The Anatomy of Story?

crich70 · 04-11-2014, 02:57 AM

Has anyone here heard of "The Anatomy of Story" by John Truby? I picked up a copy of it in Kindle format the other night at Amazon and it looks like a good book for learning about writing fiction.

Lemurion · 04-12-2014, 09:39 PM

It's not bad, I have a copy - picked up the HC at BAMM for $1. I haven't read it thoroughly but what I've read has seemed decent.

VydorScope · 04-13-2014, 07:11 AM

I have not read it, so I looked it up on Amazon and the description of the book has this negative review in it:

Quote:

From Publishers Weekly
Teacher and screenplay doctor Truby (responsible for popular screenwriting software Blockbuster) brings his complicated but time-tested story development system to print for the first time, a 22-point process that's more thorough-"an extremely precise map of your entire plot" that "shows you the most dramatic way to tell your story"-but also more unwieldy than the traditional "three-act" technique. For example, the first seven steps Truby introduces apply to structure: develop "weakness and need" and "desire" in your hero, give him an "opponent" and a "plan" for overcoming that opponent, then throw in a "battle" that leads to "self-revelation" and, finally, a "new equilibrium." Chapters build on each other, fleshing out these steps with a number of terms and concepts (character types include hero, main opponent, ally, fake-ally opponent and fake-opponent ally) that alternate between cagey (the "character web") and confusing (the nearly indistinguishable "designing principle," "theme line" and "moral argument"). Further frustration arises in Truby's examples, old movies retrofitted with his techniques (most notably The Godfather and Tootsie) rather than a script that has actually been put through Truby's paces (or, even better, a new script invented just to demonstrate the steps). Following Truby's complex system may yield a memorable screenplay, but writers without great patience may find it more trouble than it's worth.

Lemurion · 04-13-2014, 12:10 PM

However, most buyers gave it 5 stars, and the other professional reviews were much more positive. Besides, even the review you quoted had both positive and negative points, it's just not a book for everyone.

One thing it does do is give you an idea of how to structure a story, whether you follow the methods or not.

04-11-2014, 02:57 AM	#1
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	The Anatomy of Story? Has anyone here heard of "The Anatomy of Story" by John Truby? I picked up a copy of it in Kindle format the other night at Amazon and it looks like a good book for learning about writing fiction.

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04-12-2014, 09:39 PM	#2
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	It's not bad, I have a copy - picked up the HC at BAMM for $1. I haven't read it thoroughly but what I've read has seemed decent.

04-13-2014, 12:10 PM	#4
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	However, most buyers gave it 5 stars, and the other professional reviews were much more positive. Besides, even the review you quoted had both positive and negative points, it's just not a book for everyone. One thing it does do is give you an idea of how to structure a story, whether you follow the methods or not.