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

This book is just what I needed to put it all together. I highly recommend it to any writer or wana be writer. Excellent!

This is a very deep book to read, but when you work with it- do the exercises, the results are pretty amazing. A very well-rounded book.

Not that it's difficult to understand, but overly complex in aiding me with forming a working structure. With 22 points, this is too much to wrap into a 120 page script,without making it a paint by numbers crimper of creativity. When I read the reviews I was really excited about it, but after reading it and attempting to put it's ideas into action I found it to be overwhelmingly unrealistic.

Question: How can a person trust in the process of a "how-to" on screenwriting from someone who has only written a single episode of the TV series 21 Jump street in the 1980s, before his "process" was even formulated?

How can someone who's never written anything of any substance teach you how to "become a MASTER storyteller"? Note: John Truby has NEVER written a feature film. Never. Check IMDB for his single tv credit.

I don't doubt his insight in ANALYZING stories. In that he may be a true expert. But that's something done after the fact. STORY CREATION is quite another thing altogether, and something quite apart from book knowledge or being able to say what did or didn't work in a movie once it's been made. It seems that he's a master workshopper.

I'd much prefer to hear about the creative process from a, well, master storyteller who has numerous (or at least a few significant) works to his credit--and there are many of them out there.

DISCLAIMER: I have not yet read this book, but considering the buzz given to it, I feel this question should be raised before people spend their money on it, or worse, take it to be authoritative on the writing process.

This book by John Truby truly equips you with all of the tools you need to construct a very tight story that will place you levels above the average screenplay (including the ones that sell and have sold for years.) If you are serious about the craft of storytelling for film and want to know you are doing the things that will create a screenplay that is technically stellar, John Truby will show you how; step by step.

Just so you are fairly warned, this book is for people who are very serious about learning the craft of screenwriting and not for the casual writer who just wants find a quick way to write a screenplay. What I like so much about Mr. Truby's approach is that his methods for creating a great screenplay contain a series of checks and balances that, once learned, provide a map to follow throughout the whole process. If something's off, you find out as you're following the process - not after you've written most of your story! That type of knowledge provides confidence and leaves so much less room for all the doubts that flood the mind of any writer.

If 22 steps sounds daunting, maybe it's best to consider what you want and how badly you want it. Like everything else in life, you get out what you put into it. If you want to make six or seven figures on something that millions of people are trying to do, isn't it worth it to do it better than them? If you are passionate about your craft, having a full tool box instead of just a few of the big tools is just that much more fun and fulfilling when all is said and done. So, you can try and win the screenplay lottery or get a great education and, ultimately, submit scripts with confidence.

As a final note, I would add that this book is a great read. It's not just text book knowledge, but it will seperate you from the pack! Highly recommended!