“I was a writer before I knew what a writer was.” -Joseph Dougherty

Joseph Dougherty has been a successful playwright and television writer, producer, and director for more than thirty years. He’s written for breakthrough series that have changed the way we look at television drama, from thirtysomething to Pretty Little Liars, winning everything from Emmys to Teen Choice Awards along the way.

In A Screenwriter’s Companion, Dougherty offers insights and advice both practical and nonpractical to writers and would-be writers.

Dougherty’s voice comes off the page with anecdotes about the writing process, hard-learned tips for survival in “the business,” and reflections on the influences that led him to a successful career. Honestly, entertainingly, without cynicism, he gives readers permission to embrace the writer they want to be, so they can experience the rewards and satisfactions of writing.

Beyond an insider’s take on story and structure, dialogue, action and outlining, A Screenwriter’s Companion is as much mentor as it is manual. With every insider observation about how to keep a potential producer reading till the last page of a script, there’s encouragement to explore your thoughts and memories, things a writer needs to embrace in order to become more than “a pro.” In short, to see writing not as merely a career, but as a way to greater self-understanding.

With a Foreword by Scott Ryan (thirtysomething at thirty: an oral history)

This book was selected by Foreword Magazine as one of the Best Gift Items of Fall 2022.