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Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Mckee
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $19.85
You Save: $15.15 (43%)
New (40) Used (55) Collectible (2) from $15.05
Rating:  184 reviews
Sales Rank: 1170
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0060391685
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.23
EAN: 9780060391683
ASIN: 0060391685
Publication Date: December 17, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Also Available In:
| • | Audio CD - Story CD: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting | | • | Audio Download - Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting | | • | Audio Cassette - Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting | | • | Paperback - Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Writing for the screen is quirky business. A writer must labor meticulously over his or her prose, yet very little of that prose is ever heard by filmgoers. The few words that do reach the audience, in the form of the characters' dialogue, are, according to Robert McKee, best left to last in the writing process. ("As Alfred Hitchcock once remarked, 'When the screenplay has been written and the dialogue has been added, we're ready to shoot.' ") 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.--Jane Steinberg
Product Description
Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni.Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 179 more reviews...
 Best Book For Story Theory Ideas June 26, 2009
Daniel
Very deep book with lots of insight into storytelling. Many other books are based on this one it seems at least in parts. Thanks for writing it!
 Worth the money... June 19, 2009
King (Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found the book a bit dense (or maybe I'm the one who is dense). At any rate, the info inside is a break from the traditional 'formatting and structure' books that litter the landscape. McKee's 'Story' is much more centered on the structure of storytelling, how to construct characters, and how to play out a scene so that there are many layers to the (inter)action or dialogue.
I read the book, then took his seminar. I found the book more valuable of the two because I can use it as a reference (whereas the seminar is long days covering what is in the book).
One thing to note, I found that many of the terms that he uses are simply words from his own created vocabulary with regard to structure. Many people who've read other books similar to this will start to see a pattern of authors being authoritative (and sounding such) because they are calling a 'first plot point' an 'inciting incident' or something of that nature. Often, the two are interchangeable... it's just that the writer is using his own term for the same thing taught - but labeled differently - by others elsewhere.
Ultimately, I think it's a good book, well worth the read for the character sections alone. It's also a worthwhile read for anyone in the written arts... novelists would probably benefit from some of the information.
I was holding off on starting a new project until I had read the book (and taken in the seminar). I'm glad I waited, because I can already see the improvements in my characters and dialogue.
Good luck. Write lots.
ESSENTIAL!!! May 25, 2009
Mario Dipesa (SF Bay Area)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not done reading through the whole book yet so I won't go into the details too much! Nevertheless, I've read enough already to know that this book is a MUST read for anyone hoping to take a shot at writing for the screen. Robert McKee is a master of his craft, and through this book he shares it all. Read it!
Story review May 5, 2009
Donald A. Bevirt (Belleville, IL USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Great book! My 18 year old son is interested in film making and this is a great tool for him.
Story:Substance, Structure,style and the Principles of Screenwriting April 12, 2009
Nita Hickok (Dolan Springs AZ)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book and the way the author showed examples and helped the reader to understand how to structure screenplays. He has good ideas, helpful methods, and a relaxing way of writing that inspires the reader.
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