The must-have “screenwriters' bible" is called Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. It isn’t a “how to write a screenplay” book per se. Instead it examines the narrative structure of a work and what makes the story compelling or not. One read of Story, and you’ll definitely be seeing your own work in a different light!

The author Robert McKee has been criticized for being someone who teaches screenwriting without ever having had a script of his made into a film. I think this is nonsense! McKee himself has responded to such criticisms, saying, "The world is full of people who teach things they themselves cannot do", which I heartily agree with.

Purchase Robert McKee’s Story