Barely Sarcasm

I haven’t read a lot of “how to” books on writing, but that’s not to say that they aren’t good.  So rather than just tell you books that they say to read at a Robert McKee seminars, I’ll just tell you what I know:

If you’re looking to write TV and Film there’s a bunch of varying opinions.  Some of the best advice I can give is to read scripts of things you like. That way you can actually see how the words translate to the screen.  You can get free scripts generally by searching the internet.  There’s different styles for 1 hour drama TV, 1/2 hour single camera comedy, 1/2 hour multi-cam (sit-com) and for movies.  Everyone has a slightly (or in some cases very) different style and some people have different preferences, but when you read and look at enough scripts, you can get the important parts and have at least some kind of template. 

But as far as reading things that actually helped me? 

This: http://www.mypdfscripts.com/writers-style-walter-hill/

and this: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero%27s_journey.htm

Other than that, there’s a book called SAVE THE CAT which is good for the writing formula, I think… And I think there’s a sequel to that called SAVE THE CAT GOES TO THE MOVIE or what not…

Oh, and if you’re looking to write a book?  I was inspired/influenced by Hemingway and Bukowski but only after I was inspired by Dreiser, Fitzgerald and Faulkner.  Then I started reading Rex Stout books and some contemporary stuff like DEXTER…

I’m sure there’s other stuff that I’m forgetting, but yeah - I hope this helps!