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

Good Book for anyone who wants to get into screenplay writing

I have read this book since 2005. I re-bought a copy. This must tell many things - to each his own. For me the content is a complete discussion followed through with extant examples from World Cinema. It precisely answers the question: what is a story. It then homes into stories for the cinema; why is it different from prose and dialogue-based theatre. The pitfalls that the screenwriter needs to avoid. It takes time to absorb. It still is not entirely absorbed.

Great book for anyone who wishes to learn about screenwriting for films. Story by Robet McKee is the Bible of screenplay writing.

A good book with good buying experience.

The book came in time and was in perfect condition.

Quality :Okay But Rate is Very Very High. But Worth for Money

Must read for aspiring film makers & writers. A ton of info that you need right here! Go for it. Don’t second guess!

Worth buying.

Si vous êtes intéressé par le storytelling, alors vous n'avez aucune excuse pour ne pas avoir Story dans votre bibliothèque! Le style est fluide et agréable, de nombreux films sont cités. Mais il y a quelque chose dans Story que je n'ai pas trouvé dans la majorité des livres prétendant vous apprendre quelque chose, que ce soit dans l'univers de la narration ou non : un contenu apparemment inépuisable, pas abstrait du tout, et orienté sur la pratique. Arrivé à la page 119, j'avais déjà pris une dizaine de pages de notes en parallèle, tant le contenu est dense. Story fait 419 pages, en dehors des diverses annexes. Et l'ensemble délivre des techniques de narration pour valider ou non la qualité de vos scènes et de la construction de votre histoire. Lire Story une seule fois ne sera pas suffisant, c'est une bible sur laquelle vous aurez souvent envie de revenir. Notez que ce qu'enseigne Robert McKee ne s'applique pas qu'au screenwriting pour le cinéma (Je pense particulièrement aux romanciers) !

Esattamente quello che cercavo. Anzi, di più.

This book is by no means perfect - but its still one of the best (maybe THE best) about the topic of "story". WHY IT ISN'T PERFECT: 1) The book starts with pages and pages of facts and theory that are quite obvious. You read page after page and say "Yes, he's right, that's true", and it is, but its meaningless. Even if this is the first time in your life you think about "story". But if you continue reading, the pages start bearing more significance. Would have been better with just 200 pages instead of 400. 2) Although the book has the word "structure" in its title, the books own structure is horrible, if not completely absent. If you really want to "work" with the book, its probably a good idea to write down the essence of the book in short notes and give them your own structure afterwards. 3) McKee is very dogmatic. Obviously he has an incredible (philosophical) knowledge about the topic. Enough to make him a story guru in my opinion. But dogmatic statements are never a good idea. And with some statements I think, he's wrong. But honestly that doesn't really matter, because ... WHY IT'S STILL THE BEST BOOK ABOUT STORY: 1) ... Even if McKee might be wrong with some of his claims (in my opinion), the great achievement is, that without McKee pointing out some aspects, I had never given them a single thought. So no matter if you share all of his opinions or not - while reading his book, you start to think about "story" in a new and different way. That's brilliant. And even if you contradict - you almost certainly learned something new and valuable. But the point is: don't just shovel the pages into your brain like a bowl of Kellogg's Frosties. Think, criticize and question everything. Make your own mind! This book teaches you how to walk and stand on your own two feet. But like any good father who teaches you to follow into his footsteps, in order to become a real successor, first the father has to die. 2) McKee covers every aspect of "story" there is. If you re-structure the book a bit, it will you provide you with an in-depth "how-to" instruction. And its a great tool to analyze your or other stories. 3) The book is mainly about blockbusters. Big Hollywood movies. Its not about "how stories work" but about "how Hollywood movies work". At first this might look like a flaw. Especially if you're bored of the Hollywood story telling style. But actually its not a flaw but a very good thing: You learn how and why these blockbusters work and you learn why and when they bore you. I you want to write an intelligent, individual avantgarde story there is no "how to" instruction anyway (or it would be pointless). You have to do this by yourself. But you have to know and understand the conventions of your craft first. Its like painting. You have to learn to paint photo-realistic before you can successfully do abstract art (have a look at Picasso and van Gogh and their early work). Which means: If you do not want to write a Hollywood blockbuster - read this book and learn what you have to avoid (or to include).

I ordered this book after my creative writing professor recommended it and I will say Robert McKee is brilliant. This is already an invaluable tool and is a book I will refer to often. I purchased a ‘Used-Very Good’ copy and book arrived in excellent condition consistent with description by the seller.

This deep and profound masterwork deserves its title as the bible of Hollywood. It's by no means an easy read - think writing is easy? Think again. But it is insightful, and will lead you in new directions. While you're reading this... it seems a good point to say that if you're interested in writing, there is no finer work than this on how to build and structure a screenplay. But, I hope that one day you break the classical mould and create something truly breathtaking that advances our society. Such is the power of story. Challenge yourself.