Robert McKee

"In Story screenwriting guru Robert McKee presents his powerful and much sought-after knowledge in a comprehensive guide to the essentials of screenwriting and storytelling." -- Methuen.

Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Story

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Stefan R. Schmid

I read this book because it was often mentioned by journalists when it came to the question of which books they recommend to other journalists who want to learn how to write better stories. While this book is certainly good at analyzing structure and giving instructions in this regard, a major update is urgently needed.This book is bursting with patriarchal, heterosexist and other unreflected ideas. They can be found not only in ( e.g. anti-queer) examples, but also in the fundamental perception of what defines a good story. 
To be honest, I am shocked by how often this book was recommended. Because stories shape our reality - and these stories are no longer suitable to deal with our reality responsibly.

matej yangwao

** spoiler alert **
           Will finish later:)
So far great!

>good screenwriter avoids clichés but respects archetypes.

>a skilled author knows that the text is not about speed writing and volume but scrupulousness and brevity

Nelson Zagalo

Patrick Baumann

It took me months to finish this book. Not because it is boring, but because it is so full of knowledge, so dense with useful information about how to create good stories. I'm sure I will go through it again and again and learn something new every time. If you're creating stories, I think you can't miss this book.

Marcos Silva

Great book for anyone that wants to begin writing screenplays. But there are lots of concepts also useful for writing stories in general.

Janne Janssens

"If the story you're telling, is the story you're telling, you're in deep shit."

Story is a complete guide for storytellers. 
Even though Robert McKee often focuses on films, this book is also very useful for novel writers. He sometimes explains himself with small diagrams and gives a lot of examples from films, which makes technical aspects more clear. For me as an animator, it is a pity no animation films were mentioned.
Story is very technical - which is why it took me a couple of months to finish this book - but also very comprehendible. He always explained difficult terms clearly.
I've never highlighted so much in a book. It is so colorful with the dozens of post-its I sticked in everywhere.

Story Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting

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