Achieve your screenwriting goal

What do you want to write?

Here are some of the best screenwriting books I recommend regardless of your goal:

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition (Christopher Vogler)

Once upon a time.... This book traces the essence of storytelling thousands of years and identifies the basic building blocks of all lasting stories. And why do you need to know that? Well, if what worked thousands of years ago remains true today, you, the writer, owe it to your audience to understand these basics. Beyond that, this book and its principles are required reading in Hollywood, so if you want to succeed there you need to start here.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting (Robert McKee)

This is the first book I recommend to friends who ask me, "what's the best screenwriting book to get?" You will find this book on the shelves of numerous Oscar- and Emmy-award winning writers. And upon reading it yourself, you will understand why, and you will be proud to boast it is on your bookshelf. Particularly powerful is McKee's demonstration of how character and story are interwoven and the elements required to develop an "eventful" scene, including scene analysis techniques that will improve your work. I also strongly recommend attending Robert McKee's Story Seminar.