--- title: Screenwriting description: Screenwriting is the craft of writing scripts for feature films, television shows, and other visual media. Learners will master narrative structure, character development, dialogue formatting, and pacing to translate visual stories into industry-standard screenplay formats. category: literature-writing subcategory: creative-writing difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/screenwriting --- # Screenwriting Screenwriting is the craft of writing scripts for feature films, television shows, and other visual media. Learners will master narrative structure, character development, dialogue formatting, and pacing to translate visual stories into industry-standard screenplay formats. ## Where to start Start with the BBC Writersroom Script Library, a free archive of produced television, film and radio scripts for studying dialogue, structure and formatting on the page. If you only use one resource, make it Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, a paid book first published in 1979 that introduced the three-act paradigm. Then use Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! for its fifteen-beat structure for plotting a feature. ## Available Resources 4 Books • 1 Courses • 7 Websites ## Websites ### 1. BBC Writersroom Script Library A free archive from the BBC of professional television, film, and radio scripts, allowing screenwriters to study produced dialogue, structure, and formatting directly from working scripts across genres. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts **Tags:** screenwriting, scripts, bbc, television-writing, script-analysis ### 2. The Black List Industry platform where screenwriters pay to host scripts and buy evaluations from professional readers, with highly scored scripts surfaced to agents, managers, and producers. Using it shows writers how their work rates against market standards and offers a route to representation. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://blcklst.com/ **Tags:** screenwriting, script-marketplace, script-coverage, film-industry ### 3. Script Revolution Free script-hosting site where screenwriters publish loglines and full scripts for independent producers and directors to search and read. Writers practise presenting work for the market, including loglines, genre tagging, and budget notes, and can be contacted directly by filmmakers. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.scriptrevolution.com/ **Tags:** screenwriting, script-hosting, loglines, independent-film ### 4. Script Reader Pro Blog and coverage service run by professional script readers and screenwriters. Free articles cover screenplay structure, formatting, and common script problems, while paid services offer detailed script coverage, line editing, and mentorship for writers seeking professional feedback. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/ **Tags:** screenwriting, script-coverage, screenplay-structure, professional-feedback ### 5. StudioBinder Blog Free blog from StudioBinder, a film and TV production management platform, covering screenplay formatting, story structure, script coverage, and the craft of screenwriting through in-depth articles aimed at aspiring and working screenwriters. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.studiobinder.com/category/scriptwriting/ **Tags:** screenwriting, screenplay-format, story-structure, film-production ### 6. scriptmag.com Script Magazine is an online publication for screenwriters featuring craft-focused articles, interviews with industry professionals, and practical resources like sample scripts and market news to help you write, develop, and pitch your projects. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://scriptmag.com **Tags:** websites, personal-development, communication ### 7. johnaugust.com John August's site is a screenwriting hub offering craft-focused articles, interviews, and practical tools for writers, plus the Scriptnotes podcast and free resources like templates and guides to help with outlining, drafting, and navigating the industry. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://johnaugust.com **Tags:** websites, personal-development, communication ## Youtubes ### 1. Lessons from the Screenplay **Author:** Michael Tucker Michael Tucker's YouTube channel of video essays analyzing how specific screenplays work, from character arcs and theme to scene construction and act structure. Viewers learn to read a film's script choices and apply the same techniques to their own writing. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/c/LessonsfromtheScreenplay **Tags:** screenwriting, story-structure, film-analysis, character-arcs, video-essays ### 2. Lessons from the Screenplay **Author:** Michael Tucker Video essay channel by Michael Tucker that dissects well-known film scripts scene by scene. Episodes examine character arcs, structure, theme, dialogue and adaptation choices in films such as Gone Girl and The Dark Knight, helping writers see why specific storytelling decisions work. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://youtube.com/@lessonsfromthescreenplay **Tags:** screenwriting, screenplay-analysis, story-structure, character-arcs, video-essays ## Courses ### 1. Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting Master dialogue like Sorkin! Learn his screenwriting secrets for crafting compelling conversations that captivate your audience. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.masterclass.com/classes/aaron-sorkin-teaches-screenwriting **Tags:** screenwriting, dialogue, aaron-sorkin, intention-and-obstacle, rewriting ## Podcasts ### 1. Scriptnotes **Author:** John August and Craig Mazin Screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss screenwriting and related topics in the film and television industry, everything from getting stuff written to the vagaries of copyright and work-for-hire law. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://johnaugust.com/scriptnotes **Tags:** screenwriting, podcast, hollywood, wga, film-industry ### 2. Write Your Screenplay **Author:** Jacob Krueger Rather than rating movies and TV shows like a critic, “two thumbs up” or “two thumbs down,” WGA Award Winning screenwriter Jacob Krueger breaks down scripts without judgment (from scripts you loved, to scripts you hated) to show you what you can learn from them as screenwriters. Plus meet special guests, and get answers to your most pressing screenwriting questions! WriteYourScreenplay.com **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en-US | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/feed/podcast/ **Tags:** screenwriting, podcast, script-analysis, craft ### 3. The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith **Author:** Jeff Goldsmith Interview podcast in which Jeff Goldsmith, publisher of Backstory Magazine, talks at length with screenwriters and filmmakers about specific films and series. Conversations trace how scripts were developed, rewritten and adapted, giving writers first-hand insight into professional screenwriting practice. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://theqandawjeffgoldsmith.libsyn.com **Tags:** screenwriting, screenwriter-interviews, script-development, adaptation, film-industry ## Books ### 1. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting **Author:** Syd Field The 1979 book that introduced the three-act paradigm to screenwriting, mapping a 120-page script onto setup, confrontation and resolution with plot points near pages 25 and 85. This revised edition adds worksheets and updated film breakdowns. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385339038?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** screenwriting, three-act-structure, plot-points, story-structure ### 2. Save the Cat! **Author:** Blake Snyder Blake Snyder's screenwriting guide introduces the Save the Cat beat sheet, a fifteen-beat structure for plotting movies, plus his system of ten story genres. Aimed at writers who want a practical, repeatable framework for building a marketable feature screenplay. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984157603?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, personal-development, communication ### 3. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting **Author:** Syd Field Syd Field's widely used screenwriting textbook, taking a script from initial concept through character, structure, scene construction, and dialogue to a finished draft. Readers learn to shape a story idea, outline acts and sequences, and lay out pages in standard format. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0440576474?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** screenwriting, screenplay-structure, story-structure, character-development, dialogue ### 4. Screenplay **Author:** Syd Field Syd Field's foundational screenwriting book that defines the three-act paradigm: setup, confrontation, and resolution, with plot points marking the turns between them. Widely credited with establishing the structural vocabulary still used to analyze and construct feature film scripts today. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0440582253?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, personal-development, communication --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/screenwriting