Two New Books

I picked up two new books today. The first is “Screenplay” by Syd Field. I’ve actually had this in my hands a few times, including the day that I bought “The Screenwriter’s Workbook,” but never got around to buying it. Well, I finally did. The other one is “Screenplay: Writing the Picture” by Robin U. Russin and William Missouri Downs.

I picked up each for different reasons. I mean, I enjoy reading in general. I read as many screenplays as I can get my hands on. But, to really appreciate something you need to educate yourself on how it’s made. That’s sort of how I view these books. Learning about the screenwriting process, and film making process in general, just makes me appreciate film as a medium all that much more.

At any rate, I picked up “Screenplay” because it’s one of the de facto books “all screenwriters must own.” And honestly, I had a 15 dollar Borders gift card and the book was only 16 bucks. So I figured what the hey. Also, it doesn’t dwell on how to sell a screenplay. I’m not interested in that. One day maybe, but at this point I’m writing because I enjoy writing. Not because I think I have anything I can sell. A lot of books out there waste 1/3 to 1/2 the book on how to sell yourself and your screenplay. I’m not there yet, and I don’t want to read about that yet. Plus, I have a few friends in the industry, and if I need advice, I’l go to them on tips on how to start educating myself. Plus, I like how Syd Field writes, it’s easy to read and he doesn’t bloat his prose with extra words.

I picked up “Screenplay: Writing the Picture” because I needed a book written by someone other than Syd. Syd’s great, but to truly learn you have to get input from all the masters, not just one. It’s just healthy to get your education from multiple sources. I’d also heard some good things about this book. Sure, it has some stuff about the selling and pitching of your work, but it deals significantly more with writing theory, and that’s what I’m interested in.

I want to learn how to write. I want to learn how to structure my stories more efficiently. I want to learn how to do things “better.” Sales pitches aren’t going to help me with that. I need to learn writing theory, and that’s really what these books, and the others in my collection, deal with. Reading a book isn’t going to get your screenplay produced, but if your not going to enroll in writing workshops and classes, it’s the next best thing you can do.

As I said, I’m not a professional, but I’ve “gone pro.” I’ve written screenplays. I’m over that first hump. I know I can do it. I’m now working on doing it better. And hopefully, with enough work, I’ll do it better than everyone else. Realistically, just getting my work up to my own personal standards will be enough for me. Since I don’t have any delusions of grandure that my stuff is going to get me famous, it’s really a win win for me.  I’m not a starving artist. I’m not worried about paying the bills. I didn’t up and move to L.A. hoping to make it. I’ve estabished my life doing something else and now I’m safely chasing my dream in whatever way I can.

It may not be the way everyone does it, but it’s the way I’m doing it. Not everyone gets to live in L.A. Not everyone gets to be famous. But, everyone gets to write. At least that’s my take.

I’ll let you know how I enjoy the books when I finish them.

Enjoy.

-Steve