Book cover of Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Book description

Structure is Character. Characters are what they do. Story events impact the characters and the characters impact events. Actions and reactions create revelation and insight, opening the door to a meaningful emotional experience for the audience. Story is what elevates a film, a novel, a play, or teleplay, transforming a…

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Why read it?

4 authors picked Story as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There is no other book I have read that offers greater insights into the elements and structure of writing than this book. Written for screenplay writers, I find it an excellent source of guidance and support.

It offers a detailed, step by step review of story progression and structure, from the beginning of a scene/chapter through the build-up and to an ending too enticing to not turn the page. It has guided me just as it has Dominick Dunne, as quoted in Amazon’s review of the book: "In difficult periods of writing, I often turn to Robert McKee's wonderful book…

This was the first story theory book I read and it was hugely influential on me, because it is probably the definitive work in terms of a formulaic, structural approach to story.

This book gave me a depth of knowledge of the traditional approach to story theory, but also a clear understanding of how people in the film industry are going about their work today. It is all wrong, in my opinion, but it is also the truth of what is going on.

It is wrong because a story does not begin with structure. A story begins in the mind,…

I had been writing professionally for over two decades when I first picked up this book, and it left me kicking myself for not picking it up years ago. Not only did it make me understand why I do many of the things I do when I’m writing fiction, it raised my game as a storyteller. Robert McKee has clearly done a lot of thinking about the mechanics of how stories work, and he explains them with crystal clarity. It is the best book on storytelling I have ever read, and essential reading for anybody who wants to do it…

If you love Story...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Substance, structure, and style featured on the cover of this book and the word structure drew me to it immediately. NLP is the study of structure and although this book is about screenwriting, it is a metaphor for life. Storytelling features in many of my sources here and features in my style of training and coaching. And this book inspired me so much that I could barely read more than a few pages at a time as I felt so inspired to use what I was reading in some way before I continued. And I quote, "The love of the…

If you love Story...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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