---
product_id: 221416
title: "Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting"
price: "VT9740"
currency: VUV
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reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/221416-story-substance-structure-style-and-the-principles-of-screenwriting
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

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

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## Description

desertcart.com: Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting: 9780060391683: McKee, Robert: Books

Review: Fascinating and Wonderfully Helpful - I recommend this very highly to anyone interested in stories. Although it is mainly addressed to scriptwriting, it might very possibly be of great value to writers of books, etc, also. The author provides a wonderfully organized perspective, and sharp and persuasive analysis of film stories and scripts. And it seems well oriented towards being helpful to a writer, rather than being merely an entertaining read nor to show off his obviously extensive knowledge . Everything is put into well-organized context most useful towards constructing screenplays / stories . It gives a lot of perspectives that even a pro writer might find helpful, I'd think, yet is written clearly and accessibly so that even a beginning or aspiring writer should be able to find much and most of it understandable and helpful. There are also references to films, probably some of which one would have seen already. And in cases where one may not håve seen the film, the author describes the film or scene enough to understandably make the point intended or to serve as a good example of some particular topic or principle or pattern. The book's approach does not take a "formulaic" approach, nor tries to channel writers into any particular pattern or formula. The author's appreciation for a wide variety of genres is evident, as is his love for many unique and wonderful films, as varied in their uniqueness as humans, perhaps. But the book's genius is in deftly identifying and portraying and explaining various principles and patterns of stories and their construction, which though not hard-rules, are often in play, and can be helpful guidelines and perspectives for anyone writing a story or script. Most-helpful! I myself felt very stuck at one point in terms of how to proceed to revise a script I had written. Taking time out to read this book, I then felt very much enabled to move-on in various ways, improving the script. With the insights gained from this book, I felt much more at ease, and confident, in moving forward with further writing and revisions, and also, gained various new directions for improvements I'd very possibly not have thought of without the insights and methods gained from this book. Again, I highly recommend this, as a wonderful book to read early on in one's aspirations towards writing, and as an excellent book, probably, for a writer at any level of experience.
Review: BEST BOOK ON HOW TO CREATE STORIES 100% hands down - Sorry I don’t have time to write a succinctly profound review but if you’re even barely considering buying this book, JUST DO IT. I honestly can’t believe the price is 25$. If you have an ounce of raw story telling talent, or if u consider yourself professional, this book is for you. Or if you appreciate the art of storytelling; or if u work in the industry and get scripts across your desk, this book is for you. I do not write scripts and have no plans to; I was introduced to this book years ago when reviewing a script someone was interested in getting funded and felt appropriate to educate myself on what makes a script great... Bc we all know when a script isn’t, but not necessarily Why. Robert blew my mind w this one; the depth, the clarity, the profundity and the genius simplification of one of the most complex art forms - telling stories about the human experience. The essence of the art form is principled out in the book. I’ve been raving about this book since I first read it in 2017, lent my hand-me-down copy, and bought my own last week to do a little book club w my gf. We enjoy watching episodics and movies and have a great time articulating why we think stories are great. I’m super excited diving back into this book again especially w a partner. In my over simplified, outsider opinion, this book is THE formula, the “bible” so to say, of the who what where when and most importantly WHY of scripting for screen. Just buy it. Buy two copies and gift one to your writing buddy or a director u work with. Heck, buy 3 copies and keep on in the car or at the office. Again, ~25$ - wow. If u want to get your script funded - this is the next place for you to go. Scripts are picked up bc they will sell, and in order to sell they have resonate universally. This book explains the essence, the principles of the art form of script writing. If you really think you have what it takes to be an all star writer then digesting this book should 100% fun for you. Just my 3 cents... again I have no plans of writing and I’m not a writer. But I enjoy the art form and I respect the mastery of technical and creative that blend as genius and excellence. For me, having this knowledge has made stories on screen that much more enjoyable as I watch the principles outlined in this book play themselves out like clockwork. I hope I’ve made it clear how magnificent and remarkable this book is in both knowledge and presentation. The hugest shoutout to Robert McKee and his wife who apparently edited this. And shoutout to all the other people behind the scenes on making this book happen. It’s brought me tons of joy, entertainment, knowledge and invigoration. And quite honestly had widened my perspective of the human condition and life itself. Just buy it, and read it. Take notes. Study it. Use it. Capitalize on it if script writing and story telling is in your cards. And if u love this book as much as I do let’s start a club lol.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #15,054 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in Screenplays #3 in Screenwriting (Books) #9 in Authorship Reference |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 3,137 Reviews |

## Images

![Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71zRbi81P3L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fascinating and Wonderfully Helpful
*by C***. on February 15, 2013*

I recommend this very highly to anyone interested in stories. Although it is mainly addressed to scriptwriting, it might very possibly be of great value to writers of books, etc, also. The author provides a wonderfully organized perspective, and sharp and persuasive analysis of film stories and scripts. And it seems well oriented towards being helpful to a writer, rather than being merely an entertaining read nor to show off his obviously extensive knowledge . Everything is put into well-organized context most useful towards constructing screenplays / stories . It gives a lot of perspectives that even a pro writer might find helpful, I'd think, yet is written clearly and accessibly so that even a beginning or aspiring writer should be able to find much and most of it understandable and helpful. There are also references to films, probably some of which one would have seen already. And in cases where one may not håve seen the film, the author describes the film or scene enough to understandably make the point intended or to serve as a good example of some particular topic or principle or pattern. The book's approach does not take a "formulaic" approach, nor tries to channel writers into any particular pattern or formula. The author's appreciation for a wide variety of genres is evident, as is his love for many unique and wonderful films, as varied in their uniqueness as humans, perhaps. But the book's genius is in deftly identifying and portraying and explaining various principles and patterns of stories and their construction, which though not hard-rules, are often in play, and can be helpful guidelines and perspectives for anyone writing a story or script. Most-helpful! I myself felt very stuck at one point in terms of how to proceed to revise a script I had written. Taking time out to read this book, I then felt very much enabled to move-on in various ways, improving the script. With the insights gained from this book, I felt much more at ease, and confident, in moving forward with further writing and revisions, and also, gained various new directions for improvements I'd very possibly not have thought of without the insights and methods gained from this book. Again, I highly recommend this, as a wonderful book to read early on in one's aspirations towards writing, and as an excellent book, probably, for a writer at any level of experience.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ BEST BOOK ON HOW TO CREATE STORIES 100% hands down
*by B***Y on April 7, 2021*

Sorry I don’t have time to write a succinctly profound review but if you’re even barely considering buying this book, JUST DO IT. I honestly can’t believe the price is 25$. If you have an ounce of raw story telling talent, or if u consider yourself professional, this book is for you. Or if you appreciate the art of storytelling; or if u work in the industry and get scripts across your desk, this book is for you. I do not write scripts and have no plans to; I was introduced to this book years ago when reviewing a script someone was interested in getting funded and felt appropriate to educate myself on what makes a script great... Bc we all know when a script isn’t, but not necessarily Why. Robert blew my mind w this one; the depth, the clarity, the profundity and the genius simplification of one of the most complex art forms - telling stories about the human experience. The essence of the art form is principled out in the book. I’ve been raving about this book since I first read it in 2017, lent my hand-me-down copy, and bought my own last week to do a little book club w my gf. We enjoy watching episodics and movies and have a great time articulating why we think stories are great. I’m super excited diving back into this book again especially w a partner. In my over simplified, outsider opinion, this book is THE formula, the “bible” so to say, of the who what where when and most importantly WHY of scripting for screen. Just buy it. Buy two copies and gift one to your writing buddy or a director u work with. Heck, buy 3 copies and keep on in the car or at the office. Again, ~25$ - wow. If u want to get your script funded - this is the next place for you to go. Scripts are picked up bc they will sell, and in order to sell they have resonate universally. This book explains the essence, the principles of the art form of script writing. If you really think you have what it takes to be an all star writer then digesting this book should 100% fun for you. Just my 3 cents... again I have no plans of writing and I’m not a writer. But I enjoy the art form and I respect the mastery of technical and creative that blend as genius and excellence. For me, having this knowledge has made stories on screen that much more enjoyable as I watch the principles outlined in this book play themselves out like clockwork. I hope I’ve made it clear how magnificent and remarkable this book is in both knowledge and presentation. The hugest shoutout to Robert McKee and his wife who apparently edited this. And shoutout to all the other people behind the scenes on making this book happen. It’s brought me tons of joy, entertainment, knowledge and invigoration. And quite honestly had widened my perspective of the human condition and life itself. Just buy it, and read it. Take notes. Study it. Use it. Capitalize on it if script writing and story telling is in your cards. And if u love this book as much as I do let’s start a club lol.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond screenwriting, Story goes so much deeper
*by J***A on August 31, 2014*

I absolutely loved this book. I'm working on a novel series, and I am serious about my craft and career. I have read my fair share of "How to write an awesome novel" books, but none went into the true heart of the story like this book. It goes beyond simple "How to write awesome stories" guides. It goes to the heart of what story means to us as humans, how it touches us, why it touches us, and why some stories touch us more deeply than others. While this book is focused mostly on screenwriting, I still got a tremendous amount of information from it. I tend to write in a format more akin to watching a good movie rather than a deep literary fashion, so this was still right up my alley. It broke down many famous movies and helped me understand them better as well as understand why they struck me the way they did. I think that's the part that truly made me love this book - it's not a simple "how-to" guide, but a "why this works the way it does." The first part focuses on why stories affect us the way they do, and then it moves onto how a good story is formatted to best capture an audience. Now when I go back into editing mode, I can see if scenes are working properly and what to do if they're not. While most of the guides I've read tell you "Open the book right in the middle of the action to capture the audience," this tells you how to do it right, to emotionally engage the audience and make them stay with you to the end. While I can't say much about it in regards to actual screenwriting, I can see how the principles apply to the novel format, and now I know why some stories strike me as mediocre in comparison to others. I recommend that any new writers, especially those in the indie/self-publishing scene get this book and really understand how to make their story work. I've read stories with good plots and bad delivery because the author did not properly hone his or her craft. Seriously, get this (among many others, learn the craft!) and read it more than once because even I couldn't fully absorb it all in one pass. When I'm ready to do some serious editing, I'm going to read this again first to make sure my work has impact. If you are serious about your writing career and craft, get this book!

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*Last updated: 2026-05-19*