Books to help develop my writing skill.

Any book whatsoever will help you develop your writing. Even the shitty ones. Just read as much as you can and try and take note of what you think the author does right or wrong.

>>7807322
On Writing by Stephen King

>>7807332
Yes, I do that anyway.
I was looking for books which were made in a teaching format.

I will always rely on studying the books I read, but having a supplementary book alongside it which can be referred to to understand how and why certain sentences are effective and pleasurable to read is the main goal here.

>>7807369
>On Writing by Stephen King

This is the sort of book which I was looking for.
I'd like to compile a list of reference books in the future, which could hopefully help people find a first step if studying their favourite books isn't their ideal learning medium.

Thank you for the suggestion also anon.

>>7807322

>Screenplay by Syd Field

>Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

>Story by Robert McKee

Books tolerate more flexible structure than Hollywood movies, but if you ever need bones look here.

>>7808247
Bones are exactly what I was looking for. I am looking for good foundations to wrap a story around.

Thank you for those suggestions.

>>7807322
If you haven't already then read some introductions to poetry. Western Wind and Ode Less Travelled are good places to start.

>>7808304

Brilliant,
I have read a little poetry, but it is something i have neglected. It makes sense that to understand how to make effective sentences and paragraphs, an understanding of poetry would be needed.

The Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry will be difficult for me to get in the UK. But I do see a few good deals here and there.

Thank you for the suggestions.

>>7807322

bird by birds by annie dillard is very good

on writing by stephen king is quite famous--it's /ok/

murakami's book about running and writing might also be worth checking out--I've never read it

>>7808398
>bird by birds

bird by bird by Anne Lamott i mean

>>7808380
You can get a used copy (not latest edition) on Amazon for under a tenner.

>>7808398
The bird by bird looks interesting, as well as Murakami's book.

They seem to be personal tales rolled into a lesson, Which is usually worth a read.

Thanks dude.

>>7808440
I did see the 4th edition going for a lot cheaper. Do you think there would be a massive difference in the books?

I can't see how it would be so different that the older version is redundant.

This isn't a book but The Plinkett videos on the prequels are great for understanding the very core basics of what a screenplay should look like.

Helped me quite a bit.

>>7808398
On Writing is funny because Stephen King gives a lot of very good advice, much of which he clearly does not follow. I've heard several people suggest that he didn't write it, but instead was written by an editor or friend who just wanted to see the work be read.

>>7807322
Reading Like A Writer by Francine Prose is a must.

>>7807386
You would find The Elements Of Style to the point, I believe it was written by E.B. White - it's a rulebook to grammar and gives examples to those rules.

>>7810032
no, he obviously wrote the book, that suggestion is just silly. also, the only advice i found in his work that he doesn't follow is that of adverbs. he uses some very bad ones when he can't keep himself from doing so. but he also says he does break those rules/advice from time to time, so there's that. his best advice, anyways, is to simply write uninterrupted every day for several hours a day. the more you do it, the more you grow as a writer. also, to read and read and read like a madman.

>>7810098
Thank you dude.
I've added it to my list.

>>7811054
Yes,
I have that book listed already, I will most definitely be reading it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

>>7810014
I can't say I have ever seen them as learning material, more as just entertainment.

But maybe I should re watch them and listen closer.

File: 41OKj4lzSVL._SX333_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (25KB, 335x499px) Image search: [Google]

25KB, 335x499px

Is this good?

>>7808281
>>7808247
Another vote for Robert McKee. Great book to get a solid foundation.

>>7811187
Subtle, and also noted.
I will be practising my writing a lot, alongside reading these books.

It must be said though, that is a pretty cool looking notepad. Being a britfag I'm probably going to settle for a Mr. Tesco's cheap and cheerful notepad.

>>7811209
I'm not familiar with the book to know if it's any good.
It looks pretty detailed though, it's aimed at students. So it's difficult to know if it will teach you to pass an exam, or actually develop an individual writing style.

I can't say.

>>7811484
I was thinking of getting this book among the first I order.
Now that two people have recommended it, I feel more comfortable making the purchase.

I'm building up a small order list of which books I will order first. I think I will include this one.

>>7808304
Does anyone know the major differences between western wind's 5th edition and the 4th edition?

because there is a HUGE price difference.

This may help:

>http://briankoppelman.com/2013/12/31/con-men-gurus-and-the-screenwriting-instruction-industrial-complex/

>On the first SSSL, I said, “All screenwriting books are bullshit. All. Watch movies. Read screenplays. Let them be your guide.” And then on the fourth one, I said, “ The so-called screenwriting guru is really the so-called screenwriting con man. Don’t listen to them, if you don’t know their movies.”

>Since then, I have been asked many times, “Do you really mean all screenwriting books? Aren’t there any of any value?” And, “Are you including Robert McKee in those statements?”

>There’s a safe way to answer those questions, and it’s an answer I’ve given, “I haven’t read every book. There are parts of McKee’s book that are interesting. Some screenwriters I respect, including Billy Ray and Akiva Goldsman have told me that they’ve gotten a lot out of McKee’s course…”

I Have Aristotle's Poetics for screenwriters
Hero with a Thousand Faces
Writing for Comics by Alan Moore

A Sense of Style by Pinker

>>7813297
I had already waded through the boring Prologue and several tedious chapters of The Sense of Style, when it dawned on me how much this book resembles Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey. Not only is there the danger that The Sense of Style will be forced on hapless sophomores, but just as the classic by de Quincey has scant mention of opium, eaten or otherwise ingested, Professor Doctor Pinker's masterpiece has remarkably little to do with grammar or style. Instead, each book is a rambling discourse on what a supreme intellectual the author is and how exemplary is his erudition.

This book thus begins with a barrage of name dropping, so that the reader will come to associate Professor Doctor Pinker with his fellow preeminent intellectuals: Charles Darwin, neo-Darwinian Richard Dawkins, theoretical physicist Brian Greene, Noam Chomsky and philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (his wife). (The only expected name that he fails to mention is Stephen Hawking. How'd he miss Hawking?) Instead of grammar and style, we are treated to such discussions as dark matter causing the accelerated expansion of the universe, the migration north during the twentieth century of the descendants of former slaves, how many universes can dance on the head of a pin, and how he once organized some research papers based on the ancestry of the language each paper was written in.

When a tangental foray into grammar occasionally occurs, it turns out to be as useful as a rubber wrench. Consider, for example, paragraphs. How many reviews have you seen at this site where the reviewer has left one massive paragraph? He (seems to be a guy thing) was in some way so moved by the book that he had a lot to say about it, but since everyone skips those dense-looking reviews, all those words go forever unread. What instruction or guide can Doctor Professor Pinker provide for us? Ah, here it is:

"Paragraph breaks generally coincide with the
divisions between branches in the discourse
tree, that is, cohesive chunks of text. But the
same little notch must be used for divisions
between branches of every size, whether it's
the end of a major summation, or anything in between."

What? What the hell does that mean? Forget that it's pure buncombe. Do you want to write like that? Is that your paragon of fine organization and punctuation? If it is, please don't send me anything to read, as I'd rather have myself blinded. That's just a short example, and there are pages and pages of such prolix blague. Instead of writing in clear, plain and simple English, Doctor Professor Pinker prefers to write in the manner in which C. Montgomery Burns speaks, because the purpose of this book is not to convey practical advice on grammar and style. Instead, it's the fabulous intellect of Professor Doctor Pinker, theoretical linguist and rocket surgeon, on display for all to behold and tremble!

>>7812160
the newest edition is used as a textbook. i'm sure getting the fourth edition is perfectly fine. it's fucking excellent btw, well worth the read and filled with great poems.