The Complete Book of Scriptwriting

by J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski, writer/producer of Murder, She Wrote and creator of Babylon 5 teaches scriptwriters how to write and sell work for television, movies, animation, radio and the theatre. Straczynski covers each medium in depth. He reveals facts, tells stories and offers observations from the vantage point of a career in the business.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Media Tie In, Film, How To

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straczynski's book is overwhelmingly comprehensive, and looks at every angle of scriptwriting. Look, no one can teach innovation or individuality: as a teenager I remember being thoroughly disgusted with every scriptwriting book I devoured, because they all focussed on becoming a freelance "Law & Order" writer; offering advice on churning out formulaic scripts, and how to fit your thoughts into existing characters and pre-packaged situations. In retrospect, I acknowledge that a) being a scriptwriter is likely to involve some of this just as any job involves taking what you can get, and b) you need to learn the basics to innovate.

Straczynski goes far beyond the call of duty here, though, delivering a guide written with clarity and intelligence, which will remind you that learning the art is just the first step in being your own writer. Highly recommended.

[Clint Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The creator of Babylon 5 tells you how to write TV screenplays. What more could you ask for?

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was useful information a 1/4 way into the book, then after I began to thumb through the pages and read what caught my eyes. The book was targeted to scriptwriters, I’m just a writer, so what I did read, I thought beneficial to learn for writing a book.

Lets begin.

This book is talking to scriptwriters but it made some good points on ‘how to write,’ so I switched up words like ‘script’ for ‘book,’ ‘script writing’ for ‘novel writing.’ And I saw that writing scripts is like writing a book but in a slightly different way. But still similar nonetheless. A script needs a beginning, middle, and end, no different than any storybook.

I understood more about effective detail that isn’t bogged down, characterization and growth and how to do that in dialogue, how to end a scene or not end a scene, and vice versa for beginning a scene, and ideas for how to bring out the characteristics in protagonists, etc.

Scripts tell stories of characters overcoming conflicts to get to their goals, very much like writing a novel.

Scriptwriting still deals with character growth, dialogue (very much of this), action & reaction, conflict, etc. so it’s interesting how you can apply (and i hadn’t realized this until now) some of the same techniques for scriptwriting into novel writing.

One thing I’d like to note. I didn’t notice this before because I had no idea how scripts were written, but the books I tend to devour and fan girl over seem to follow a script writing/ cinematic format. So that has to say something about scriptwriting. And when using some of the scriptwriting techniques, I found it actually simplified the writing process for a book. I noticed that working on my own project, and it made writing all the more fun.

Overall: There was lots of usefulness and it was fun to read, and even learn a bit about how scripts are written, and the history of television and radio.

[Lori Alden Holuta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've owned this book for years. As needed, I've read various chapters to learn specific skills. I've just read "Part V: The Stage Play" and that means I've read the entire book now. And now I feel equipped to tackle a ten minute, ten page screenplay for a local theatrical group's submission contest. I know I'll be re-reading chapters as needed throughout my writing adventures. Thanks Joe! Good book!

[Agustín Fest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy sencillo que recomiendo en mis clases de guionismo. Lo uso constante de referencia.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitle: The All-in-One Guide to Writing and Selling Screenplays, Teleplays, Theatrical Plays, and Animation Scripts

I read another of Straczynski’s books a couple of weeks ago that also referenced this book. I decided to give it a read because I’ve been considering writing a screen adaptation of at least on of my novels and have been reading nearly anything I can get my hands on about the subject of writing for film or television.


Straczynski is not one to sugar-coat things, and gives his readers a level-headed view of the entertainment industry as well as warnings about individuals who will try to take advantage of new writers trying to break into the business. While a lot of the specifics he gives are regarding the various formats to use in writing scripts, he also gives a lot of writing tips concerning how your writing needs to be adjusted to meet the demands of the different types of media. I nearly skipped the section about writing for radio, but as a fan of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre in my teenage years, I have to admit that I found it more than a little appealing – if I can find realistic markets, I might even try my hand at writing a radio script.

I gave The Complete Book of Scriptwriting five stars on Goodreads. I read the 1996 revision (the original came out in the early 1980s), so a lot of the details are likely outdated by now, but the writing tips and advice about the writer’s approach to the work should still be good.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book cover-to-cover twice (two different editions) and re-read sections as needed. There is a reason it is the gold standard and often picked as a textbook in writing schools.

I’m not saying I don’t want screenwriting software, for the many features it can provide, but the formatting is not one of them, You can read this book and easily format your screenplay like a professional. It explains the basic structure between the various types of plays. It gives wonderful insight into the industry from a successful writer and mentor. His stories will entice and sometimes scare you just a tad.

I’m not going to list his credentials -most are on IMDB- but, if you have any question, watch The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie. It is not necessarily his best work, but it is structured and detailed properly... and the story of its becoming shows what a storyteller he is: a friend tipped him off that archive records of this event were about to be destroyed and lost forever (archives do have to cull material regularly) and, finding this true story, he knew this story had to be retold and remembered... and he’s right. Learn from a man who understands the importance of the stories we tell each other, yet manages to navigate the bizarre business that is the Entertainment Industry.

[Maik Krüger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not intend to write a script but read this for a look behind the scenes and was not disappointed. It contains information from formatting to monetization with insights into the history of the specific medium he writes about up to the 90's when this edition was published. These parts also contain some predictions of the then future which turned out to be pretty accurate. Sadly, this book does not contain anything about comic books since he wrote these about a decade later, but the knowledge transfers well and should be easy to adapt. Still, this mocks the 'complete' in the title.

[Kermet Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while working in the IU-Columbus math center and with it I wrote my first feature length screenplay. It was the first piece of work I wrote from start to finish, using the basic "index card" method of ordering scenes. The work was a piece of auto-biographical crap that every first time writer has to get out of their system, but Straczynski infected me with a love for the style and genre. I wrote the first draft, poorly formatted in MS Word within 6 weeks for nothing other than the joy of seeing if I could. Now, 18 years later, I'm still trying to see if I can.

[Ari Galloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read scriptwriting books that improved my writing in the novel field; this wasn't one of them. This is heavily weighted towards getting into the various fields in which a script is needed, formatting said scripts, etc. So, not terribly useful to me, but I'm sure it'd be useful to someone writing scripts.

[Kendal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bless his soul for being so helpful in writing this book.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide on writing for film and television!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the version from 1982. I'm not sure if there's a more recent edition but I feel the information is pretty out of date in 2023. I was hoping for more general scriptwriting advice, and there was a good amount, but also a lot of out-of-date info.

[Enzo Nicolini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores libros que he leído sobre escribir guiones. Cubre los formatos de varios medios, entrega tips y técnicas útiles, y también te dice algo que nadie se atreve a decirte: que en realidad, nadie puede enseñarte a escribir. Debes aprender tú mismo, y encontrar tu propia voz.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the man who brought us the glorious Babylon 5, besides his contributions to Murder She Wrote, but more recently The Changeling and Thor, and endless comic books, this is a masterful 'how to' book on writing screenplays. However, his advice is also useful for all writers and not just screenwriters as he's also written some novels, single-handedly reinvigorated comic franchises such as Spiderman, and he really knows his craft. This book is insightful, funny in places, confidence building stuff which is a genuine pleasure to read. You'll finish it thinking you're ready to start writing straight away.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I got lazy and didn't finish the book. It's very dense and not entirely relevant to the type of writing that I would want to write (if I were to) in the future. BUT, what I DID read was entirely useful and thorough, acting as part writing and business book. The author at one point mentions a fellow writer who used his book as his Bible to break into the movie business, and I can definitely see why it worked out for him.

[Michèle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une excellente introduction à ce métier, et qui m'a motivée à écrire mon premier drame radiophonique.

J'ai lu cette édition, et ce fut suffisant pour mes besoins. Je n'ai aps eu besoin de feuilleter la dernière édition, dont la couverture ne montre (étourderie de montage sans rapport avec la conscience de l'auteur) QUE des acteurs blancs (plus de 10 monsieurs). Et jeunes.

JM Straczynski a été le production/auteur de Babylone5, une des meilleures série-TV de science-fiction.

[Jerjonji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a huge Babylon 5 fan, I found I could hear Straczynski's voice while I read this. Encouraging, serious, yet very real, it ruined TV viewing for me forever. It should have come with a warning on the cover. He tells you it will, but if you plan to write for TV, it's a must own!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my younger days, when I was still experimenting with script writing, this book became a valuable bible to different formats, and how to pitch what, and to whom. I might have some issues with JMS's Bablyon 5, and his opinion on rival SF shows...but his writing how-to advice is solid.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I work on any sort of dramatic work (whether it be a screenplay, radio play, etc.) I ALWAYS have this book on my desk! Invaluable!!!

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

highly informative, seriously if your interested at all in script writing and want to know more, this book is where its at :)

[Roger Market · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although even the latest edition is now out of date, this book is invaluable for the aspiring screen or TV writer. The chapters on TV craft and TV marketing, in particular, are incredibly helpful.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come for the writing advice, stay for the Murder She Wrote, Babylon 5 and He-Man anecdotes.

[Brendan Creecy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information was extremely out of date but there's still enough helpful information that it's worth a read.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book on scriptwriting you'll ever need, written by the Great Maker himself.