Books about good
storytelling
Here are some of the books that have helped me on my way to better stories. Some are useful to all storytellers, some are most relevant to screenwriters.
This is the "bible" of screenplay format for film and television, written by Chris Riley. It says little about how to tell a good story, but it says almost everything about how to set it up in the right format for film and TV. Recommended in physical format and not as an e-book. This is an encyclopedia.
Written by Linda Seger, the lady who has a doctorate in good storytelling! This is her most famous book, and perhaps her best one in my opinion, but she also has books on subtext, dialogue, characters, etc.
Something as rare as a book about theology, ethics, world view, and Hollywood movies. From Brian Godawa, who has written films for Hollywood himself.
Contrary to many of the books out there that try to tell you what you should do, this book is like a giant panel discussion with some of the most well-known screenwriters in the industry telling you how they actually do it. This is one of the best educations in screenwriting I know about.
A different screenwriting book from Bob Saenz, who tries to "tell it like it is" and explain how the industry actually works. Easy to read and absolutely worth the time.
A "textbook" in action films, but also useful on screenwriting in general, in my opinion. Written by Michael Lucker, who has worked on more than 30 scripts for major studios.