Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story

One of the only books I've read that explains why we use structure in the stories we tell rather than just giving us a prescriptive paint-by-numbers approach. Save the Cat is an example of this: a commercialized and bastardized version of prescriptive instructions where the author never really explains the reasoning behind his thesis and should really be banned for the magnitude of damage its caused.John Yorke is a far better teacher in Into the Woods and dives into the deeper psychological reasons why our stories tend to be shaped a certain way and how, even when we try to abandon structure in our stories, we can't help but respond to an archetypal structure.I can't recommend it enough for students in film school because it gives us the tools and lens to examine any films, screenplays and stories of any kind and apply it to our own stories too.

It took a while, but it arrived in perfect condition.

Into the Woods is a scholarly journey into story structure. John Yorke might have simply drawn on his experience as a dean of Britain’s screenwriters, but this isn’t a tiresome recount of his television adventures. He researched his subject well (check his footnotes and bibliography). He cites Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, and some making a living writing craft books would tell you that’s about all there is to it. Luke Skywalker’s quest, Act I, II, III, IV, V. Yorke, however, takes us deeper into the woods. Yes, there is a common arc for story, even when some appear to diverge from the norm, because that’s what we humans crave when we want someone to tell us a tale. Yorke explains it clearly and backs it up.

Estimated international delivery date was 3-4 weeks when ordered but package arrived within days - impressed and very happy! Book was exactly as advertised in new condition. Would definitely buy from same vendor in the future. Thanks!

This is a great book. I have been using it to study film I’m university and it’s helped me a lot. Good information about script writing.

I really good book. Helped me a lot with my master thesis.