many libraries and bookstores carry published scripts, but often the format will be somewhat different from the original version.
Here are some resources that have helped me.
First Time Director
Story
How to Win Friends & Influence People
Dov Simens 2 Day Film School
Dov Simens might come off as a horrible/ tacky salesmen but his 2 day course you can get on DVD is great, he breaks the process down better than I've seen elsewhere. Some stuff may be dated but it could get you started.
Take this approach to study.
Find a Director who's work you love, watch everything you can find of theirs. Watch all the behind the scenes you can find, then start copying them until you have learnt the rules and are able to recreate something almost as they would. Then with that experience start trying new things.
Also Gnomon Workshop and Digital Tutors are very helpful for the post side of things.
This one is still required reading for film school students:
https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/
Estudei cinema em 2010, na época um dos livros indicados no curso era o Power Filmmaking Kit, o livro é um overview de toda produção cinematográfica, eu recomendo. Um mais recente que segue a mesma linha, e mais bem avaliado na amazon é o The Filmmaker's Handbook, porém esse eu não li.
Sobre roteiro, um dos mais indicados é o Story do Robert Mackee, o cara tem cacife em Hollywood, tem uma cena no Adaptation, onde o personagem do Nicolas Cage está com writer's block e vai numa palestra do Robert Mackee pra tentar resolver o problema, é um dos meus filmes favoritos, recomendo tanto quanto o livro. Tem também os livros do Sid Field, que também são bem influentes quanto a roteiros.
Sobre edição, In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing, do Walter Murch.
Sobre atuação e direção, da uma lida sobre o Stanislavski, que desenvolveu o Método(já ouviu falar em atores metódicos? foi daqui que saiu), Stella Adler que estudou com o Stanislavski e escreu sobre atuação/direção também.
Dear guy in the first half of this note,
Here's your fucking problem, asshole: you're a self-centered shitheel who only writes for himself. Want to know how I know this? Because you're bitching about the one aspect of editing that requires the least amount of patience and provides the greatest benefit to readability: spelling and punctu-fuck-you-ation.
Grammar Nazis, jerks or not, are providing a public fucking service. I'm glad you're pissed off. You should be. However, if you're getting a complex, it's not because they're Nazis, it's because you're a shitty student.
Dear guy asking for help,
Great to hear you're interested in improving your ability to communicate. On one hand, it is as easy as having a conversation. On the other, it's really not. Without non-verbal cues and cliches to communicate your meaning and subtext, it becomes easy to write in a way that feels stilted or transmits ideas you don't intend. I recommend continuing to read the authors you like, but start keeping an eye on syntax and structure. That's really the best way to keep sharp. You'll be able to learn which rules persist because they work well (using dashes rather than parentheses, for instance) and which can be broken for the sake of an aesthetic or readership (i.e., Cormac McCarthy's phobia about double-quoting dialog). The rules aren't as strict as you might have been led to believe, but you'll find in time that you respect those stronger rules more for a simple reason: they just work, no matter what you're communicating.
For composition, I recommend William K. Zinsser's On Writing Well. It's a pleasurable read and useful for all but the very best and most experienced writers (and maybe them as well).
For story craft, I recommend Bob McKee's Story and Stephen King's On Writing. The former is nigh fucking indispensable; the second, just gratifying to read.
For spelling, Merriam-Websters and practice.
For punctuation, just be sufficiently considerate of your readers to google the rule you're not sure about.
Thanks for posting this. I hope my 2 cents help.
Watch your favorite movies and break down the structure. Define the external and internal goals that move the plot forward. What is the movie saying (theme)? Strive for great subtext in your dialogue. Get in a scene as late as possible and leave as early. Use Final Draft. Don't put camera angles or shots in your script: don't direct!
Resources:
Story by Robert McKee
Possibly (and I personally have issues with his attitude and viewpoints on filmmaking) but that's beside the point. The point is a lot of young filmmakers found/find this book inspiring and empowering, even though it's probably outdated for the Youtube generation.
And to be fair to my housemate (he's a screenwriter, which is what the OP is interested in), it took him a while to come up with a book that he can recommend and at the same time not too technical, after I shot down a couple of other titles (like this, this and this.)
Story, by Robert McKee?
I read Robert McKee's Story and found it super insightful.
I'm starting too. Here's the list of resources I am planning on working my way through. No promises that you will know how to write after you are done, but it's a place to start. I haven't read/watched everything on this list yet (I'm just starting Brandon Sanderson's lectures, I have read On Writing, I have read some of Chuck Palahniuk's essays, and I went to a lecture on plotting that was largely based on Save the Cat), it's just the list of what I am planning on checking out.
Brandon Sanderson's Creative Writing Lectures
Chuck Palahniuk's Essay on Writing
On Writing by Stephen King
[Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott]
(https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016/)
Story by Robert McKee
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
This thread also has additional resources.
Oh, also, this is a funny resource, but I like reading Query Shark because one of the things that comes up over and over again is boiling a story down to three questions: who is your main character, what do they want, why can't they get it? I think when you are writing, you want to keep those questions at the core of your story and a lot of her comments on the blog are about cutting through all the extra stuff and getting to that core.
Edit: I missed that you said you already watched the Brandon Sanderson lectures. Sorry!
Seconding Robert McKee's Story. Just reading a few pages makes me want to dash off and write the rest of the day.
Story
You might want to check out Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
Hi u/Calicox,
Brandon Sanderson has a series of lectures he did at Brigham Young University when teaching a creative writing class there. Here's his lecture on character, but the others I've seen are also worth your time.
You may find the following books helpful:
This
This
This
This
This
This
This
Best,
DR-M
I often see questions like “How do I become a screenwriter?” or "How can I write a screenplay?"
So here’s an answer you can read in five minutes or less.
Read at least two screenwriting “how-to” books
For example, you could try:
I think it’s a good idea to read more than one book because you don’t want to get the idea that there’s only one right way to write a screenplay. Different authors have different approaches that you may find more or less useful.
TAKE NOTES ON WHAT YOU LEARN.
Read at least five professional scripts
You can often find them by googling the name of the movie along with “PDF.”
You can also try Simply Scripts and The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb).
Your reading list should include scripts for movies that have been made in the past five years, so you can see what styles are current.
TAKE NOTES ON WHAT YOU LEARN.
One thing you should notice is that professional scripts have certain things in common. For example, they almost all have sluglines that look something like this:
EXT. RAIN FOREST – DAY
Some writers put sluglines in bold (which is a current fashion), and some don’t.
You should also notice that other things are different. For example, some writers use CAPS for objects and sounds a lot more than other writers do. Some writers write long, detailed descriptions of locations; others don’t.
One reason for this exercise is to get a sense of what a professional script looks like – what’s “standard,” and what’s more a matter of individual taste/style.
Another reason to read a lot of scripts (especially award-winning ones) is to get a feel for what “good” looks like.
Think about how these pro scripts follow (or not) the “rules” in the books you’ve read.
Follow along in the script as you’re watching the movie
Notice how words on a page translate into sights and sounds on the screen.
Notice how much detail is written out by the screenwriter, and how much is left to others (like the costume designer, set designer, or fight choreographer).
Come up with a screenplay idea/story
A good source for help with developing commercial story ideas is Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds.
Or read this blog: https://lauridonahue.com/fantastic-ideas-and-where-to-find-them-stps-5/
It can be helpful to put your idea into logline form. One basic model for loglines is:
>[Type of person or group] must [do or overcome something] in order to [achieve some goal].
You can also add details about where and when the story takes place, if relevant.
For example:
>A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a restless farm-boy must rescue a princess and learn to use his supernatural powers in order to defeat an evil empire.
Create a beat-sheet
A beat-sheet is a short (1-2 page) outline of what happens in your script.
For example, you can use the famous/infamous Blake Snyder “Save the Cat” Beat Sheet.
The books you’ve read may have other models for this.
Some people don’t like outlining. They just like to jump right into the story and start writing. How you work is up to you. But you may find that having an outline will let you know if you’ve got enough story (or too much), keep you on track, and save you from wasting time.
Write a treatment or a scriptment
A treatment or scriptment is a longer kind of outline.
Again, you may prefer just to dive in. It’s up to you.
Try to write a screenplay
It’s a good idea to get script formatting software, like Celtx or Highland or Final Draft. If you try to write a script in Word or another standard word processing program, you may drive yourself nuts dealing with format issues, and the end result may not look professional.
Or, just can write your first draft in a notebook, and do your second draft using formatting software. (I decided I wasn’t going to spend money on Final Draft until I proved to myself I could finish a first draft by hand.)
If you finish, congratulations. You’re now a screenwriter. Most wannabes never make it to that point.
However, your script probably isn’t very good. Most first scripts are awful.
What if you want to be a GOOD screenwriter?
Then you’ve got a lot more work ahead of you.
Put the script aside
Don’t work on it for at least a week. You want to be able to see it with fresh eyes.
Don’t show it to anyone yet, however much you want people to tell you how awesome it is.
This would be a good time to start working on your next script.
Rewrite
Look back at your notes from the screenwriting books and scripts you read. Think about what makes a script good.
Compare your script to the professional scripts, in terms of format, structure, dialogue, pacing, description, action, etc.
Re-read the chapters on revisions in the books you read.
Read a book like Making a Good Script Great and apply what it suggests.
Rewrite again and again and again until your script is as good as you think you can make it.
Get feedback
Do NOT get feedback on your first draft. Get feedback on your BEST draft.
So where do you get feedback?
Whatever you do, don’t be a douche about the feedback you get. Accept it with THANKS and graciously, even if you think the reader is an idiot for failing to recognize your genius.
And before you ask anyone for free feedback, read this – and don’t be that guy.
Rewrite again and again and again
Again, in between rewrites and while you’re waiting for feedback, put your script aside and work on more scripts.
You could experiment with different formats (feature, TV, short, webisode, etc.), genres, and styles. Discover where your strengths and interests lie.
Get more feedback; revise; repeat
Repeat as needed until people who know what they’re talking about (not your buddies, not your mom) say it’s good, and/or you start placing in contests like the Nicholl and Austin and/or getting 8s and up on The Black List.
Keep in mind that it may take years, and many drafts of many scripts, before you get to this point… if you ever do. (Most people don’t.)
If you do make it that far – congratulations again! You’re now a pretty good screenwriter.
(If you like this, please subscribe to my blog: https://lauridonahue.com/how-to-become-a-screenwriter-in-five-minutes-or-less-stps-4/)
Edit: this isn't mine it's Seshat_the_Scribe but it should help
All of them, really. Absolutely no harm will come from reading all the books out there (for a while). At worst, you'll learn ways of doing things that DON'T work for you but it's still good knowledge to have.
After a while, eventually, you'll start noticing though that all the new books out are just copying and rephrasing the books that came before them. That's when it's time to stop.
Some of the popular ones are syd field's book, Robert McKee's book, Joseph Campbell's book (and imo a book called The Writer's Journey by Christopher something that analyzes Campbell's book and puts it into modern story telling terms). That'll get you started. I have varying opinions of each of those books and none of them should be adhered to by law, but they ALL contain concepts and theories that, as a professional writer, you'd do well to expose yourself to. If for no other reason than that you can be aware of the concepts when others talk about them.
Tangentially, Stephen king's On Writing and William Goldman's books are great reads but don't necessarily apply to the craft of screen writing directly. Also useful to read any interviews or collections of interviews with screen writers. You may also want to check out some podcasts, Jeff goldsmith's interviews with screen writers is great and I have no idea if it's still available or even what it's called but I used to listen to one titled something like Sam and Jim Go to Hollywood (I am positive I got those names wrong) about two guys who up and quit their careers as restaurant owners and moved to Hollywood to become writers and share what they've learned. Ted Rossio and Terry Elliot also run, or ran, a website with forums (which are eh) and and a collection of articles about screen writing which are fantastic.
This was all stuff I was into years ago, so I don't know how much of it is still relevant, because like I said when you get to a certain point you've kind of read everything out there and it all starts repeating itself, and you realize all that's left is to read screenplays and write a ton.
Good luck.
e: back on my computer, here are some links:
Syd Field's Sreenplay (he has several books out, that's the one you should start with as it lays the foundation for basic story structure of nearly all modern movies. IMO, it's also the best one out there because he never says these are rules in any way, he simply analyzed a bunch of movies and lays out his findings for you to do with as you wish)
Robert McKee's Story
Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces
and Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey
Stephen King's On Writing which describes his writing style and, while I don't prefer it, is a very interesting style similar to the Cohen Brothers
William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie did I Tell? two accounts of William Goldman's experiences as one of the top writers in Hollywood, and dealing with the business. Writer of The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, and many others. Dude's a legend.
Jeff Goldsmith's Q&A podcast he also did the same style podcast while working for a screenwriting magazine, though the name escapes me right now
Sam and Jim Go to Hollywood holy shit I got their names right I can't believe it. Seems to be dead for a few years but it looks like their podcasts are still up.
Wordplay, Ted & Terry's website read every single one of those articles
e: BONUS! Not that useful as an educational resource, but it's fun to read Ken Levine's blog, writer on MASH and Cheers Ken's blog (no, not the guy who made BioShock)
https://www.amazon.ca/Screenplay-Foundations-Screenwriting-Syd-Field/dp/0385339038/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1474698495&sr=8-2&keywords=screenwriting
https://www.amazon.ca/Story-Structure-Substance-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474698472&sr=8-1&keywords=story
https://www.amazon.ca/Save-Cat-Last-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474698480&sr=8-1&keywords=save+the+cat
https://www.amazon.ca/Writing-Movies-Fun-Profit-Billion/dp/1439186766/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474698488&sr=8-1&keywords=writing+for+fun+and+profit
Buy all 4 read them in the above order, The first 3 will teach you everything you need to know. The last one gives great insight into actually making money off of it.
No, hang on.
What I said is that I grew up in a dysfunctional family in New Mexico. There's absolutely zero interest in that.
What interests you is the way I presented it. This is something that Robert McKee points out at great length - a good storyteller can have you hanging on the edge of your seat telling you about her commute into work, while a bad storyteller can make you look for the doors as she tells you about the time she was kidnapped by Iranians.
I really don't think my life is any more interesting than anyone else's - I might be better at expressing my enthusiasm for it, though.
It really isn't about me no matter how many people wish it were.
It's a great book for just about any field - it helps teach the reader how to effectively tell a story, which in turn helps one appreciate stories more. I think Story by Robert McKee is also a great book on story-writing (screenplays, this case), and also a potentially valuable book for many more people than just aspiring writers. Incidentally, it's been recommended reading by several prominent comic book writers (such as Brian Michael Bendis).
My answer has mixed opinions at this board, but the fact is a professional writer needs to have a strong grasp of business sense to keep from being torn apart by vultures, especially trad publishing vultures. The contracts are stuff of legend and getting worse. Read every last word of this blog to catch up on the situation.
This page is very helpful too.
So what that means is, the better your business and marketing chops, the more you'll have in your toolbox to deal with everything that comes with being a writer. We don't just sit back and collect checks. There's marketing, contract know-how, and strategic decisions to make whether indie or trad. You have to know how to make your own website, strike up your own social media, and make sure no one is stabbing you in the back.
English lit? A skeptic here. Read the classics. Read the books in the syllabus. But major on it? One of the biggest complaints I read on the tubes is how college classes skew prose into such a pretzel that the only thing they teach is how to be obscure. I mean, I guess it depends on who you want your audience to be. People who turn their noses up at even well-written, people-accessible genre books? Or people who want to become enveloped in a story that transcends their everyday life?
Do I think you should be well-read? Fuck. Yeah. Am I slamming the classics? Not on whole. Do I think it's a shame profs aren't teaching basic plot structure during the entire curriculum? Oh yes.
One of the three links I gave you directly above (Immediate Fiction) was written by a man who was FURIOUS after he graduated from college and realized he still knew jack-shit about writing a book.
Story by Robert McKee. This will show you The Matrix.
Story Grid by Shawn Coyne. This book will take your novel from vague concept to power-outline.
Also excellent is /r/Mistborn's lecture series, available for free on the Youtubes. It's aimed at fantasy and sci-fi writing but has plenty of relevance for any other genre.
I've had two successful self-pubbed novels with a third one coming soon and these are the resources that took me from scrub to author.
Try this.
From a theory/craft/story building perspective, I'd start with either John Truby's Anatomy of Story (The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865479933/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_l1iMBb6PRTA0G), or Robert McKee's Story (Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060391685/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_e2iMBb0CKZ42M). They have some similarities but either is a good starting point for the background theories in story telling and story development.
For formatting/templates there are lots of guides. A general Google search for screenplay formatting should get you a good starting point for the standards needed.
Teaching yourself to have a critical eye to discern between good and bad film (and then further between good and great film) takes time as well as remembering that each person's opinion on what makes any one film good/great is subjective. That said, getting a basis in critical film analysis can help because that will get you watching films that have the best stories/characters/dialogues/settings/etc. This will prime your subconscious and get you thinking in those ways so that when you write your own work, you're starting from a place of strength rather than from cliche.
Research what kind of screenplays you could do - original, adaptations, big budget, studio specific, independent, genre, art house, etc. Maybe you'd be happier in a writer's room at a small studio as opposed to a large one. Maybe you really like adaptations. Try to figure out what powers your desire to write (Truby has a great exercise early in his book for this).
Find a local writer's group if possible. Hopefully one that has other screenwriters, but any good group you mesh with well helps, as they can be external mentors and feedback for your efforts.
Look at participating in National Novel Writing Month in November as a rebel (i.e. someone writing something other than a novel) as motivation/structure/deadline to forcing yourself to write.
And most of all - write. Just start. Get going and keep going. You'll want to freeze up or get it right, but so much good comes during the many iterations your story will take, so start earlier rather than later.
Hope that helps.
ETA: links
Thank you so much!! And it'd probably have to be [Story by Robert McKee] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060391685/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1SRNO2CWX8NCW&coliid=I2WTS8OHFQA721) just because I really want to try to dive into screenwriting a lot more and I was pushed towards this book by a lot of people, not only to just read it, but to use it as a tool for insight.
In that order.
The rest are novels and screenplays you should read to understand story in general, you can't write unless you read, (hemingway, fitzgerald, dostoevsky, tolstoy, dickens, homer's odyssey, all the greats) screenplays being the latter as you're going to eventually get to the point where screenplays give you nothing anymore except critique, but are good at learning film story telling structure to begin with. You can find scripts here:
*I forgot to mention, using final draft is really only a matter of tab and enter (double enter will bring a drop down if needed), if you want keyboard shortcuts, you can try Format > Elements, and you can specify or view them there. But, it's quite automatic in the sense that if you start a new line and type EXT or INT it's going to auto format, knowing it's a slugline. Always use Warner Bros template when starting a new script.
If you're tempted to give it a go, then go for it. I'd advise you to think ahead, though. If you just write one book, you can expect it to swim and then drift downwards. I did originally think standalone before I started. My research quickly put that notiob to rest. I had to start with a series. I wrote my first three before even marketing which worked really well. (If you see my OP you can look at my stuff)
I highly recommend you read two books right now.
One is this (essential): https://www.amazon.com/Publish-Repeat-No-Luck-Required-Self-Publishing-Success-ebook/dp/B00H26IFJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484083927&sr=8-1&keywords=write+publish+repeat
And here's the other one - it's technically for screenwriting, but the tips in there apply to books (essential for helping you write and think about your stories): https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484083965&sr=8-1&keywords=mckee+story
Hope this helps! Am happy to help you along the way, hit me up on FaceBook if you like.