The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

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The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller Details

Review “Truby attempts to inform the entire story, addressing plot, character, tone, symbolism, and dialog. The key here is to grow a script organically rather than force the story into preexisting mechanics . . . Highly recommended.” ―Library Journal“A comprehensive guide to writing stories of all kinds, Truby's tome is invaluable to any writer looking to put an idea to paper.” ―Booklist“The Anatomy Of Story is concrete and practical without resorting to simplistic 'Three Act Structure' screenwriting clichés. It will be an indispensable guide to writing your first great script. Then, the perfect survival manual to help you negotiate the often confusing, contradictory and cutthroat world of professional screenwriting.” ―Larry Wilson, co-writer /co-producer of BEETLEJUICE and co-writer of THE ADDAMS FAMILY“A veritable bible for screenwriters.” ―Backstage“If you're ready to graduate from the boy-meets-girl league of screenwriting, meet John Truby . . . [His lessons draw] epiphanies that make you see the contours of your psyche as sharply as your script.” ―LA Weekly Read more About the Author John Truby is Hollywood's premier story consultant and founder of Truby's Writers Studio. He has worked as a story consultant and script doctor for Disney Studios, Sony Pictures, FOX, and HBO, among others, and has taught screenwriting to students worldwide. Read more

Reviews

After reading this the first, i found myself rather skeptical of the instruction this provided. It urged the author to first design the character and to pick a character flaw that he will resolve. Every other facet of the story will spring from that choice including who the other characters are,what the plot will be, the story world. Truby calls it an organic approach but i found myself disagreeing with this assessment, it feels artificial to me. He also devoted a section to the moral of the story.This approach didnt feel like it covered everystory. Indeed, he had trouble bringing this to genre type projects. Also, the moral section troubled me because not every story has a moral. Some feel like explorations rather then declarations. Another issue i had with the content is the lack of outdated examlles. Gone with the wind, tootsie, La confidential. I feel updates are neccesary, and this applies to genre as well. More contemporary movies and novels will have a better time resonating with audiences.Despite my skepticism, i started applying the tools and referring back to it when writing. When i looked at other theoretical frameworks for writing, i discovered there was a lot of overlap. Similar sections but with different language. A prime example of this is Story maps. It better suits my approach to story analysis, while ackowledging all the same topics including theme (which is what tryby referred to as the moral).Overall i believe truby to be a great resource that shaped the way i approached writing and reading for the better.

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