I’ve never been one to subscribe to self-help or teach-yourself books on writing - but I’ve been recommended a few so consistently again and again that I’ve decided to take the plunge and see what effects they have… so here’s what I got (and hopefully I’ll get to them soon):
of course, we start with… Robert McKee’s Story (subtitle: “Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting”)
John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story (subtitle: “22 Steps to Becoming a Mastery Storyteller”)
Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! (subtitle: “The Last Book On Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need”)
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces (not even a teach-yourself-to-write book, just a seminal work I really should know fully - beyond conversationally and a Wikipedia glance)
I’ll check back here once I’m through some of them to report on whether or not they’re really worth their salt.