Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting Reviews

• Make this book LAST on your list!

  
  By A1ZH9ME1H5DWXD on 1999-10-18
  There are many good works on screenwriting available. I have read several, including those by Field, Seger, and others. They have all been helpful and offer something valuable. By reading several of these books, I have gained much more than reading just one. At the very least I understand the different approaches to story, structure, etc., and am better equipped to employ my own style and method.

  That said, Story by Robert McKee is the cream of the crop. The book is beautifully written, tremendously insightful. I have gleaned more from this book than any of the others. Anyone with a pen and paper or typewriter can write a screenplay. For those who wish to create a masterwork with feeling characters in compelling situations, this book is a must read. It explains the why and the how, and reveals what we as screenwriters struggle toward: a good story, well told. My only gripe was that I didn't want it to end. So I have started reading it again. My work is decidedly better thanks to Robert McKee's book. Now I fear that any books I read from this point will pale in comparison. I hope that I find another gem, and am proven wrong, but to save others from this fate, I urge you to read this book last!
  
  

• The Penultimate Guide to Writing Excellent Screenplays

  
  By A3FXT4UPI30K7S on 2002-08-03
  If you've ever wondered "Why aren't films very good these days?", you're not alone. Most of us have noticed that most movies being released are predictable, dull, and just plain boring. It doesn't matter that the films are packed with chase scenes and explosions -- we've seen it all before. Robert McKee is a visionary intent on bringing fresh creativity to movies in his classic reference book on screenwriting, STORY. He writes in the introduction to this book, "But my hope for you goes beyond competence and skill. I'm starved for great films. Over the last two decades I've seen good films and a few very good films, but rarely, rarely a film of staggering power and beauty." He adds, "I've wriitten STORY to empower your command of the craft, to free you to express an original vision of life, to lift your talent beyond convention to create films of distinctive substance, structure, and style."
  
  If you're a screenwriter or novelist, STORY is not a mere nicety, but is an absolute must! There simply isn't any better guide to writing excellent screenplays -- and this one covers every genre and structure. McKee is a master at the craft of coaching writers, and he excels at helping writers discover their own unique strengths and weaknesses. McKee is brilliant at explaining something so basic yet fundamental as the difference between mood and emotion in a scene -- and ideas so subtle as getting the beats just right in a given scene. McKee's passion for excellence and enthusiasm are contagious, and inspire me to make my writing the best it can be.
  
  I find myself so riveted to STORY that I feel adrenaline racing through my when I read this masterpiece. There simply aren't enough superlatives to describe how essential this book is. STORY is the penultimate guide to writing excellent screenplays, because the only thing that is more "the last word" than this book is the attainment of perfect enlightenment. Do yourself a huge favor and read this awesome book!
  
  

• Wish I liked it as much as the others did

  
  By on 1999-12-18
  I'm a professional writer and thought I had found a gold mine with this book. I should say that I'm a playwright, not a screenwriter, and that may affect my opinion. But it's hard for me to imagine a more formulaic approach than that given by Robert McKee here. Though McKee acknowledges that cinematic masterpieces often break with convention, he spends hundreds of pages laying out rules for exactly how a film should be structured, exactly where various plot points should occur, exactly where they should be resolved. He even tells you how to construct sentences! At times he also gives advice I question; for instance, he says to avoid such directions as WE HEAR, WE SEE, and SMASH CUT, all of which I've seen in professionally produced teleplays. As the book went on I found myself thinking of exceptions to the rules put forward by McKee. I can't think of a more smothering experience than trying to create a screenplay using these mountains of rules.

  In my view, McKee focuses on structure at the expense of content and substance. *What* the writer is saying seems less important to him than *how* he or she is saying it. If I wanted an exhaustive reference on how to structure a screenplay so that it will be exactly what Hollywood is used to seeing, this might be a book I'd turn to. But I was hoping for something more inspired.

  I'm not including my name because I've seen how a couple of other reviewers were pounced on when they criticized this book. I *will* try some of the other books they mention.
  
  

• Let's be objective

  
  By on 2001-10-15
  Having taken Mr. McKee's course, and read the book, I give him only three stars here primarily because he writes in a way that will frustrate most beginners (I've seen this) and convince the gullible that he is the master of the story universe.

  In fact, what he has here is fine, workable material. But it is presented more clearly elsewhere. I suspect he writes in such a prolix style to foster the impression that he sees what other do not. This, of course, is good marketing.

  With regard to the oft mentioned Syd Field, he was there first, and with Chris Vogler you have stuff that is of equal or greater value, especially for the beginner.

  I sold screenplays before I took McKee's course, and have written fiction bestsellers afterward. Of all the books I've read on the craft, his was the least accessible. I think I really only learned one thing from his course that I use (it is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but stands alone).

  If you're an experienced writer, you might find something of value. If you're just getting started, I'd be very wary. Hollywood is filled with McKee acolytes. Be an original instead.
  
  

• Take it with a grain of salt

  
  By A358XP3X4U0X45 on 2005-01-30
  McKee's claim to fame rests on how many successful filmmakers once sat in his course. The assumption is that being in his course caused them to be successful. Was it? Probably successful filmmakers sit in on a lot of courses. Everybody can use one more good idea. Did they learn their craft from McKee? Be wary of assuming they did.
  
  First of all, understand that this book, large as it is, covers only the basics of screenwriting. You may not want to read it first, but do not consider it the last book you'll ever need to read. The book deals with "Structure and Setting", "Structure and Genre," "Structure and Character," "Structure and Meaning," "The Substance of Story," the inciting incident, act design, scene design, scene analysis, composition, crisis, climax, resolution, "the principle of antagonism", exposition, problems and solutions, character.
  
  "Structure is a selection of events from the characters' life stories..." (p.33). "A story event creates meaningful change in the life situation of a character..." (p.33) "Story values are universal qualities of human experience..." (p.34) "To plot means to navigate through the dangerous terrain of story and when confronted by a dozen branching possibilities to choose the correct path." (p.43) And so it goes. Such truisms make the book read like Spinoza, except that Spinoza distinguished between theorems and postulates, and all of McKee's propositions are postulated. McKee then jumps from these bland truism to discuss movies that most people would have mixed feelings about (at best). He assures us that these movies exhibit the desirable properties he is talking about, and the vagueness with which his truisms are stated make this sleight of hand possible. But none of this is helpful to the would-be screenwriter.
  
  Second, the book, throughout, is based on the assumption that you (meaning everyone) agree with McKee on his value judgments of movies. If you were less than thrilled with some of the movies he cites, you should be wary of the advice he gives. His value prejudices are usually subtle but are sometimes blatant. For example, he cites "Tender Mercies" as an example of plot (p.43-44). This movie did appeal to some viewers (though not to others), but whatever its appeals, plot is not one of its strong points. More generally, he cites every movie that attained any degree of fame as a successful example-though he does not tell us in what way they were successful or how many viewers regarded them as such. So, we have "Un Chien Andalou", "Last Year at Marienbad," "Paris, Texas", etc. as exemplary films.
  
  One reason people read this book is to find out how the people who run the film industry currently think. But the book may not be as au courant as one might think. McKee says that "writers rush to their typewriters" (p.15). No writer has rushed to a typewriter in over 20 years.
  
  Also, some of McKee's tastes are one-sided. For example: "Comedy is at heart an angry, antisocial art." (page 360). Well, for some people it is. You might call these films, "ill-humored comedy". But there are many other comedies that are not angry, nasty and hostile. Are these comedies therefore bad?
  
  By not recognizing audience differences, McKee can be dogmatic about how to write a screenplay (and he is). His main support for his value judgments is in the movie examples he cites. But if you were less than thrilled with some of these movies, you'll have to take his advice with a grain of salt.
  Still, there is a lot of basic information that few could quarrel with. If you are a beginning screenwriter, you could well invest in this book. You need to read a number of books anyway, so that the tastes of one author are counter by others.
  
  
• Indispensable must-have "bible" for any story writer/teller-
  By A2YUU8P5BZQ0GQ on 1999-05-20
  I bought this book at the suggestion of a friend who recently signed a six figure book contract. He told me he's taken McKee's workshop three times. I've made my living as a full time writer for national publications, and now write part time. This book is a world treasure. McKee should get a combination Nobel and Pulitzer-- a Nobel, because he has elucidated a science of story creation. A Pulitzer, because it is a literary work with the potential to influence so many. It not only serves as a tremendous help to the story teller, but I detect in it deep insights into the human condition that could be used as the foundations for new models of psychology and philosophy. This man is deep, yet so plain speaking, the book reads very smoothly. My copy is marked up with tons of notes, underlines and asterisks in the columns. It's one book I know I will be referring back to again and again. I bought it with the hopes of moving past a plateau I had reached on a novel I started 10 years ago. As I read on, page after page, chapter after chapter I kept saying to myself "Omigod," as his observations and rules led me to new insights into how to improve my story, my characters, my scenes, settings, and so much more. By the time I'd finished the book I knew I could finish my story. I don't have the story climax yet, but I know, that by using his techniques, it will come to me. And I know that my story, which already passed his most important test, is 1000% better.
  
  
• Principles Not Rules
  By A3LFL0HAEX83E on 2001-02-03
  I've read many books on screenwriting, and Story is certainly one of the best. Its conservative, to be sure, espousing all the tenets of Classical Hollywood Narrative: Three act structure, strong active protagonists, inciting incidents, causal chain, action not words - y'know the drill.

  McKee, however, is not a member of the Syd Field school. Field gives writers rules; McKee offers principles. This is a critical difference. McKee believes in the craft and art of screenwriting above all else. Consequently, Story has a different tone to Field's Screenplay . If you look beneath the surface of Story, you'll find that McKee's principles and views are far more flexible than anything Vogler or Field has offered the screenwriter.

  While primarily focusing on what he calls Arch-Plot (Classical Hollywood Narrative) he also accepts the existence of other, alternative, forms. He also hails the greatness of those alternative narrative films throughout the book. These alternative narratives are not, however, the focus in Story. McKee believes that an aspiring writing needs to master the classical story form before adventuring elsewhere. His goal in the sheer bulk of Story is to educate, not indoctrinate, the reader about all aspects of Classical Narrative.

  For many readers this will come across as a conventional approach to screenwriting. That it is. Unlike many other (traditional) screenwriting books, though, this is underpinned by McKee's belief in the craft above all else. He doesn't want you to just absorb, but rather think. about what he is saying. If you don't understand how a traditional story works, and how to tell one well, what chance in hell do you have of telling your multi-passive-protoganist, anti-plot, 2-act, time-jumping magnum work?

  When McKee speaks of writers taking their craft to a place few ever go what he really is talking about is writers who are willing to think about what they are doing on a fundamental level.

  While I did disagree with what he had to say at times (a lot of times) I did find that McKee made me understand my craft far better than most screenwriting books and teachers I've had. Combine this with Alternative Scriptwriting and/or Scriptwriting Updated, and all you need now is a great idea..
  
  

• Read the Book Skip the Seminar
  By A1OA1J1F0A2VV7 on 2004-03-14
  As a novelist, I long resisted the suggestion of a film director friend to read this book. After all, what could a screenwriting book tell me about the novel form? Well...I was wrong. Story offers sound concepts that can save any storyteller hours of frustration. Story is simply first rate as a tool for diagnosing that horrible sinking feeling we all get when we know something isn't quite right with our tale...but we just can't figure out what.

  I was so impressed with the book, I signed up for the seminar. McKee is entertaining, sure. But as I sat there with my well-marked copy of the book in hand (shocked, by the way, at how few others had bothered to read the [$$$] book before forking over at least ten times more for the seminar...I mean these are writers, right...and writers supposedly read?), it became painfully clear that McKee was simply marching through the text, page by page, using exactly the same examples, usually verbatim. If you are intelligent enough and sufficiently committed to your craft to read Story closely (and I mean closely, with a pen and highlighter), the seminar is a waste of time and money. Other than a scene-by-scene analysis of Casablanca and McKee's personal thoughts on politics and religion, it simply does not go beyond the book in any meaningful way.
  
  

• "Story" is a must.
  By on 2001-01-05
  When I asked my agent to recommend one book he offered Syd Field's. After I read "Story" I told him to stop doing his clients a disservice and give them McKee's book. I am a professional screenwriter, paid and produced. Most of what I have learned has come from my own deconstruction of the films I watch. On the whole I am still not a proponent of screenwriting books but Mr. McKee's book is absolutely fantastic. For those who think it provides a formula, I believe they simply do not understand the way it all works- and I'm not talking about the Hollywood game (for the same people probably don't know how that works yet either), I'm talking about the mechanics of story. This book is not for coffee shop dilletantes who think that to talk about structure is to ruin their own precious ideas, it is for those who have an open mind to being taught. I cannot recommend it with greater enthusiasm.
  
  
• Over-Hyped and Highly Overrated
  By on 2001-09-27
  McKee certainly seems to have mesmerized a vast number of would-be writers with his patented approach to story, and lined his pockets in the process, but I was not terribly impressed with this book nor McKee's formula for success. As one often reads of Syd Field, McKee is rather light is the resume department when it comes to screenwriting credentials, and yet here he is, offering his insights as to how to write a great story. There's really nothing new here that you cannot find in many other books on screenwriting, and while some find McKee's approach "inspiring," I find it more exasperating as he seems to be as enamored with his own writing as he is with the subject matter. McKee definitely covers all the territory one needs to know in order to navigate the rough terrain of screenwriting, but for those who would rather pay less, not read as many pages, and learn just as much, Syd Field's "Screenplay" and Irwin R. Blacker's "The Elements of Screenwriting" will get you on the road to screenwriting faster and with less of dent in your wallet. In the end McKee is just another overrated screenwriting "guru" whose formula perpetuates the never-ending phalanx of like-minded writers who feed the Hollywood drivel machine. The difference is that McKee has brilliantly repackaged his retelling of Aristotelian structure with a kind of Nieman-Marcus flair, and has made a name for himself by taking his show on the road with his high-priced seminars. Perhaps it was the overpowering scent of greed that made this a less than enjoyable reading experience.
  
  
• Excellent First Book
  By A1RNQQ3TB90TSX on 2000-08-14
  Robert McKee's STORY is an excellent book, especially for those starting out in screenwriting or, for that matter, other forms of fiction. While his style is sometimes a bit pompous and aloof, his focus on "the story" as the most fundamental component of a film is right on target. In laying out what "works" for screenwriting, he also shows how film is unique from other forms of writing. As a novelist, currently adapting one of my works to a screenplay with another more experienced screenwriter, his insights were particularly helpful.

  What McKee's book will not do is provide the novice with a sense of format, lay-out, and terminology. This is very much a book targeted toward getting the fundamentals--the principles--of screenwriting down. While all readers may not agree with everything he suggests (indeed, I didn't), he lays out the basic structure, typologies, and analytics of screenwriting in an insightful and practical way.

  I noticed another reviewer thought this book was too formula driven. While McKee offers a basic formula to structure, he also acknowledged the diversity of good films and screenplays--there's plenty of room for creativity. What he provides is basic insight into what makes a "successful" screenplay--one that will be bought, produced, and be successful at the box office. (More appropriately, one that will cover its costs and make at least a small profit for its producers.)

  This was a very valuable book, and I highly recommend it as a stable of your writing library.
  
  

• Better than any other writing book or course
  By A3M98CBBIEDZ2S on 2001-07-26
  This book is by far the best book on narrative writing that I've ever read, and is also more useful to me than the many writing courses I've taken over the years. I'm a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop (MFA) and also took many writing courses as an undergraduate -- this single book beats them all put together.

  It's truly extraordinary how McKee is able to distill universal forms and principles from a huge variety of narrative writing (primarily screenplays, of course, but his insight extends beyond screenplays). One would think such an approach would be limiting and reductive, but the reverse is true: by helping the reader understand why and how effective narratives work, and how a writer should approach the creation of a screenplay, a universe of possibilities emerges.

  The main problem with writing workshops is that they focus on a student's work and what's wrong with it -- it's a very negative approach, the opposite of a support group, that rarely results in genuine improvement. As McKee notes, a lot of writers go through endless revision cycles in the hope of salvaging what's good in their work. But the problem with most narrative writing seems to be in its elemental structure -- the story and its progression -- which occurs on a "pre-writing" level. Once a story is committed to novel or screenplay form, the battle to forge this elemental structure is almost lost. McKee teaches the principles that writers should follow in this critical pre-writing stage as they develop the progression of their narrative.

  There's a lot of baloney being spewed in academia and elsewhere that creative writing can't be taught and that plot is relatively unimportant. McKee shows the lie in all this -- that narrative writing *can* be taught and that well-developed plot is critical. Save your money and time, skip the MFA programs, read this book and dedicate yourself to learning from it.
  
  

• Success Story
  By on 2003-04-30
  On the surface, Robert Mckee appears to be one of those slick Hollywood types who trounces across the globe, charging hundreds of dollars a ticket for his seminars and rousing the masses into thinking that yes, they too can sell the next million dollar screenplay. I don't like those types.

  Fortunately, I suspended my judgement long enough to read Robert Mckee's "Story," and I realized that this guy really seems to know his stuff. Moreover, I got the impression that he was holding nothing back in his attempt to help me, the reader, to write a better screenplay. "I've written Story," Mckee says, "to free you to express an original vision of life." The book goes a long way toward fulfilling this promise.

  I've read several other screenplay books (Linda Seger, Lew Hunter, Ronald Tobias), and this is the clearest, most complete screenwriting guide that I've found. Unlike many of the others, this one spends the most time answering that most difficult question, "What makes a good story?"--and it answers it in ways that are entertaining and easy to follow.

  You may be wary of the length (at 400+ pages, it's a hefty tome to lug), but I assure you--the length is a good thing. Mckee uses the space to explain each concept in great detail (the list of films he uses as examples takes up 33 pages at the end of the book), and in many cases this extra explanation makes a big difference. I had more "Ah-ha!" moments of understanding in this book than I've had in all other film books I've read combined.
  
  

• A Story Creator's Must Read Bible; Illuminating &Inspiring
  By A2YUU8P5BZQ0GQ on 2001-07-02
  If you work with stories, whether as a screenwriter (the reader the book most directly addresses) a novelist, short story writer, or even as an ad creative person, lawyer (telling stories in front of a jury) or psychologist (listening to and re-writing patients' stories) then this book will pop your eyes wide open with new ways to think about stories.

  For me, reading McKee's book was a life-changing experience. It opened my eyes. Imagine seeing a computer tower, but not knowing anything about what's inside. Then, you read a book that explains not only what the different components are, but also how they work, how you can install them, select which ones to choose, fix them, understand why certain features are better than others. McKee does this for you with the internal elements, dynamics and dimensions of story.

  You can tell how much I like a book by how much I mark it up. This book is covered with markings. Here's how much it inspired me. I went on to take McKee's workshop, which you can find out about on the web. He's more than a lecturer, more like an entertainer, and the workshop, which covers the material in the book is well worth the price. Supposedly, 45,000+n people have taken the workshop. Word has it that some movie studios have literally included some aspects of McKee's core criteria for a good story in their contracts. (and that when McKee found out about it, he insisted they pull the verbiage.)

  Bottom line. This is a fascinating, brilliant book. It got me started exploring the wealth of other great writings on the creation of stories, including Syd Field, Christopher Vogler, Lynda Seger, James Bonnet, Michael Hauge, James Frey, Carol Bly and more. I became so intrigued with the whole idea of describing all the elements, dimensions and aspects of story creation that I've put together a meeting with dozens of people, including McKee, Seger, Field, Bonnet, Vogler, Bly committed to participating in a discussion of story science.

  This book is Primarily about Story Structure. It's a left brain approach to understanding what goes into making a story work. It offers principles which are worth reading over several times. But one thing I discovered was that the other side of writing is not structural. Structural concepts are powerful and highly useful in the development of your work, but I like to consider them the bones of the story. You still have to put flesh on those bones, and you get that flesh from your own inner creativity-- from taping your experience, your unconscious, the deepest parts of your self.

  Put the bones of structure together with your deep inner self and you get a meaningful masterpiece, or at least something with meaning to you.
  
  

• Write the abridged version, please.
  By A3A8XKIUKV8C3U on 2005-06-21
  I am in a morgue with the author; he is conducting an autopsy. Strewn across the table lays the body of a story, bloated, maggot ridden, mouth agape, eyes bulging, staring up at me. I am gowned, goggled, gloved, a smear of vapor rub under my nose to mask the eye-watering stench. The author, scalpel and skewer in hand, slicing, jabbing, ripping, tearing, dissects the guts and organs of the story in long-winded, over-analyzed, often pointless detail; blathering story terminology, rancid lecturing, he rambles on and on, four hundred pages, which in spite of the vapor rub, still reeks of gagging boredom. Finishing, pushing the corpse off the table, sopping up the mess, trying desperately not to spit up my coffee, suddenly, to me, writing a story seems laborious and gruesome. Confused, bloodied, horrified, I think, `Can it really be this complicated?'
  
  I hope not.
  
  
• All you need.
  By A1WKLEU49WBUU2 on 2003-04-14
  In my opinion, with any art form being taught, a teacher can only take a student to a certain level, where, once reached, it is up to the student's creativity and talent to judge if he or she will be successful. As far as screenwriting goes, McKee's book, on its own, will take you to that level.

  I honestly feel that this book, coupled with The Screenwriter's Bible (because of its great section on formatting), is all you need to be a professional, paid, successful, and downright good screenwriter. I read the book twice through, highlighted the important information the second time, and now I read through the book once a week storing the highlights to memory.

  McKee doesn't teach you formula, instead he tells you and analyzes what makes a story a story. Going further with that, he then teaches you what makes a great story. Some may think that this is formulaic, but it isn't. McKee has simply stated the similiarities between all the great stories, not just movies, throughout history, and your knowledge of this will help you in crafting your own great piece.

  I would write even more, but if you have read more reviews than this, what I have written is surely redundant. But I'll say it, is as they all have, this book is all you need.
  
  

• One of the best, though not the only
  By ADRMIIVIOHTF5 on 2000-02-01
  It's a wonderful book, with tons of insight, and a great guide for the screewnwriter. I have read most of the books on this subject out there, and this one is not only one of the best at painting a clear picture of story structure and its importance to good storytelling, but it tells you why as well.

  Is story structure (and this book's description of it) formulaic? To some degree, yes. It is certainly less formulaic than Syd Field's original books.

  But "you have to know the rules before you can break them." These are the rules. Master them, understand them, realize how they came to be, and why they were made, and THEN break the rules.

  This book recognizes, analyzes, and describes structure as it is practiced in Hollywood today, and has been for many years. If you want to sell to Hollywood, follow their rules, at least at first.

  You cannot go wrong buying this book. Worth every penny. I took one of his seminars, and I have to say that though I really got something from the seminar, the book was even better (cheaper, too!).
  
  

• Screenwriter's Bible
  By on 2001-03-14
  I've just returned from McKee's "Story" seminar in New York, which so far exceeded my expectations that I am speechless. I have a shelf full of screenwriting books at home and have been hurling myself at the keyboard for months while alternately trying to parse out some kind of writing process from the books I have already read. Now, after attending the seminar (worth every penny) and reading this book I feel like I have been rescued from my own mistakes hundreds of times over. McKee gets to the heart of storytelling, while explaining principles that ring so true that I can't help but see all stories in a new light, including the one that I was about to pitch into the trash. I'm not knocking film school as a training ground for writers, but if that's not in the cards for you, then McKee is the way to go. This book is a great investment.
  
  
• The best screenwriting book I've read
  By A2K903EV5ONV6 on 2005-06-12
  Too many books on writing simply say "Just do it!" They tell you, quite adamantly, to "fire up your word processor and hack away at something until you come out with a story. Since you don't really know what you're doing, your story will probably be bad, but go ahead and write another one!"
  
  That kind of advice is ridiculous. You wouldn't give the same advice to an aspiring airplane pilot, or a brain surgeon, or a cop or a musician. Nor would you give it to a cabinet-maker or an auto mechanic or a house painter. So why do writers insist on giving the same advice to other aspiring writers?
  
  I think it's because most writers really don't really understand what they do. They have managed to be successful, but haven't really thought about what it is that their stories are made of, relying instead on editors to tell them what to fix or an unsold manuscript to vaguely suggest that they did something wrong.
  
  Not so with Robert McKee, who is one of the best screenwriting instructors in the world. This book shows you what all good stories have, and how to use these principles to make your own stories. The question of genre or style is completely up to you.
  
  The book is broken down into four parts:
  
  1) The Writer and the Art of Story
  2) The Elements of STory
  3) The Principles of Story Design
  4) The Writer at Work
  
  All of this covers just over 400 pages and there is quite a lot of depth to each section.
  
  I can guarantee that if you read this book and take the time to understand what Robert McKee is saying, you'll be on your way to writing your first screenplay in no time. It's not an easy task, but having a roadmap sure makes things more bearable.
  
  
• If you can only afford one screenwriting book...
  By A13B8HMOZDS2EJ on 2000-08-23
  I own a small library of screenwriting books and this is the closest thing to a screenwriting bible I've found. I'm on my second reading now, highlighter in hand.

  Admittedly, the first couple of chapters might put off an average reader. It's not as easy a read as, say, some of the Syd Field books. A reader will be best served by reading a chapter, stopping, digesting what's he read, then going on. And in my opinion, there's too much gold here for one reading to suffice. There are chapters in here that, taken alone, are worth the cover price.

  McKee's book will help you make a movie by helping you write better CHARACTERS and better SCENES. If you only pick up one screenwriting book, make it this one.
  
  

• Good Resource Manual
  By A3F48P8X9IZEDP on 2000-02-29
  Robert McKee's Story is a must-have book for the aspiring screenwriter. He breaks down every theoretical element to a story (from exposition and inciting incident all the way to scene design and the principle of antagonism). The book itself is neatly organized into four parts: The Writer and the Art of Story, The Elements of Story, The Principles of Story Design, and The Writer at Work. The only fault I find with McKee's book, and this is just my own personal taste, is that it is oriented towards writing classical Hollywood films. He doesn't leave much room for the deviations created by such masters as Jean-Luc Godard. Since that is where my primary interests lie the book didn't influence me as much as others. But one must understand the concepts he is teaching in order to deviate from them. So I encourage all aspiring writers to have at least read this book (it'll help you more than Syd Field ever will).
  
  
• A treasure trove of information
  By AB6ITCLFSOC6L on 2002-03-23
  I have found Robert Mckee's insights to be immensely helpful and would highly recommend this book to anyone who is seriously interested in a screenwriting or other literary career. It certainly is not the kind of book that can be polished off over the course of a couple of subway rides. The material is actually pretty cumbersome in places requiring paragraphs to be re-read several times in some instances, but the information is invaluable. It also might be more meaningful for the novice writer to complete a first draft of a screenplay utilizing some of the other books available such as Syd Field's "Screenplay", etc. before reading Robert McKee. The information may be easier to digest after having acquired some knowledge of screenplay writing and applied to the re-write, but the material is definitely well worth reading. I know it has made a tremendous difference in my writing. And as for those who claim this book was of no use to them--I wonder where all the antagonism comes from....nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head forcing them to buy the book or attend the seminars! McKee's "greed"??? I'm grateful to Robert McKee for sharing his knowledge and insight with those who wish to benefit from it, and at the reasonable cost of a hardcover book that will certainly remain a reference book on the writer's shelf, right next to the Thesaurus. I say, buy it!
  
  
• A problem
  By A2V3H0BIB4W1Q2 on 2003-07-30
  I have worked with several writers who hold Robert McKee as their personal Jesus. Every one of these writers has been irretrievably lost in terms of story structure. Read Gerard Genette if you actually want to learn anything.
  
  
• Valuable but not enjoyable.
  By A3513VM6NCXUFR on 2004-09-19
  As a beginning screenwriter (and by beginner I mean I've been writing for years without any real method) who plans to produce my work, I found this book very valuable. That is I can definitely benefit from applying to my writing the principles that Robert lays out in great detail.
  
  What I CAN'T say is that I enjoyed this book. At times it felt like the book was sucking out of me all of the joy and excitement that I got just from the prospect of putting an idea on the page. It scared me and made me think that nothing I did would be good enough and there was no way I would be able to internalize all the minute details he points out. I've never been afraid of criticism in anything that I do, but at points "Story" made me afraid to do something I once enjoyed. BUT, it will not stop me.
  
  In fact I feel that making it through this book and tirelessly highlighting every passage I wanted to come back to for later reference (and boy were there a lot of them) was a sort of test. How bad did I really want it? (If I can make it through a thousand-page book on programming then dammit I can do this!) I breathed a sigh of relief when I made it to the final page and my desire to write was not stripped from me. I feel like I faced a fear that probably a lot of writers don't. That is, how can I tell if my writing is REALLY good enough? I realize that it's possible to write with enjoyment and also intelligence. Who knows, maybe the intelligence will make the enjoyment even greater.
  
  Since I plan to make my movie I knew at the start that in the absence of "Hollywood money" I had to have a story and a screenplay that was not just good but great. At the end this book gave me what I needed and I'm glad I braved its pages. If it can get me even one step closer to my dreams then I owe its author thanks. Right now I feel like the millipede that falls from the tree in the fable he quotes on the last page. My pride is a little hurt and I'm nervous but after I've worked at it and straightened out my limbs, prepare to be dazzled.
  
  
• Buy A Different Book
  By A2IAYTRJIUMK67 on 2002-04-18
  ...

  This overblown, unnecessary book is pedantic and clearly McKee is enamored with the sound of his own voice (literarily speaking that is).

  He forces the reader to wade through such incredibly insignificant minutae on the most basic of principles. Here is someone that's set out to be the screenwriting "guru" and write his own "definitive bible" and so has invested hours and hours of his life coming up with unecessarily complex systems and structures to support his stature but offers no real insight.

  There are so many other better screenwriting books available. ... Spend your money there instead.
  
  

• A Necessity
  By A2MYOPR5T8UZZ2 on 2002-10-11
  Robert McKee's knowledge of story is simply unsurpassed. I have read a number of books on writing and screenwriting in particular and this is the one I come back to most often.

  After reading this book, I'm not only a better writer, but I enjoy writing far more than I did before. I enjoy watching movies far more than I did before. I enjoy the story experience in all its forms (from novel to water cooler gossip) on a level that I had been missing.

  I've owned this book for years. It sits to the left of my keyboard even now.
  
  

• Unlikely to gather any dust on a Writer's Reference Shelf!
  By A2MX8UMX81409T on 2000-07-16
  Whether you're writing a screenplay, a children's story, or a literary work of art, the lessons in this book challenge you, as a writer, to push the limits. This book doesn't necessarily give you ideas, but assists you in determining how best to execute them. Story is a thick book and takes some time to get through, but well worth it!

  Story has been an invaluable reference to me, because it identifies the more elusive components that distinguish quality stories from ho-hum. I've only had this book a year and already have a few frayed pages from continual use.

  For me, this book makes me think bigger, and drives me to reach for extraordinary ideas that work! Well worth the hardcover price, since you'll be using it for a long time. My work continues to improve as a result of reading this book and regularly using it as a resource.
  
  

• Very formulaic and by the numbers.
  By on 1999-07-12
  I felt the book was too much a paint by numbers approach to screenwriting. Having graduated from the Masters Screenwriting Program at UCLA and having studied at the feet of some of the best writers in Hollywood, I know that writing a screenplay is dynamic and every story unique in structure and potential. While there are structural elements necessary in almost every screenplay, the vision for writing a screenplay must be approached with emotion and passion! Lew Hunters 434 is a much better book!
  
  
• Read this book once, then read it again
  By A2SLJQAG557RDO on 2004-12-20
  Read this book once, then read it again.
  
  I bought it two years ago, studied it avidly and then wrote (full-time) for seven months and completed my first two screenplays off the back of it while refering back to the book. The screenplays were good, but not great. What I was doing was learning a craft (I have a language and literature degree - that's a help but doesn't mean I didn't have to learn a lot).
  
  Over the course of writing these first two, I was internalising a lot of the principles McKee writes about. Then I stopped reading him and wrote a third - much better - screenplay, then a fourth one I am sure about. Does that mean I got better when I stopped reading McKee? No. It means I was developing my ability and worked 40 hours a week for 18 months to get to the place I wanted to be. But I am convinced that by reading McKee and working very hard you can lay down some very healthy tracks in your psyche which will help you go on to do good work.
  
  There are those who say languages can be learned without learning grammar, you should just go to the country and start picking it up. Those people make swift progress, but they are never sure of their knowledge. If you learn grammar, if you drum the rules into your head and then work hard you will overtake the short-cut merchants every time in the long run. McKee is your grammar school. But when you've got those patterns, those aspects down to the level of your unconscious, you can allow yourself to run more freely. It doesn't mean the rules do not apply anymore. It means you have absorbed them.
  
  Same with databases. At first you learn theory (or you should). You read Codd, Date and Chen and go almost blind from boredom. You learn the rules of normalisation and relations. Then you plot out your database and then build it. It's tedious and the end result won't be so great, but it will work. After a few months you don't have to think about it anymore and your work will be a lot more inspired.
  
  So back to McKee. "Story" is the grammar and relational theory of drama. A boot camp for people who like to work that way. Not everyone does. I do.
  
  It's excellently written and carries some of the best arguments I have read anywhere. McKee's thinking is crystalline and even if you disagree with him (which you will - or should - here and there) you will still be richer for having heard him out.
  
  Also, full marks for not cluttering up the text with copious polit-bureau sanctioned pronoun nomenclature (the American "he or she" obsession).
  
  
• Saved my butt
  By A5CGD05DYZPTI on 2002-03-23
  I'm working on my first screenplay and bought about a dozen screenplay books. They seemed helpful until I was stuck and none of them had anything for me. On the advice of a real screenwirter, I bought Story, and man, am I unstuck now. McKee teaches how basic storytelling works, and digs deep into the fundamentals of what people react to.

  This is the best screenwriting book I've come across because it focuses on the fundamentals, the foundation you're basing your story on. What's it REALLY about? What's the true conflict? Once you do the hard work in figuring out the fundamentals (more than just those two questions, of course), the story itself comes quickly, and it's a blast - I'm having the most fun writing I've ever had (and I've published 10 books). I'm getting up at 5 a.m. just to have enough time to write, and I love it.

  If you're working on a screenplay, get this book. It gives you an essential clarity about the story you're working on. Seriously. It's a hard look at storytelling, nothing vague or touchy-feely about it. Seriously, I can't recommend it enough.
  
  

• The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
• Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
• Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
• The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition
• Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives