Cover of The anatomy of story
Read Time: ~7.4 hr

The anatomy of story

by John Truby (2008)

About this book

"John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and in it he shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of concepts and archetypes from philosophy and mythology, offering techniques and anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach to building an effective, multifaceted narrative." "Truby's method of constructing a story is at once perceptive and practical, focusing on the hero's moral and emotional growth. Writers will dig deep within and explore their own values and worldview in order to create an effective story. They will come away with a precise set of tools to employ - specific techniques to make the audience care about their characters. They will learn how to make their characters grow in meaningful ways, how to construct surprising plots that are unique to their particular concepts, and how to express a moral vision that can move an audience." "The foundations of story that Truby lays out are so fundamental that they are applicable - and essential - to all writers, from novelists and short story writers to journalists, memoirists, and writers of narrative nonfiction."--Jacket.

Setting / LocationCalifornia
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe anatomy of story Lead Character

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of A companion to moral anthropology

A companion to moral anthropology

Didier Fassin

"A Companion to Moral Anthropology is the first collective consideration of the anthropological dimensions of morals, morality, and ethics. Original essays by international experts explore the various currents, approaches, and issues in this important new discipline, examining topics such as the ethnography of moralities, the study of moral subjectivities, and the exploration of moral economies. Represents the first collection to provide a broad picture of a new field of research, moral anthropology, that includes the ethnography of moralities, the study of moral subjectivities and the exploration of moral economies Investigates the central legacies of moral anthropology, the formation of moral facts and values, the context of local moralities, and the frontiers between moralities, politics, humanitarianism Features contributions from pioneers in the field of moral anthropology, as well as international experts in related fields such as moral philosophy, moral psychology, evolutionary biology and neuroethics "-- "A Companion to Moral Anthropology represents the first collective effort to bring together the various currents, approaches, and issues in this emerging field"--

Cover of Dancing ghosts

Dancing ghosts

Mark T. Hoyer

How did an Illinois Methodist homesteader in the West come to create one of the most significant cosmological syntheses in American literature? In this study, Hoyer draws on his own knowledge of biblical religion and Native American cultures to explore Austin's creation of the "mythology of the American continent" she so valued. Austin lived in and wrote about "the land of little rain," semiarid and arid parts of California and Nevada that were home to the Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Interior Chumash, and Yokut peoples. Hoyer makes new and provocative connections between Austin and spiritual figures like Wovoka, the prophet of the Ghost Dance religion, and writers like Zitkala-sa and Mourning Dove, and he provides a particularly fine reading of Cogowea.

Cover of The Freedom Writers Diary

The Freedom Writers Diary

the Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

Shocked by the teenage violence she witnessed during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, Erin Gruwell became a teacher at a high school rampant with hostility and racial intolerance. For many of these students--whose ranks included substance abusers, gang members, the homeless, and victims of abuse--Gruwell was the first person to treat them with dignity, to believe in their potential and help them see it themselves. Soon, their loyalty towards their teacher and burning enthusiasm to help end violence and intolerance became a force of its own. Inspired by reading The Diary of Anne Frank and meeting Zlata Filipovic (the eleven-year old girl who wrote of her life in Sarajevo during the civil war), the students began a joint diary of their inner-city upbringings. Told through anonymous entries to protect their identities and allow for complete candor, The Freedom Writers Diary is filled with astounding vignettes from 150 students who, like civil rights activist Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders, heard society tell them where to go--and refused to listen.Proceeds from this book benefit the Freedom Writers Foundation, an organization set up to provide scholarships for underprivieged youth and to train teachersFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Cover of Film as philosophy

Film as philosophy

Rupert Read & Jerry Goodenough

A series of essays on film and philosophy whose authors - philosophers or film studies experts - write on a wide variety of films: classic Hollywood comedies, war films, Eastern European art films, science fiction, showing how film and watching it can not only illuminate philosophy but, in an important sense, be doing philosophy. The book is crowned with an interview with Wittgensteinian philosopher Stanley Cavell, discussing his interests in philosophy and in film and how they can come together.

The anatomy of story by John Truby | Literally Just Books