The Anatomy of Story

What Truby has over other story gurus is his focus on creating GREAT stories - stories with emotional, moral and psychological depth.

He says: "A great story is not simply a sequence of events or surprises designed to entertain an audience. It is a sequence of actions, with moral implications and effects, designed to express a larger theme."

Many other story gurus merely concern themselves with story formulae or working methods. They help you put the standard story steps onto your pages. But Truby shows you how to pinpoint the MEANING of your story and how to design it into your story - premise, characters, plot.

If you want to improve as a screenwriter or novelist, and want to make your story mean something to an audience, read Truby.

When I took Truby's seminar in London a couple of years ago I immediately felt in tune with his method and breakdown of story. I agree with others that 'there is no one true God' of story structure, but it behooves every scriptwriter to know as many of these structures as possible and to know when to pay attention to one (or another) and when not to.
Truby is one of the best.

Well here we go again. I could say 'read my comment on the first review' but what the hell. This isn't 'the best book on writing. Period'. Sorry, but it isn't. Sure it's interesting, but his advice to throw out your three act structure is just bad advice for screenwriters who have problems or are just plain addled by it all. I've read just about every book out there, even the bad, impenetrable ones but they all without fail can easily fit their 'alternative theories' into the three act structure. This isn't a new thing. It's been around since the year zero. Three acts are how humans tell stories or impart information all over the world and that's what's so great about films that play well anywhere because when it works, it works because of our universal recognition of the three act structure. Any other approach is pure gobbledegook and a sure fire way to confuse the heck out of your audience. I suggest that every screen writer starts with 'Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach' by Paul Gulino and go from there. Actually, you'll genuinely find that every other wonder book on screenwriting fits neatly into this approach but the trick is the more you write the more invisible it becomes. It's not an overnight thing. Buying a copy of Final Draft and John Truby's book isn't enough. It's hard graft! Sorry folks, no shortcuts. After devouring so many of these books and attending lord knows how many screenwriting seminars and courses, it's only now that my own screenplays are getting read and seriously considered. It's got more to do with understanding structure and the accompanying genre I'm writing in than some crazy 22 step story idea. Sorry John, I'm sure your new book is interesting but it's useless without 3 acts, so please stop being in denial of it. Oh and for anyone thinking that three acts means cookie cutter movies, well you really don't understand it at all.

I discovered John Truby ten years ago when a friend told me about his story structure audio-course for screenwriting. I studied Truby's principles for a year and -- using them -- I wrote the first draft of The Thieves of Ostia in two weeks. I go back to his audio teaching before each new book I write; that number is now fifteen. Each time I study Truby, I learn something new. This book contains all his best insights from the audio course plus lots of new gems.

Here is one of his great insights: 'As a creator of verbal games that let the audience relive a life, the story-teller is constructing a kind of puzzle about people and using the listener to figure it out. The author creates this puzzle in two major ways: he tells the audience certain information about a made-up character, and he withholds certain information. Withholding, or hiding, is crucial to the storyteller's make believe.' (page 7)

If you get only one book on writing, buy this one.