The best book I’ve read on this topic is “Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them” by John Yorke. The author is British, so it doesn’t suffer so

The best book I’ve read on this topic is “Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them” by John Yorke. The author is British, so it doesn’t suffer so much from the “Hollywood has all the answers” syndrome of American screenwriting guides. It’s definitely about mainstream stories, but with a bit of a wider perspective.