The Books That Changed My Perspective

I'm a big reader, which is pretty ironic because I'm not the best reader and have struggled my entire life with reading.  But at a young age I loved getting lost in some amazing stories. I would lay down day dreaming about being a X-Men super hero, or a professional skier, those were the good old days.  What's crazy is how I used to take my parents old VHS cameras and make stop go animation films with my brother.  It was a blast learning how to make our own little films.  I remember we made a film with our couch becoming a monster and eating our friend.  The couch would spit his "shoes" out to let the audience know he was done eating someone. haha  We were constantly learning new ways to make our little films.

Now days, I have turned to courses, YouTube, blogs and tons and tons of reading.  I try to read two books a month, which I have successfully done for the last several years.  Out of the dozens of books I've read, these three are my top picks for filmmakers and storytellers.   These three books go into the psychology of storytelling, the how to's of writing stories and screenplays, and the practical applications of story. They also show why we, as people, write and edit our own stories.  So here are my top three.