Screenwriting / Development
1. 
The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
by:
John Truby
4.25 avg rating — 7,030 ratings 1. 
The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers
by:
Matt Bird
4.41 avg rating — 1,008 ratings 3. 
Cut to the Chase: Writing Feature Films with the Pros at UCLA Extension Writers' Program
by:
Linda Venis
4.42 avg rating — 129 ratings 4. 
Sitcom Writers Talk Shop: Behind the Scenes with Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and Other Geniuses of TV Comedy
by:
Paula Finn
4.39 avg rating — 33 ratings 5. 
The Secrets of Action Screenwriting: From "Popeye Points" to "Rug Pulls" 4.40 avg rating — 109 ratings
5. 
The Scream Writer's Handbook: How to Write a Terrifying Screenplay in 10 Bloody Steps
by:
Thomas Fenton
3.73 avg rating — 49 ratings 5. 
Screenplay Competitions: Tools and Insights to Help You Choose the Best Screenwriting Contests for You and Your Script it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
8. 
Story Maps: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot 4.10 avg rating — 194 ratings
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11. 
Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End
by:
Karl Iglesias
4.27 avg rating — 687 ratings 
14. 
Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
by:
William Goldman
4.02 avg rating — 2,780 ratings 15. 
Writing & Selling Crime Film Screenplays
by:
Karen Lee Street
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings 16. 
Write What You Don't Know: An Accessible Manual for Screenwriters
by:
Julian Hoxter
4.12 avg rating — 24 ratings 17. 
Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories
by:
Peter Hanson
3.85 avg rating — 284 ratings 
19. 
Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
by:
William Goldman
4.12 avg rating — 8,201 ratings 20. 
Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It to a Theater Near You—for Better or Worse
by:
David S. Cohen
3.65 avg rating — 170 ratings 
22. 
Experimental Filmmaking: BREAK THE MACHINE
by:
Kathryn Ramey
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings 
24. 
Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment
by:
Anita Elberse
3.75 avg rating — 822 ratings 25. 
Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror
by:
Jason Zinoman
3.86 avg rating — 2,603 ratings 26. 
Moviemakers' Master Class: Private Lessons from the World's Foremost Directors
by:
Laurent Tirard
4.14 avg rating — 1,145 ratings 
28. 
The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever
by:
Alan Sepinwall
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4,771 ratings 29. 
Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad
by:
Brett Martin
3.84 avg rating — 3,491 ratings 30. 
31. 
Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization
by:
Michael Tierno
3.83 avg rating — 624 ratings 
33. 
34. 
The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction
by:
Erik Bork
4.24 avg rating — 551 ratings 
36. 
Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
by:
Michael Hauge
3.90 avg rating — 273 ratings 37. 
Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
by:
Robert McKee
4.27 avg rating — 17,108 ratings 38. 
My Story Can Beat Up Your Story: Ten Ways to Toughen Up Your Screenplay from Opening Hook to Knockout Punch 4.44 avg rating — 302 ratings
39. 
Inside the Room: Writing Television with the Pros at UCLA Extension Writers' Program
by:
Linda Venis
3.92 avg rating — 122 ratings 40. 
The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny
by:
Steve Kaplan
4.24 avg rating — 862 ratings 41. 
The Story Solution: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take
by:
Eric Edson
4.31 avg rating — 218 ratings 42. 
And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft and the Industry
by:
Mike Sacks
4.05 avg rating — 2,103 ratings 43. 
The Art of Screen Adaptation: Top Writers Reveal Their Craft
by:
Alistair Owen
4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings 44. 
The Creative Screenwriter: 12 Rules to Follow—and Break—to Unlock Your Screenwriting Potential
by:
Julian Hoxter
4.60 avg rating — 15 ratings 45. 
Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (Now Write! Writing Guide Series)
by:
Sherry Ellis
4.09 avg rating — 113 ratings 46. 
Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate
by:
Brian McDonald
4.38 avg rating — 1,503 ratings 
48. 
Four Screenplays with Essays: Marathon Man - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - The Princess Bride - Misery
by:
William Goldman
4.34 avg rating — 333 ratings 49. 
Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road
by:
Kyle Buchanan
4.32 avg rating — 4,803 ratings 
51. 
You're Lucky You're Funny: How Life Becomes a Sitcom
by:
Phil Rosenthal
4.18 avg rating — 747 ratings 52. 
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History
by:
Andy Greene
4.14 avg rating — 11,779 ratings 53. 
Television Development: How Hollywood Creates New TV Series
by:
Bob Levy
4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings 54. 
Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever
by:
Nick de Semlyen
4.06 avg rating — 3,065 ratings 55. 
Written by Salim-Javed: The Story of Hindi Cinema's Greatest Screenwriters 3.93 avg rating — 229 ratings
56. 
57. 
Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists
by:
Steven Bach
4.01 avg rating — 975 ratings 
59. 
The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories
by:
Frank Rose
3.87 avg rating — 971 ratings 60. 
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
by:
Ed Catmull
4.21 avg rating — 100,176 ratings 61. 
TV Writing On Demand: Creating Great Content in the Digital Era
by:
Neil Landau
3.84 avg rating — 25 ratings 62. 
TV Outside the Box: Trailblazing in the Digital Television Revolution
by:
Neil Landau
3.43 avg rating — 30 ratings 63. 
The Executive Chair: A Writer’s Guide to TV Series Development
by:
Kelly Edwards
4.46 avg rating — 54 ratings 
65. 
The TV Showrunner's Roadmap: Creating Great Television in an On Demand World
by:
Neil Landau
4.05 avg rating — 154 ratings 66. 
The Smoking Gun: True Tales from Hollywood's Screenwriting Trenches
by:
Doug Richardson
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 15 ratings