"Write brutal. Write without shame. Don’t worry about those silly grammar rules you learn in school. And ignore the need to construct a basic sentence. You don’t need any of that bullshit where we’re going".
Every
writer needs to read and part of that reading should be on the art of writing. Here
are my pick of absolute favorite books to have if you want to take your writing
seriously.
These are
in order of importance to me, but then they take a decidedly “screenwriter”
slant. I would read them whether you aspire for the lights of Hollywood or the
front window at Barnes and Noble.
My
favorite and one I reread every year is:
Bird by
Bird by Anne Lamott
This will
inspire you like no other writing book. It is not just about writing, but pure
life advice taking the painstaking work and making it digestible in small
doses. This book motivates and encourages.
It gives
you the permission to be you and that first drafts do not have to be perfect
(or even good) the point is to keep going.
A
couple of gems:
*
One-inch picture frames: big ideas can engulf you; write about a moment in
time, one short scene, something that would fit into a one-inch picture frame.
* Writing
is putting down one word after another (the best advice for a writer is
to...write).
* You
have to give your best stuff to your current project and not try to save it or
hoard it; sort of a 'use it or lose it' attitude.
* The
myth of publication: if you weren't enough before publication, you're not going
to be enough after publication.
On Writing- a memoir of the craft, by Stephen King
On
Writing is where the aspiring novelists will find inspiration. Mr. King gives
short lessons in the mechanics of prose here and there. What he mostly offers
to the aspiring writer is the inspiration, the cheerleading, and as some have
already suggested, after reading it makes you want to sit and write something.
He actually allows you into his writing routine, when and where he writes, how
many months it takes to write the first draft, and even how he goes about
editing the second draft.
Some
very original thoughts I found quite interesting:
1.
Story is a fossil you find on the ground, and you gradually dig it out slowly.
2.
He doesn't plot his stories. He puts "a group of characters in some sort
of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free." In fact
he even goes as far as to say, "Plot is shift, and best kept under house
arrest."
3.
Write first draft with the "door" closed, and the second draft with
it open.
Story by Robert McKee
Story is the best book on the mechanics of narrative writing not screenwriting, but any kind of narrative writing I’ve ever read. It
breaks the art of storytelling down into its most basic components: conflict,
character, plot, climax, etc.; all of the things you’ll hear about in any
writing workshop–but McKee explains them with unusual clarity and depth. Structure
and Setting, Act Design, Scene Design, there’s no superfluous chapter, and the
dictum's delivered are widely applicable.
Story offers sound concepts that can save any storyteller hours
of frustration. Story is simply first rate as a tool for diagnosing that
horrible sinking feeling we all get when we know something isn't quite right
with our tale...but we just can't figure out what. This book will cure that
problem forever.
Buy it
here:
Writing
Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
By
Natalie Goldberg
With
insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and
would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She
offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the
writer’s craft: on writing from “first thoughts” (keep your hand moving, don’t
cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent
listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs
provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture;
don’t listen to it)—even on choosing a restaurant in which to write.
Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of
their lives. The advice in her book, provided in short, easy-to-read chapters
with titles that reflect the author’s witty approach will inspire anyone who
writes—or who longs to.
The
Elements of Style – William Strunk and E.B. White
It’s true
that a lack of grammar and punctuation can be the specific style of your story.
It’s also true that more than likely you’ll have an editor who can correct
these types of things for you. But if not, then please, for the love of
all that’s holy, stop using commas in place of periods. Remember that names
should be capitalized. Unless you’re writing poetry, stop hitting the ‘enter’
key in the middle of a sentence. And I’m begging you to proofread.
Buy it
here:
If it is making movies you want to
do, you must read:
Which Lie
Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
By
William Goldman
From the
Oscar-winning screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The
Princess Bride (he also wrote the novel), and the bestselling author of Adventures
in the Screen Trade comes a garrulous new book that is as much a
screenwriting how-to (and how-not-to) manual as it is a feast of insider
information.
If you
want to know why a no name like Kathy Bates was cast in Misery-it's in
here. Why Clint Eastwood
loves working with Gene Hackman and how MTV has changed movies for the
worse-William Goldman, one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood
today, tells all he knows. Devastatingly eye-opening and endlessly
entertaining, Which Lie Did I Tell? is indispensable reading for anyone
even slightly intrigued by the process of how a movie gets made.
Save The
Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
By Blake
Snyder
This
ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a
show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the
cat!
Buy it
here:
Screenwriting
From the Soul: Letters to an Aspiring Screenwriter
By Richard W. Krevolin
How often
have you gone to the movies and come out of the theater thinking, "I could
have written that!" Many of us believe we have what it takes to turn out a
Hollywood blockbuster, if only we had the right tools to help us do it.
Screenwriting from the Soul is that tool. It simplifies the process, and at the
same time acknowledges that writing, especially screenwriting requires a great
deal of patience, stamina, and faith.
There are
many books on the art of screenwriting, but none approaches the subject from
the unique perspective of a dialogue between expert and novice. Screenwriting
from the Soul is geared to instruct the user in the practicalities, discipline,
and emotional resources required to produce that winning screenplay.
Buy it
here:
I will post a Fiction must-read reading list in the coming
lessons.
Your exercise for the day:
Write your book jacket (or movie log line). Must be less than
200 words as this practice teaches you the art of brevity. Please send them to me, print them and post
them on your writing space and then write your masterpiece!