Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting

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Summary: Keep it close to your heart.
Review: I've read a lot of books and resources on scriptwriting and I have never been so engaged or having fun as I did with this book. Mckee's Story is way advanced in technique than any other book. He gives you details, examples, and pretty much how writing should be like. The wealth of information and advice in the book is absoultely vital for all scriptwriters!

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Summary: be prepared to start over
Review: After five years of thinking and three months of writing I got a hold of an audio copy od "Story". I realized I had 75 pages of exposition. The truths of writing stories is timeless this book brings the realities home.

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Summary: A fumdamental necessity.
Review: This is, by far, the best book out there for aspiring screenwriters. It's completely comprehensive and McKee uses many examples from well-known movies to convey his points. I would credit McKee for giving me the clarity I needed to truely begin the learning process.

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Summary: Brilliant
Review: Why is it so rare that non-fiction authors give their knowledge to their readers in a simple and clear way, like Robert McKee, so that everybody can understand it?
Do you want to write a script? Read this book first.

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Summary: It'll never be off my desk again
Review: I can't believe I've lived this long without this book...Bob McKee covers the entire process for any writer but particularly the Screenwriter...ultimately I expect him to save me thousands of hours in rewrite

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Summary: Practical, easy-to-understand screen writing resource
Review: This book by Robert McKee is anexcellent resource for creating an involving screenplay. I am a novice when it comes to screenplays and "Story" was a great way to get a first look at the art of writing screenplays.

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Summary: One of the best on fiction books I have ever read
Review: I want to go into the film industry as a writer and began writing scripts. My whole world changed upon picking this book up. It changed my whole way of thinking and completely changed my writing. A definate must read for anyone interested in writing or anyone just interested in how films work.

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Summary: The definitive screenwriting tool!
Review: Robert McKee's "Story" is the definite screenwriting tool for the novice and professional screenwriter alike. Not only is this book considered the Bible in the screenwriting trade, but for the entire film industry. I have been to a lot of production offices in Hollywood and this book has been required reading for everyone and anyone who wants to become knowledgable in the art of screenwriting and all of film for that matter. Robert McKee is the formost authority in the screenwriting profession and it is evident that his teachings work by the volumes of students that have taken his classes or read his books and have gone on to great successes. If screenwriting is your passion or just your hobby, this is the book you have to read to fully understand the complexities and elements that are required to write a great story.

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Summary: A Must have! but not the only one to have
Review: I recently read this book and quickly realized what all the hype was about. McKee definitley knows the craft of screenwriting and is very in-depth about each and every statement that he makes. This book is very helpful and sticks with a no nonsense approach. He uses more than 100 movies to provide examples with and this helps but at times hurts his credibility. For example: in his chapter on The Innciting Incident he uses LEAVING LAS VEGAS as an example and calls the Inciting Incident the point when Nicholas Cage decides to drink himself to death. Later in his book when discussing the Crisis he calls the Inciting Incident of the movie the point where Cage is fired and the Crisis as the point when he decides to drink himself to death. Allthough this seems like a minor detail it bothered me in the fact that if even McKee couldn't keep his concepts consistent how can the reader be expected to buy into them? I don't think this book could do anything but help a screenwriter- knowledge is power and this book shares an enormous amount of knowledge concerning screenwriting. However, beware that this book is written at times in a more analytical view point. By that I mean that he teaches the way writers do not write. His Scene analysis chapter provides brilliant help in studying scenes- but if you broke down each and every single scene in this manner you may be wasting a great deal of time and loose some excitement for the scene. However, this would be very helpful for scenes you're having trouble with in the re-write stage. Overall, I think that any screenwriter serious about the craft should buy this book immediately! But unlike other readers, I did find flaws. It is not the book to end all screenwriting books! The 3rd edition of the Screenwriters Bible by Dave Troutier, in my opinion, is still the single best book on screenwritng. Richard Walter's two books are also on the top of my list and he directly opposes some of McKee's approaches. And I still believe firmly that Vogler's The Writer's Journey is a must for all screenwriters. This book is not the answer to all screenwriting problems, but it's definitley a big help. A must have.

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Summary: Great book!!
Review: Could not put this book down when I started reading it!! Anyone can write a screenplay, but this book gives you some good guidelines to help ensure the screenplay is indeed a great story.