Scan barcode
cam_torrens's review against another edition
5.0
Top 5 books out there on the craft! A soup-to-nuts guide to the art of storytelling, providing writers with unique insights into the principles of plot, character development, and dialogue. Using detailed analysis of successful films and literature, McKee offers timeless and invaluable advice for crafting engaging and meaningful stories that audiences fall in love with.
josiahdegraaf's review against another edition
5.0
Really excellent book on writing. McKee covers a lot, and some of the advice is more relevant for film than for prose, but most advice was very compatible. McKee has a good hand on what makes for good storytelling and I found myself underlining a lot in this book. A few parts of this book were a bit unclear, especially when McKee was explaining the different systems he used, but even then I was able to glean a fair bit out of it. And I also feel like when I eventually re-read this book, I'll understand his systems a good bit more.
Anyways, this is a fantastic book on storytelling and one I'd definitely recommend. A meaty book that leaves you with a lot to ponder.
Rating: 4.5 Stars (Excellent).
Anyways, this is a fantastic book on storytelling and one I'd definitely recommend. A meaty book that leaves you with a lot to ponder.
Rating: 4.5 Stars (Excellent).
nickdouglas's review against another edition
4.0
Screenwriters, I'm told, are expected to have read this before going into a pitch meeting. Ten printings in, this book is still in its first edition, so all film examples are from 1997 or before. (This can annoy a very young writer when McKee uses examples outside of the classics.)
Don't get scared by the overwrought language of the first few chapters; the nitty-gritty lies in the second half.
Don't get scared by the overwrought language of the first few chapters; the nitty-gritty lies in the second half.
writeronherway's review against another edition
3.0
I’ll start by saying that there is plenty of good knowledge and insight to take away from this book on crafting story but I did not enjoy reading this and wouldn’t recommend. It is a slog to get through. If you do choose to read this book prepare yourself for a heavy dose of narcissism and some highly questionable taste; the main example of good storytelling referred to repeatedly throughout centred on a revelation of incest... The obsession with this and some of the other examples chosen made me deeply uncomfortable. There were also mistakes and misquotes (for Star Wars of all things!) which given how highly recommended this book is was just strange. In summary, plenty to gain from extracts of this book which are conveniently in bold font but the reading experience is unpleasant.
me_haugen's review against another edition
5.0
Read this one while they were dredging the lake for my keys. I was supposed to be driving the popemobile during the weekly Sunday service parade at Vatican City, but I decided to run over to Lake Como for a little swim before the show. I specifically wore my velcro pocket swim trunks so the key to the popemobile wouldn't fall out of my pockets but I had forgotten that there was a hole in those pockets from the time I put my pet eel in there and swam in the ocean to give him a taste of the Pacific and he chewed a hole in my pocket and escaped. So anyway everyone was so mad at me and like "How can we have a parade without a pope? And how can a pope be in a parade without his protective bubble car?" I kinda was thinking they should have just had an extra key made but everyone was so pissed I didn't say anything. The pope didn't seem too mad though. He just spent a little extra time drawing stigmata on the make-a-wish kids who had come to visit that morning. This book was good.
susannedeheer's review against another edition
4.0
ik heb erg lang gedaan over dit boek, wat er toe leidde dat het altijd voor inspiratie zorgde na een tijd van inspiratieloosheid voor het gehele filmvak. Robert McKee maakte me eerst geïrriteerd met al de keurigheden (zoals ik dat toen dacht) over het filmvak, voelde alsof ik te braafjes de regeltjes aan het lezen was. Tot ik (en hijzelf ook) begreep dat je door deze regels te leren, ze eigen kan maken. In zijn laatste hoofdstuk schrijft hij:
"Use what you learn from Story as a guide, until command of its principles becomes as natural as the talent you were born with. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world ask of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like all your heroes, your art will dazzle the world. "
"Use what you learn from Story as a guide, until command of its principles becomes as natural as the talent you were born with. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world ask of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like all your heroes, your art will dazzle the world. "
sillyzilly's review against another edition
2.0
Oh, this book made me cranky. Parts of it were genuinely interesting, but McKee's narrow definitions and general pompousness eventually made me put it down (that, and it wasn't relevant to the story/media I'm working with, which seems odd for something called Story--but hey, he's a working screenwriter [sort of:] and I'm not).
I couldn't take it.
I couldn't take it.