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

Truly great teacher and writer introduced me by screen writer/teacher Jeff Lyons. Would not go back to Jeff's class after owning this book. Really a great resource and will order his other books as well. Thank you Mr John Truby. Awesome.

Finally, I "get" what the elements of a story are after reading this book. No one explains it as well as John Truby! I'm exited to listen to his audio courses next, then maybe try my hand at writing a story.

Although I've been writing screenplays for many years, I came to this book late. My feeling is that it's a must-read among the other handful of important books on the craft of screenwriting. I would include The Anatomy of Story with Story, The Screenwriters Bible, Screenplay, and The Writer's Journey, among a couple other paramount books. This book is specific and detailed, with many examples and exercises, but most importantly, it is about the craft of storytelling from a creative, personal, historical perspective, with it covering all aspects of story with depth and insight. It made me think of my story and screenplay in ways I had not done before, yet I knew immediately and instinctively that it was exactly what I had been missing and needed. After reading the book, and then writing over ten pages of notes for my re-write, I knew it had elevated the depth, continuity, drama, theme, and general story of my screenplay by leaps and bounds.

This is not just any book on screenwriting. If you have read other books on the subject (as I had), this may just be the next one you need. Truby stays clean of what others repeat. He has his own theory of dramatic construction and I have to say, it's a great one. I. Some ways, it's more specific and structured than others. I still wouldn't say this is the only book on screenwriting you'll need (unless you're born with the talent, everyone can use all the help they can get). What I will say is this: if you're trying to make a career out of screenwriting,yours shouldn't miss this book.

I wouldn't recommend beginning writers to start with Truby's The Anatomy of Story, but I would recommend it to all authors - or would be authors - after they have the fundamentals down.

The primary reason for this, and the reason Anatomy is 4 rather than 5 stars, is because Truby adds unnecessary complexity and calls things different than what's standard, or at least typical, within the craft, and I could see this confusing newer writers. Truby clearly has his own way of doing things, and his own nomenclature, but I found this quite distracting, often making me work harder than need be to understand what he was talking about.

An example: Truby calls character "Desire" what more often is referred to as the character's "goal." Why Truby chooses to make things more complex and confusing than is needed is beyond me - he never gives explanations for why he chooses to describe and call things so differently - and in my opinion only detracts rather than adds.

The other reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because, like many authors on craft, Truby criticizes the typical 3 Act Structure, advocating an approach that organically grows your story rather than relies on an external structure that forces you into arbitrary story decisions. That's fine, but I found Truby's rationale thin and not entirely convincing, while I came away feeling that a good bit of what Truby recommends is just as arbitrary and external anyways.

Still, a highly recommended read for all fiction writers, at some point in their careers.

While some believe that great writers simply sit down and start writing, Truby describes and encapsulates the methods they use, consciously and creatively, to achieve truly great story-telling. Never hamstring yourself by a slavish devotion to theories and paradigms, but the insights and concepts that John brings to writing are invaluable. Definitely a writer's "must-have" reference.

Very well thought-out. Strong 22 point outline template. Terrific examples. What's not terrific? Obsessed with proving his system is better than the three act structure. Some of his suggestions have much more to do with supere-hero action movie scripts than other types of stories.

Wonderful, inspirational, creative and practical.
Takes you through all the steps and stages of great story creation, without the pain.
Highly reccommend this one for writers at every level, beginner or pro.

Having gone through several books on writing screenplays, I have to say that the one book I come back to when I'm looking to write a story, is John Truby's Anatomy of Story.

In this book he breaks down everything from the moment you get an idea for a story, to starting to flesh out the characters, creating scenes and eventually start writing them down. His focus is to build the story from the ground up, which is almost in contrast to the common three act structure that most of us are so familiar with.

Truby's book teaches an approach that allows a great deal of creative freedom, but it also gives writers a much needed systematic approach to their writing. I would almost liken it to allowing your star athlete a lot of freedom within a rather rigid system. If writing was a professional game of soccer, and the old or ineducated approach has everyone mindlessly chasing the ball, John Truby's book is almost like the invention of tactics and formations. Even though it seems rigid at first, it becomes clear that the best players (your strengths as a writer) will maximize their potential within this system.

This book is a must-buy for anyone who is serious about becoming any kind of writer, from novels to screenplays to theater. This book covers all of it, because it truly covers what lies at the bottom of it all - the anatomy of story.

Great - easy to read, well organized, detailed and informative. Very glad I bought it, and it has helped me tremendously in reviewing and understanding my own stories.

It is not a "paint-by-number" formulaic instruction. It provides a core understanding of what works to create a compelling story,and why. I'd strongly recommend it.

After reading a library copy, I bought a kindle version so I would have it for reference.. It's a very good tool, not only to guide one's writing, but also for analyzing great narratives to understand how they're built.

John Truby's book provided a perspective on character development which was missing in those books I'd previously read. For anyone concerned about character development, and impact on plot, this is a positive read. His writing is clear and his examples instructive.

When your characters fulfill a need in the structure of the story, they come alive. Your characters aren't a collection of traits, but a series of actions based on needs. This is one of ultimately hundreds of fine tuning and story building insights you'll discover here.
Keep your highlighter, notepad. and a few rough story outlines nearby. See the magic for yourself.

Seriously, this one has it all - whether you want to write a kick-ass screen play, create
a page-turning novel or tell a short-story - it's all covered here.

The author goes beyond the simplistic 3 act story structure and dives deeply
into what makes a story truly epic.

Dozens of examples, practical how-to advice and dominating details -
all served with a fresh and entertaining, jargon-less writing style.

As of now, this is the best book on storytelling I have ever read.

Get it.

The book serves as a detailed, hands-on instruction manual for the process of building a story. It is rich in details and interspersed with numerous examples from literature and pop-culture. Despite it's complexity, it is fairly easy to read.

Can't say much now yet, because just started with my first story. Without this book I wouldn't have come so far as I'm now. The skeleton of the story is ready. I constructed the scene weave. And now I'have to construct the scenes itself, and than start writing. I'm very optimistic about the result, but it will take some time.