Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
I teach sometimes, and always say that The Writer’s Journey is the first book that everyone’s got to read.
On to your next pick: The Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler.
It’s the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer.
Vogler adapted the work of Joseph Campbell, an American academic, to the art of screenwriting. Vogler’s approach to screenwriting was based on Campbell’s theory that, because of myths, the arc of a hero’s journey was a story ingrained deeply inside all of us. I really incorporated his ideas and techniques into how I structured films—I referred to it a lot.
By the time I became a working filmmaker, Vogler had become larger than life to me. When another filmmaker I know well—Scott Silver, who wrote The Fighter and is an old friend from film school—told me he had met with Vogler, I nearly had a heart attack. I thought: Whoa, you can actually talk to him! So I eventually got in touch myself. He gave me some feedback on some drafts. I got to hang out with him socially, and he’s become a friend.
I teach sometimes, and always say that The Writer’s Journey is the first book that everyone’s got to read.
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Darren Aronofsky is the director of Black Swan, the critically acclaimed ballet thriller that has been nominated for five Academy Awards this year. Educated at Harvard University and the American Film Institute, Aronofsky was the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay for his debut feature, Pi; his 2008 film, The Wrestler, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
