The Anatomy of Story

This guy is so thorough and so insightful, with such great explanations that I think this book is a must have for those who want to write original and well crafted stories. I've read a few books on screenwriting, some good ones and some not so good ones. I read another one recently where the writer confused a teaching-book with a comedy club. But this one, The Anatomy of a Story - is professional, well-thought-through, great explanations, lots and lots of "aha! insights" and great details. To be honest, it starts our a bit slow, and the very first chapter is a bit boring... but then it starts. Here is how the greatest writers handle this... here is how great writing includes that, pays attention to this or that structure. While in the very beginning I thought "oh, no... this is dragging here..." - now, 100 pages into it, I can't put it down. Great insights and instructions on every page. Good purchase!

Whew! For a writing craft book, this thing is long! Okay, first, a word of caution. Truby comes from a screenwriting background, as such, most of his teaching is geared toward that medium. That being said, however, he does make a decent effort to adapt everything to other forms as well. So whether you're a screenwriter, a novelist, a short story writer, a playwright, or just about any other type of writer dealing with story, you'll find help within these pages. Now, this book is extremely outlining/plotting heavy. If you're an outliner, solid 5-stars. If there's a better book of there on story, I don't know what it is. However, if (like me) you are a natural discovery writer/pantser/[insert cool-sounding term here], well, there's still value to be found, it's just less obvious. I give it a solid 3.75 Naturally, I don't agree with Truby on everything, especially this views on the fantasy genre (which aren't really discussed in this book). However, he makes a lot of awesome points in this book and presents a lot of things that I never consciously thought about and many others that I never could have imagined. I'm not convinced that following everything in this book is going to create an amazing story (a few bits of it just seem ridiculous to me), but no matter how you write you're going to find useful information here that is absolutely going to up your story game. Unlike some craft writers (C.S. Lakin comes to mind), Truby doesn't spend any time brow-beating you with his believe that only outlining can produce a great story. He makes it perfectly clear that it is, in fact, his belief, but no more time is spent on it. The book runs the entire gamut of storytelling, from creating the perfect hero and giving him/her the perfect story world to inhabit for the story you're telling, to how to craft amazing plots, creating scenes that pop and writing amazing dialogue. The one thing he doesn't cover is writing descriptions, but I agree with his assessment that such information would be beyond the scope of a book about story. In the end, I highly recommend this book to literally anyone and everyone who writes stories (regardless of medium). No matter what you write, no matter your background or skill level, you will absolutely find tremendous value herein.

When you read the reviews, it seems everyone thinks every screenwriting book is the greatest one ever written. Well, to me, personally, this is absolutely at the top of the pile. Without question. It's neck-and-neck with Michael Hague's book. They're both incredible and they both offer different insights, so I definitely recommended getting both. Why does this book (and Michael Hague's book) lead the pack? Well, when it comes to... ahem... actually writing the screenplay, they're unbeatable. Having read the recommended, I see now that most authors merely wax-on philosophically without practical, applicable, and effective insights. I found Robert McKee's book to fall squarely into the philosophical category too, even though (again) all the reviews claim it's the best one ever. I respectfully disagree. For me, I'm looking to learn how to...ahem... actually WRITE a screenplay. And John Truby's book is in a solid and shared first place with Michael Hague's. There. I said it. I've been searching far and wide for a framework and sequence to outline my screenplay, and this is the one. Get it amigo. Thank me later.

For complete beginners, I will suggest reading “Save the Cat” as a primer of sorts (even though it is reviled in serious storytelling circles). I read it and found what I learned about story and it’s various parts to be helpful in digesting “The Anatomy of Story.” Additionally, read K.M. Weiland’s posts on story structure/character too. Then “graduate” to this, because as helpful as “Save the Cat” and K.M. Weiland’s works are, they were very hard for me to use as guides for story development. With Truby’s “Anatomy of Story,” I no longer feel the urge to find yet another book on the craft of storytelling. I will use this book as my bible for overall story structure and seek more specialized sources if needed for smaller elements of story. I suggest reading this book from cover-to-cover first before going back and using it as a real-time guide. It may help to see the full scope of the task before diving in. I tried to develop my own story while reading through this the first time, but I had to stop and restart my work because I didn’t understand the logical structure of how Truby’s book works as a guide. Having completed it, I am now ready to go back and apply the teachings with a fuller understanding of the enormous task ahead in a more informed and organized manner. I also suggest seeking supplemental material about design principal. Truby places the most importance on design principal over the other elements of story (with the possible exception of theme). His explanation and examples of design principal are a bit threadbare and were easily clarified/reskinned after a handful of YouTube videos. Finally, I suggest either waiting for Truby’s book on genre (which I think is coming Nov 2022) or ordering Truby’s audio courses on genre which are available on his website.

I have spent a lot of money on screenwriting and novel writing books. I have had recommendations for books that were different, or foolproof; formula based, character based, plot based, etc. In my experience, the screenwriting books do it better than the novel writing ones, but it still takes some searching to find something really useful. I first used John Truby's book for a screenplay I was writing. I followed the first few chapters religiously and discovered I was solving problems I didn't even realize existed, creating deeper characters and stronger arcs all as part of the process. It wasn't formulaic and didn't give me a standard plot, but it did adhere to a few fundamental truths about story and character that cannot be ignored. As with any book, you need to use your brain and alter the rules to fit your story, but trust me, don't stray too far. It's very easy for someone to think that their character or story is "too good" or "above" the rules of conventional story telling but trust me, even the most obscure stories follow this basic format (if they are any good). It gives you relatable examples from a variety of movies, and the exercises are actually practical (none of the tired clichés such as "write about an experience you had where..." or "tell a story using these key words as a starting point"). All the exercises are specifically designed to help you develop YOUR story, not just any random plot. Because of the success I had with this method, I used the book again for planning my novel. Now, with a novel there are a few changes that need to be made. More happens in a novel, and of course things like "the audience reveal" are generally strictly cinematic tools and don't translate well to literature. However, I found the same successes with it for novel writing. Same problems being solved, same richness added to the plot and character. I would recommend this book to anyone writing something with plot. I bought this originally in paperback and purchased the kindle version so that I could just carry around my iPad. Use in conjunction with your favourite other texts (I like Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat" beat sheet for pacing. I cross referenced this with my favourite novels from the genre I was writing in to find the appropriate pacing for the novel). There is no such thing as a magic book that will make you a great writer, BUT if you have skills and a great idea, this will help you workshop and develop the idea to give you something you actually start writing.

While I have a few criticisms, I'm still giving this 5 stars because The Anatomy of Story is by far the best book I've ever read on the subject of writing. Reading it has truly been a revelation and I'm so glad to have found it. I've read several other books and was always left with a sense that something fundamental was missing from them. This book fills in all the gaps. Instead of platitudes, Truby gives us explanations, multiple examples and insightful techniques for each point he makes. I was amazed by how many ideas are in this book that I had not seen anywhere else: four-corner opposition, psychological and moral need, attack by an ally, audience revelation - any one of these ideas by themselves are worth the price of the book, yet we get all of these and more in The Anatomy of Story. Don't waste your time on another re-hash of two plot points and a climax; buy The Anatomy of Story instead and prepare to bring your writing skill to a new level. But beware, there is so much new information in this book that you may want to read it twice (like I had to) in order to see the "big picture". Be sure to have your hi-lighter handy, then do the 9 exercises. Did I mention the exercises? Oh yes, that's almost the best part! 22 steps is a lot to weave together, so Truby lays out 9 exercises which guide us through each step in a detailed manner. The completion of the 9 exercises will leave you with a full first-draft story that you will be proud to have written. This is not a "color by numbers" approach. Think of the 22 steps like 22 tools for your writer's tool box; you may use them (or not) as you see fit. Either way, you'll have a clear understanding of how, why and when to use them. If you are an aspiring writer like I am, then you and I have a kinship. As a comrade of sorts, I highly recommend this book to you.

I knew that John Truby was the master of Hollywood script and highly influential among fiction writers in novel and short story. But I was blown away by the profundity of his thought. It comes through in his books more directly than in his many videos. Not merely a "how-to" by any stretch' his viewpoint, as expressed in the book, is more a philosophy of how the human imagination interprets the world through story. I went with the paperback version so I could stick it in the glove compartment for those sunny days when I want to read in the bright sun, scribble on the margins, and dog-ear a page here and there. You will not be disappointed, Truby is brilliant. I was also surprised to hear this theme from the lips of a leading (best seller) philosopher in an online discussion unrelated to the craft of writing. Many human conflicts, according to that conversation, are rooted not in atavistic animality, at all, but rather in the conflicting stories that the parties advance. Intriguing as that is, this book does not go too much into extension of the basic view, but it is implicit that Truby sees human as the story-telling animal. I am still delving into his work on genre and story, but I pledge to myself to refer to it often, in order to pick the brain of this surprisingly profound writer.

One key failing of so many stories is a lack of good story structure. It’s such a common problem, and there are all kinds of ways to structure a story out there, from the Hero’s journey to Save the Cat, to a dozen or so others. The problem is, most of those structures work well for certain types of stories, but less well for others. The omnipresent Hero’s Journey, for example, is a poor fit for stories with female heroes because it’s heavily biased toward masculine motivations and drives. And romances are problematic with that structure. If the writer doesn’t know which structure works well for their story’s genre, their story can end up a mess. The brilliance of Truby’s book is that it works for ALL genres. Though he comes from a Hollywood background and primarily uses films as examples, his structure works for novels just as well. Furthermore, if you check out his ANATOMY OF GENRES book (also available here on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Genres-Story-Forms-Explain-ebook/dp/B09NK6VGT8) you’ll see how he adapts this structure to each major genre. It’s also less film-centered and includes explicit advice for novels as well as screenplays. I highly recommend BOTH Truby’s books for writers who are serious about their careers. The downside of this book is that it’s a VERY dense book to read and may require multiple readings to fully comprehend. But this book is well worth the effort if you want to become a writer of high quality stories. And his book on genres really needs prior reading of this book, ANATOMY OF STORY to fully grasp what he says.

Your just need this. Buy it. And the Anatomy of the Genre

Was sceptical in reading this book as there are so many claiming to have the answers to storytelling at a publishable level. Also relevant to film scriptwriting as many of its examples attest. This isn't an easy book to fully digest, but worth the effort I reckon and one I will study further.

If you're going to buy a 'how to write books' book, this is the one you should buy. There are some excellent, very succinct ebooks that begin you on the 'how to' journey by pointing out that writing novels is a craft as well as an ability, and that craft can be learned. These are heartening because they offer a series of easy to follow 'steps' for structuring novels so that they work as novels. However, they are often cobbled together accounts of a range of theories on novel-writing, and they might lead one to believe that taking more than a month on a novel is a waste of time. Truby's book presents a coherent, depth account of what makes a good novel/film and why, and the steps he suggests build towards a far more comprehensive and intelligent sense of how writers can make their novels work in very clear and manageable ways. I had innumerable lightbulb moments, and it was a real pleasure to read something that doesn't dumb down what novels are but instead gives credit to smart writing and smart readers. The power of this particular book is that it looks at the range of writing, both literary and genre, novel and screenplay, in a way which allows one to see how good quality structure and therefore writing can be achieved in both. It's a much longer book than others in this field, which makes the reading experience far more satisfactory and fulfilling. A real find and now a cornerstone of my library.

As a writer who wants to improve my writing, I've read many books on writing (to learn how to stuff another 'writing' into an overburdened sentence) and John Truby's book is often mentioned as the gold standard of how to write a great story. I can see why, as John is incredibly thorough, going in depth into all the aspects of story telling from premise to character to scene construction. What is appreciate is the organic approach he advocates with many examples from great movies and tales. However, that depth makes it hard to grasp the whole of the approach and sitting down to implement his concepts into a practical structure is challenging. I think it would take a few reads to get his ideas integrated into an author's process but well worth doing. Perhaps it's best to view his concepts as guideposts to make sure you have not wandered far off the path of a great story.

Mükemmel