Required reading for writers who mean it.
Used in university programs worldwide. Praised by producers, directors, and working writers. Built to live on your desk, not your shelf.
Writing for Emotional Impact
The most comprehensive and practical guide to what actually makes a script work on the reader. Not structure. Not format. Not marketability. The emotional experience it produces, page by page, scene by scene, line by line.
This is the book that changes how writers read scripts — and, by extension, how they write them. Built on years of teaching at UCLA Extension, it translates the insights of a working development executive into a systematic, learnable methodology.
"Like Hank Aaron, you have set the new standard in your field. Aristotle, McKee, and now Iglesias."
The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
What do the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Bourne franchise, Rain Man, Die Hard, A Beautiful Mind, and The Devil Wears Prada have in common? This book answers that question — not theoretically, but in their own words.
Based on extended interviews with twenty-one of Hollywood's most successful working screenwriters, it distills the habits of thought, discipline, and daily practice that separate professionals from aspiring ones.
"An indispensable resource for screenwriters at every level. Not a theory book — a reality book."
Now Write! Screenwriting
An essential anthology featuring writing exercises from the acclaimed screenwriters of Raging Bull, Terminator 2, Groundhog Day, Lost, True Blood, The Shield, and many other landmark films and television shows.
I contributed a chapter titled "The Emotional Outline" — a practical framework for mapping the emotional arc of a screenplay before writing a single scene, ensuring that structure serves feeling rather than the other way around.
Cut to the Chase
Written by professional writers who teach in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program — whose alumni's credits include Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight, and the Academy Award-nominated Letters from Iwo Jima — this authoritative and comprehensive guide has been called the film-writing bible for decades to come.
I contributed a chapter titled "The Art of Dialogue" — drawing on his two decades of teaching to break down what makes screen dialogue crackle, resonate, and stay with an audience long after the film ends.