A very few of them are "working" books, books that you will never throw away - books that you will use as reference. And even fewer still are books that you will use over and over again - books that will inspire you everytime you pick them up. Syd Field's "The Screenwriter's Workbook" is one of those rare books. It is the "Bible" of the film industry.

All of Field's books are excellent for this reason - they not only tell you how to write screenplays - they tell you why screenplays are structured in a unique way.

It is understanding structure that is the key to writing movies. All the ideas about character development, the representation of myth, and the history of cinema are necessary to writing good screenplays. But only one thing is really essential and that is a clear understanding of a form that appears simple but is actually very complex.

I still have many of the screenwriting books I have read over the years but Field's books are the only ones I actually USE.I know many other screenwriters, professionals all, who would say the same thing.

Fashion in screenplay writing and thinking about movies comes and goes - and every new writer thinks they have to either read the latest theory or re-invent the wheel - but when you actually write you only want a book that YOU CAN USE. Syd Field never goes out of style because he writes from a serious understanding of the relationship of structure to screenwriting - and it's this relationship that you constantly return to in order to make the writing work.

Buy this book and keep it. You will need it.


THIS BOOK GUIDES YOU FROM INCEPTION THRU COMPLETION   August 16, 1999
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is the book I've been looking for. Story, by McKee, is so filled with intellecutal nonsense that I was so confused after reading it; I didn't know where to start. Intellectual BS! At least, Field points you in the direction and guides you through every step of the process. And, his Problem Solver is great.A great companion to any writer.


I agree with the reader from Visalia   August 8, 1999
 7 out of 12 found this review helpful

Again, Syd Field has managed to take a complex and creative craft and reduce it to something not unlike a paint-by-the-numbers coloring book. Screenwriting is not as easy as he says it is, and not as difficult either. He simplifies all to extraordinary lengths.

Good only for the merest beginner starting on his own. Get STORY by Robert McKee. I've read over twenty books and his has some of the best information.