Philip Gladwin has given us a screenwriting book fundamental with Screenwriting Goldmine. His original e-book is tight, concise, loaded with insight, and short. Unlike some of the other big name authors like Trottier, Seger, and Snyder, Philip Gladwin’s book centers specifically on writing a screenplay worthy of producing. He has spent almost 20 years working in British television and he delivers the sum of his knowledge with his book.
The Straight Goods
It is one of the best screenwriting books because it is rather brief and to the point; he takes your hand and walks you through writing a screenplay from ideas to first draft. Character creation and mapping, fundamental plot details and how to do competent research are all taken care of too . There is also a very dynamic member’s forum associated with his screenwriting book that Philip Gladwin moderates himself. This is an outstanding resource for his e-book, which allows you to correspond with other members and the author himself. His forum has a real “biz”, get it good, get it made feel to it.
A Complete Course Load
His screenwriting book is no longer just the original 65 page manual, it has bloomed into a complete screenwriting course with audio (mp3’s) and 3 additional volumes on the craft. I think this is a thanks largely to his primary competitors in the market (i.e. The Screenwriters Bible) that offer more bang for the buck and cover sales and marketing for your screenplay . If you are getting earnest about the biz, you should really read both of these books (Screenwriting Goldmine and The Screenwriters Bible).
A Book Wholly for Screenwriting
Screenwriting Goldmine is perhaps the most focused book on script writing you may ever read. It is of course not the only one you should study, but it’s the best one purely for writing a good script . Gladwin doesn’t get much press in North America because he works mainly in Britain; he however has more work credits than Snyder, Trottier and Seger combined (look him up on the IMDB).