Screenwriting studies, screenwriting practice and the screenwriting manual

The important roles played by screen creators, writers, showrunners, storyliners and script editors are increasingly acknowledged and celebrated by the academy. However, most current screenwriting research is about historical contexts, theoretical readings and ethnographic studies, rather than screenwriting practice. Such research has the potential to speak to practitioners, but it falls short of really connecting with those for whom screenwriting is a practice. The ‘how to’ books written by ‘guru’ authors are usually of more value to screenwriters, yet they sit uncomfortably in the academy and are seldom considered as research. As both an academic and a screenwriting author, I understand that critical texts serve a different purpose to those driven by craft, yet I also have a desire to be relevant to and have impact on creative practice. In this article I discuss how we might expand our understanding of ‘screenwriting studies’ to foreground concerns of practice. Screenwriting is an activity, not an end product, and I argue that we should both understand and offer insights for practicing the discipline. I draw on my own experiences to outline approaches I have used to frame my work as research that contributes knowledge and practice-based insights to the academy and beyond.