Recommended Textbook: The Hollywood Standard 2nd Edition

Since I didn’t get into the creative writing course that I wanted, I decided to take a screenwriting course. With that course, our required text was Christopher Riley’s The Hollywood Standard, 2nd edition.

This book is very simple to understand. It is a useful guide whether you are a new screenwriter or one with experience. At the beginning of the book, it has a quick start guide which goes through the basics of writing a screenplay. From just reading that part, anyone could easily start a screenplay.

Most of the book gets into more specific things on writing a screenplay, like writing for a single camera versus multiple cameras. Along with showing how to write something, it also gives examples on what not to write, which can be very helpful.

At the end of the book, it gives samples of scripts for single and multiple camera angles.

Overall, this book is a good companion to anyone who wants to try out screenwriting and see if it is for them.

Recommended Book – The Pendragon Series

Since this series has ten books, I’ll be recommending all of them. This is a series I read way back in middle school and recently started reading again. I must say, this series is just as good as it was seven years ago.

This series, written by D. J. MacHale, is a fantasy series about a boy named Bobby Pendragon. His Uncle Press reveals to him that he is what they call a traveler. There are these things called gates where a traveler can pass through to go to a different territory, which is essentially another world. There are approximately ten different territories. The reason he needs to travel to these territories is to stop the antagonist, Saint Dane, from destroying the territories. He doesn’t attack them head on, however. He creates a domino effect which ultimately makes the territories destroy themselves.

Even if you normally don’t read fantasy, I still think you should read these books. There are so many characters and they are all unique in their own way. There are many strong female characters, right from the start of the first book. The worlds the author creates feel like they could exist, even though you know they don’t.

I hope you consider reading, and if you do, I hope you enjoy them.