Aside from attending film festivals around your area to network with potential key contacts and get to know industry trends, online and offline screenwriting groups and forums are also important for the job.
5 Screenwriting Resources to Get Started
Written by: AJ Bajo
June 24, 2021
With the sheer amount of screenwriting resources that can be found online and offline (free and not), it can be hard to pin down which ones to start with.
That being said, here’s our list of five screenwriting resources to help guide you in your creative writing process!
Screenwriting Books
Many screenwriting books have become classics, while more recent ones prove essential to guide budding screenwriters into the fast-evolving film and TV industry.
For starters, some of the most popular and helpful screenwriting books of all time include Screenplay by Syd Field, The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier, and The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.
Screenwriting Groups/Forums
You have to flex your social skills for this one! Aside from attending film festivals around your area to network with potential key contacts and get to know industry trends, online and offline screenwriting groups and forums are also important for the job.
For example, subreddit r/screenwriting is a big community of over a million subscribers where you can share your screenwriting stories, get some advice and industry updates, and find more screenwriting resources.
Screenplay Library
You’ll love this one. How about scouring The Script Lab’s screenplay database for your film favorites and checking out how they were written? Make sure you save the link–it’s binge-worthy!
Screenwriting Terms
While a lot of the fundamentals of writing for screen look similar to other writing mediums, screenwriters have to employ various terms to make sure their story can be translated well into motion during production.
From the establishing shot to the slug line, check out this screenwriting terms guide compiled by Screencraft.
Screenwriting Software
Screenwriting software can boost your writing productivity by helping you efficiently map out your story, synchronize with a writing partner, and plan your moves from pre- to post-production.
You can also check our list of five screenwriting software to start out with!
