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Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles
of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
In Story, McKee
puts into book form what he has been teaching screenwriters for
years in his seminar on story structure, which is considered
by many to be a prerequisite to the film biz. (The long list
of film and television projects that McKee's students have written,
directed, or produced includes Air Force One, The Deer Hunter,
E.R., A Fish Called Wanda, Forrest Gump, NYPD Blue, and Sleepless
in Seattle.) Legions of writers flock to Hollywood in search
of easy money, calculating the best way to get rich quick. This
book is not for them. McKee is passionate about the art of screenwriting.
"No one needs yet another recipe book on how to reheat Hollywood
leftovers," he writes. "We need a rediscovery of the
underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate
talent." Story is a true path to just such a rediscovery.
In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources
as wide ranging as Aristotle and Casablanca, Stanislavski and
Chinatown, that it is impossible not to come away feeling immeasurably
better equipped to write a screenplay and infinitely more inspired
to write a brilliant one. |
 
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Making a Good Script Great
This is an extraordinary
book, loaded with useful info. While I respect that it reflects
Linda Seger's attitude that you make a good story great by revision,
this could also be written as a fantastic book on the art and
elements of story creation. Of the books I've read so far, only
McKee and Field are as comprehensive in their approach.
Linda's book offers
such a wealth of information, it's hard to imagine getting serious
about the craft of STORY creation without reading it. |
