Not All Writing Books are Created Equal (Part 1)

[@elijahkashburn21]

“He hates the 3 act structure like it beat him up in middle school,” -LucasScriptMan

[@ARandomerUser]

beat this vapour 💨💨💨

[@acolourfuldreamer]

That sounds personal 😂

[@mavg.]

Yap

[@cudi313]

"MAGNUM COPUS"

[@e.lu.9]

The phrase, “Magnum Copus,” is so crazy, it could be a hit film script on its own. The genius of Mr. ScriptMan never fails.

[@crakhaed]

Instant vocab addition for me 😂

[@bolivia4723]

Making this commonplace

[@mari_golds-bleeding-ink]

I need that on a shirt

[@childlikesaiyan]

Remember folks, break down advice given to you instead of following it blindly. Not everyone's process (Or works) make sense or work for you

[@localscriptman]

Too real

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@haomakk]

i follow all of local's advice blindly. he is too persuasive. that's not my fault, it's his fault

[@ARandomerUser]

@@haomakk fr 💨💨💨

[@Avarn388]

@childslikesayian Yup. For me, I had an idea for a story and one bit of advice I had was the concept of working backwards. That proved to be helpful because it recentered my thinking like building a foundation first. Hence I thought to myself: where do I want these characters to end up by the end? I had a general idea of them but nothing concrete. So it turned out to be beneficial for me but I can see that being harder for someone who is starting from nothing. The point is whatever advice you take ask yourself: does it help you in your current situation? And also if it does not, then that doesn’t mean it won’t help in the future. Just put that bit of advice away for later.

[@TheStellarJay]

Bro I don't even write stories but your videos are so good I can't help but auto click every one

[@THE-GUY-REAL]

Oh my god it's the hollow knight guy

[@jameshamill4709]

Every screenwriting book has their “sauce”. If the “sauce” appeals to your tastes then enjoy. If not you don’t have to force yourself to enjoy it.

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@shinykoffing1857]

"If I see an archetype, it's on sight." Unfathomably based; there isn't even an archetype to describe it.

[@WHALEBOY777]

The archetype is Contrarian

[@amazinggrapes3045]

I almost threw up when he said that

[@thecassin8r]

All of culture is constructed from symbol and archetype and saying otherwise is denialism

[@DarkDefender1024]

"It makes me want to drink cement." There are endless versions of this idiom and I'm here for all of them, for my entire life.

[@steadyrow]

Story by McKee is my favorite. I thought his observation that contradictions define character dimension was brilliant.

[@Ouvii]

Daddy McKee is full of very abstract analysis with little practical advice. In other words, it's perfect and I love his books.

[@steadyrow]

@@Ouvii really? I thought there were some good usable tips in it. Sorry you didn't feel the same way.

[@Ouvii]

@@steadyrow hmm... He gives very specific examples, but it kinda seems like the archetype problem where it's more of an "interesting in hindsight" deal rather than "this is how to write" I will say this though: I do think that McKee has made a series of great writing books and that they aren't JUST great for analyzing how something works. His framework of how dimensions work is very good for understanding more direct writing advice from others and how all those contradicting approaches work in their given contexts. For example: a popular piece of advice is that you must include the dimension between the lie the character believes and the truth they need to learn. Not all well-written stories contain this, and ones that do sometimes just have it as a token thing that happens because that's what Save the Cat says to do. As stated earlier, this is just a dimension in a character that drives conflict. It's particularly good practical advice because it tends to drive conflict on multiple "levels of conflict" as McKee puts it. Story by McKee has a lot of great material in it like the inciting incident should come when it needs to: right at the beginning or much later like in Rocky, depending on the needs of the story. Another good bit is how a dimension (this character is 3-dimensional or this character is flat) in story telling is literally a mathematical dimension with a positive and negative charge (as opposed to a feeling where some people have a sense of deep character and just throw out the word-vomit "3-dimensional." In Character he literally counts the dimensions of Walter White, making him something like a 10-dimensional character.) Yet another nugget is how you shouldn't exposit only for the sake of exposition-"If the scene is about what the scene is about, you're in deep shit." And I could go on-and I will with just one more brilliant nugget: a scene can tell a story in multiple different levels of conflict, the example in Story being the Kramer v Kramer French Toast scene that turns values on the levels of inner conflict, interpersonal conflict, and societal conflict. Notice how a lot of this is different than "Break into 2 happens at 20% and the B Story is introduced at 25%. Remember to use a character that represents the B story to introduce it. This character can be a new character or an already introduced character that is seen in a new light at this beat." This is very specific and something anyone can vomit onto the page and get a genuinely decent result with. So yeah, a lot of advice from McKee is not practical, it is analytical, and that's not a bad thing, because it opens up the writer to navigate the issue of creating a story "whole-cloth" rather than following a template. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with the template approach from Save the Cat or anything. Now, I'm kinda wrong, because Action by McKee is chock full of prescriptive and practical advice, but Story is very analytical, as are Dialogue and Character, though Dialogue does have one really good practical bit about cumulative and suspense sentences, how some sentences are a mix of both, and how most sentences in fiction are suspense sentences. (The practical part being that you should write more suspense sentences)

[@steadyrow]

@@OuviiI see what you mean. It's like if you asked a cook for a recipe and they enrolled you in chemistry and thermodynamics lessons. I guess I never thought to myself, "I need a writer to give me a worksheet to write the 4th integration of 'see spot run'". I'm curious, what are some of your other favorite how-to-write books?

[@Ouvii]

@@steadyrow I really like Save the Cat which is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Story IMO (specifically Save the Cat writes a Novel. I couldn't wade through all of the original though that one has some interesting bits in it too). I also like Manga in Theory and Practice by Araki because it has advice about working in the expectations of an industry while also not compromising your art. There's also some wild advice like you should make a list of 100 character traits per significant character, which I know a lot of people don't gel with, but it's nice to see successful authors contradict each other on how to be successful-gives you perspective.

[@ARandomerUser]

i was writing something when i got distracted by tetris, and i wasted my entire day. i figured i’ll just do it tomorrow, and i was about to finish my day feeling pretty unfulfilled, but then you uploaded this, so balance restored-

[@FabbrizioPlays]

So many writers ask for writing advice not as a means to create their desired story but as a way to avoid making their own decisions and placing the onus on others to tell them what is good. I hope it goes without saying that any book which caters to this feeling will fail to enrich you.

[@brisbane2153]

"magnum copus" that's so fucking good

[@speggeri90]

Cursing makes you seem like an uneducated pleb. Stop it.

[@sovereigndeleon]

Since you brought up archetypes, I recommend K.M. Weiland's "Writing Archetypal Character Arcs". She goes deep into the practical application you say is lacking in Truby's stuff.

[@Raging_Fish]

Oh, second this! Love Weiland's stuff, her podcast is great!

[@minerman60101]

So what you're saying is, because I'm not at all an aspiring writer, I'm getting nothing from your videos and am merely watching them because I enjoy your cadence and presentation style?

[@localscriptman]

Hey if you're getting enjoyment, that's not nothing

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

John Truby's book was not only the first screenwriting book but just plain storytelling book I was ever interested in reading, so hearing your scathing roast of it was like ugh, but, the more i think about it the more you have a point lol 😂. In any case i'm starting to think that my take on writing books (and just plain learning in general) is this great quote by Bruce Lee: "Keep what is useful, discard what is useless, add what is essentially your own." Can't wait to see part 2 of this! :)

[@peterlantz7966]

I had a similar relationship with the hero's journey, but I think I was ready to discard it by the time I heard it bashed since it resulted in many story drafts I didnt like.

[@writingfromthedepths]

I had the same experience with LSM's take on Truby. I have an unfortunate tendency to put writing books on pedestals and then never question what they say or how they say it - only questioning / criticizing myself when I can't get my writing process to mesh with their approaches. So hearing LSM rip it apart was tough, but I think it was helpful in the end. I still think that Truby's 22 steps work well for my process, but even when I was working almost directly from his approach I found the beginning portion of the book (designing principle, etc.) unhelpful. That's a great quote, too -- will keep in mind!

[@acolourfuldreamer]

"The point is to build your own toolkit of things that work for you". Thank you, even with novel writing, I've had writers say that certain styles of writing wrong and that has kept me back for years, whereas if i had just tried different styles then i wouldnt have been stuck on certain stories for so long.

[@thefriendlydefault9684]

This is one of those channels where you drop everything you're doing to watch whenever there's an upload.

[@ARandomerUser]

fr fr 💨💨💨

[@KNETH780]

literally just started watching your content. im an artist who plans on eventually doing comics so your work has made the storytelling part seem a lot more approachable thanks :)

[@clowncinema]

2:45-2:50 I’m taking a narrative techniques course, and my professor does EXACTLY this. He constantly says stuff like, “Your characters SHOULD get into trouble,” and “Your scenes SHOULD build upon each other.” But he never describes HOW writers achieve these goals. Because of that, I feel like I’m not getting anything out of this class that I haven’t already gotten from video essays or Save the Cat and Screenplay

[@captainzork6109]

Idk your situation, but it's sad you're paying money for a service you're not getting something out of :0 If the thing he's teaching fits your needs badly, that sounds like something which would be great if it were addressed

[@writingfromthedepths]

I read Truby’s Story book about half a year ago and it did help my novel writing process (yes, I’m using it for non-screenwriting purposes). The later section of the book resonates with me more than any other novel writing book I’d read previously, and it actually helped me through a block. However, that was after a second (perhaps third) reading. I found it quite difficult to wrap my head around at first, and I felt READ when you mentioned your teenage self thought the book was at an advanced level because it was difficult to understand. That was me last year, and that was me up until fifteen minutes ago when I started the video right into the Truby section. I value the understanding of character that I gained through my experience with the book, but I felt validated when you pointed out how vague the beginning was. I’d put him on a pedestal (“I don’t understand it, therefore it is complicated, therefore it is more advanced, therefore better”) and this segment allowed me the perspective to reinforce my approach to writing advice that keeps me pointed in the right direction: do what works for ME. The beginning of Story was never the part that clicked for me. Thank you for making this video and helping me realize that 😅

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@Sajective]

Every "How-to-write-stories" book tackles writing their own way and none of them are flawless. I've several of these books (except Save the Cat) like McKee, Truby, Morris, Steven King, etc (even literary textbooks) and I've learned a lot but each left me with more unanswered questions. The first one I got was a mess, and I wouldn't recommend it, but I learned from it to take the good bits and throw away the rest. The best advice is the one's that stick around and is always helpful. Don't take what these writers say as gospel but try to come up with your own theory/approach via Feynman method that can explain everyone else's theory/approach and understand it yourself. In short, you have to do the work. Don't get to hung up on terms but the reasoning and logic behind the term.

[@dubblebubbletoilandtrouble6646]

Me glancing sideways at the copy of The Anatomy of Story, which I've only barely begun, on my nightstand at this very moment: 😐

[@rayeiswriting4372]

Did you finish? I’m starting it nnoe

[@CloudyMagpie]

I recently picked up the craft of scene writing by Jim mercurio. I don’t remember much of the book except for his chapter on dilemma, which was a real lightbulb moment for me. “The essence of a character’s nature boils down to one single, albeit difficult, choice…dilemma defines the character arc,creates the climax, embodies theme, and clarifies supporting characters.”

[@Ryanin2D]

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V Swain is the best and most practical advice on storytelling ever. The best way to read it is to skim for the lists like 1,2,3 or A, B, C, in which he lays out the bare bones of his points. Then fan out from there based on your interest. I reread it biannually as a reminder to what I need to do well. Lots of modern fantasy writers use some variation of Swain's Scene/Sequel, like Jim Butcher and Brandon Sanderson. The biggest take away is danger as the main mode of story, and mystery as a form of structure rather than a genre or mood.

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@paradoxicalwaffle9874]

Idk if this has been commented yet, but Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott changed the way I think about writing as a goal for my life. It's less craft and more describing what trying to be a writer and being a published author is like, but it's a very entertaining read as well as being a helpful perspective. It definitely has craft advice too, but it's coming from the perspective of a book writer, not screenplay. Also the audiobook version I listened to has the author as the narrator, which I loved So Much

[@crediblesalamander8056]

As someone who isn't watching your videos with a particular project in mind, I gave up on writing a while ago, aside from some bits and pieces for fun on occasion (I don't have the discipline or patience), but I still think these video still remain thoroughly informative and entertaining. (plus I secretly wanna be able to give useful input on writing if I'm ever involved in a creative collaboration where that would be possible)

[@sb0w761]

The two books on writing I have found to be very useful are “Stein on Writing” and Stephen King’s “On Writing.” I have taken four creative writing classes in university at this point, both these texts I mentioned could have replaced my courses, they contained the same information. Ultimately I have found information about the story telling structure can be found in many different mediums (this channel being one of my favourites). But the best advice for fledgling writers I have received is to find a community who can provide you with honest feedback.

[@upg5147]

That's the biggest thing my college creative writing class gave me, feedback. A lot of what I learned is good information to have but it's either stuff I learned previously or easily found on the internet.

[@valuelight]

Have you ever read Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald? He shares a similar storytelling sentiment to yours in that “theme” is the glue that binds all the other story elements together. The “invisible ink” is theme, and it’s important because it gives any story “focus”. In fact, the purpose of storytelling is to dramatize or communicate a message to an audience in a way that’ll hit their emotional core. Me personally, this has got to be the best book on storytelling around.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

For real. Theme is the thing that the story is about, the thing that makes it make sense. Without theme you don't have a story. I wish I could find some writing advice from someone who's actually made a story I like. Ugh

[@anthonywritesfantasy]

90 Day Novel by Alan Watt is my favorite book on structure and dilemmas. I'm sure he has a version for Screenwriting too, it's just the Novel one that got me inspired. I agree about Truby, and that's honestly how I feel about McKee: too much "do this or else it's wrong," though McKee's principles are a lot better. Honestly, a great writing book is "The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up" by Beatrice Chestnut. Cheesy title, but it tells every enneagram type as a story of a child - "Once upon a time, there was a person named Nine..." Reeeeally good stuff for understanding someone's inner life. If I need to get inspired, that's the first craft book I'd reach for.

[@Dartagnan4012]

Honestly i think the unifying thing behind everyones definition of themes is just this. :the theme or a theme are the concept, ideas, or questions the story is focused on. All the definitions i have heard fit into that. I could be wrong but theme really just seemes to be about some focus that sort of gives the story some unified direction in a sense. I think getting rid of the term completely might notnbe the best.

[@copeless1090]

How do you get people to use that definition instead?

[@amazinggrapes3045]

​@@copeless1090instead of what? What else could it possibly mean????

[@copeless1090]

@@amazinggrapes3045 Lots of people I talk to say it means "a story's moral message" or message, LSM touched on something similar in his "What if Character Sheets Didn't Suck" video

[@aglonkenguitarist]

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks is a good one. He has a very categorical way of organising elements of story.

[@imperatorock]

This video is so professionally made that I didn't notice that it literally just came out. I'm like the 2nd viewer.

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@malaksafa4074]

​@@ARandomerUserhat are you doing in this comment section bro?????

[@totaledblock9969]

Thank you so much for bringing books to the table and picking through what makes them valuable (and not so) to your writing process

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@zetjet9901]

I am glad you have put things on the screen now

[@StarblazerTV]

I'm taking my third and final screenwriting course at my local community college, and "The Coffee Break Screenwriter" is required reading for this class. I recommend it for beginners or anyone that has written scripts before. Thanks for talking about it.

[@onemoreminute0543]

I think the problem with the 'heroes journey' in how it's applied in writing is that it's meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive. Joseph Campbell wasn't setting out to make the ultimate writing guide with 'The Hero with a 1000 Faces'. It was instead an attempt to understand the similar stories and archetypes we have across various cultures and times and which we share on an unconscious level.

[@THE-GUY-REAL]

Lucas is the only man with the balls to make a video like this

[@jacquescote3903]

Have you heard of Paul Guyot's "Kill the Dog?" He's a working screenwriter who wrote his book in retaliation of Save the Cat because he thought it was teaching so many non-working screenwriters the wrong lessons.

[@rei6249]

babe wake up, new localscriptman video dropped

[@mattykat7743]

A book that really helped me and I’d like to recommend to creatives in general is Walter Murch’s ‘In the Blink of an Eye’. The book is actually about film editing and is largely anecdotes and stuff about his creative process but it’s a short read and has some advice that I think can be applied to any art medium in some way or another. In particular, one part that really helped the way I think about my writing was his ‘Rule of 6’ which are basically 6 things you have to consider every time you’re deciding how to cut a scene that are listed in order of how they should be prioritised. I remember being in an editing class where our teacher asked us to guess what those things might be and the first thing that someone said was continuity which happens to be the least important. The actual list goes 1. Emotion 2. Story 3. Rhythm 4. Eye-trace 5. 2D continuity 6. 3D continuity The ideal cut fulfils all these rules but if you can’t, then the emotion of the scene has to be your first priority. I wasn’t so sure about this advice at first because I thought that surely continuity had to be more important because if things are suddenly changing from shot to shot, that takes the audience out of the experience. But then I realised, a shot with broken continuity that ruins the scene isn’t bad in and of itself, it’s bad because it destroys the emotion of the scene. Good filmmakers don’t actually give two shits abt continuity because small mistakes are inevitable, what they care about is preserving the emotional journey they want the audience to experience

[@chineselord5689]

Dude, we miss you uploading, please come back you've helped us immensely

[@faebees5793]

Clean presentation and enjoyable dry humor, def checking out more from this channel

[@mathewhayner4743]

Thank you for a great rundown of craft books. I think I might check out ‘The Coffee Break Screenwriter’. The beans, as requested, I recommend ‘The Mechanics of Fiction Writing’ by P.E. Rowe, a craft book that endeavors to be as succinct and practical as possible. Downright utilitarian even. It’s concerned with writing fiction novels, but there are some nuggets of wisdom that I think overlap well enough with screenplays.

[@Nyxelestia]

I think Lindsay Ellis put it best when she said that things like tropes, archetypes, and plot structures, are useful for studying or analyzing a story after it's created but terrible for making them in the first place. In my own writing, I found them useful for "filling in the gaps" after I've planned or even begun making a story, they helped me understand what was working in my story to identify what *wasn't* working or what was lacking. However, they never helped for making the story in the first place, and when someone treats them like a checklist, they can jeopardize a story.

[@danieljorgensen4937]

"Magnum Copus" is the greatest phrase I ever heard. Congrats LSM, it's all downhill from here 👌

[@silas1414]

Great. Let’s get that Part 2. Hearing more about how each authors philosophy diverges would be of value.

[@theredsaurian]

Another Localised Scribe Entity banger

[@geng6443]

Since you’re getting rid of “themes” as a term, I nominate a replacement in “The Central Tension” Essentially exactly what it says on the tin. The most important conflict of your story. It could be something grand and nebulous like “Freedom vs Security” or as granular as “Duty to your disfunctional family vs your desire to live a life beyond them” Then you could do all perspectives on it like your old system I got it from Matt Colville, a DnD KZbinr who made the term to use on a setting level for the politics of his world, but I think it could be used here too

[@lovelessmelvin]

Yet another solid video. I’ve been wanting to read the coffee break screen writer and now I’m hype to get to it

[@grahampayton7514]

Just picked up Anatomy of Story by Truby, On Writing by King, and Story by McKee two days ago and instantly had most of the same thoughts about Truby that you communicated here within the first few chapters of reading it

[@beelzebon]

The bit about Home Depot and needing a project before you shop for tools was like getting hit with a shovel (from home depot). Completely changes how I approach creative learning.

[@Frongo]

the way john truby describes themes and morals is like how i'd think in those insecure states of mind where i cannot allow myself to view storytelling in any way beyond just glorified debating.

[@ARandomerUser]

💨💨💨

[@crakhaed]

Great way of putting that! It's so limiting, you're stuck only on what ideas or messages you're putting out and everything else is secondary

[@AugustRx]

calling star wars the coach's kid is the accurate description I have been waiting my whole life for

[@thesunthrone]

The archetypes thing is just crazy. I love me some archetypes, I really do. Inject Joseph Campbell into my veins, it's great fun to read how stories have functioned throughout the ages. But when it comes to actually *writing* the story? I never, not ONCE, sit down and think "okay so what's the archetype for Blorbus, and if he's got that archetype, then I need Mlorgus the Mage to guide him and then...", no! I come up with a premise, iron out a throughline, consider what it might need, add some more characters - and then in the process of writing, I come up with some extras that make the story so much better that I hadn't considered. Maybe once or twice during the process I sit back and go "huh, Jimothy is kinda like a Blorbus, and Jiminy is sort of like a Mlorgus Mage to complete him, wow neat" - but this is always AFTER I have already put the words on the page, just reading the story draft for fun. Honestly this kind of advice reads more like an attempt to intellectualize why a story works rather than actually understanding the process of making it.

[@lyleenright6774]

I'm reading Truby's book right now and...having a very different experience? I don't know if it's because I'm older, have more specific problems I'm trying to solve or what, but the interpretive "key" of the book I've latched onto is the organic growth of the story from within what you know you *want* from it. Once I got that, everything else started clicking. The beats Truby provided scoped down my world-building to what *finally* felt like bare essentials that could tame my focus. And everything reoriented me to the questions, "What do you want from this story? Why? What's the question it's helping you answer? What are the symbols and images you keep bringing to it?" I think a lot of your digs at the book are well-put, but now I'm fascinated by what makes our two experiences so different and how this book maybe hits someone with different questions or mindset.

[@writingfromthedepths]

I also found that a lot of Truby's methodology just ... worked for me, specifically the 22 steps. It got me to an outline of a novel that I felt happy with, something that's never really materialized from other writing approaches. It's the only writing advice book that I've read that *clicked* with my brain. That being said, I appreciated a fresh perspective that made me question my assumption that the entirety of the book works for me. The first few chapters of Truby's book just didn't really hit home, and I found the later chapters more helpful. I didn't realize this was true until after I watched that section of the video. I thought it was interesting that LSM didn't go into the 22 Steps methodology at all. I'd appreciate an alternate view on that section as well.

[@Ballchugger]

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." -Somerset Maugham Ultimately these books are just toolkits or things that other writers or people around the industry have used in their own works and it works well enough for them to explain it to you. If it works for you then great, if it doesn't work then ditch them. For LSM, it didn't work but he does make a highlight that some parts of Truby's does jive with him. From what I've heard of others talking about the book, it wouldn't work for me so I'm not looking into it but humans are complex, something that works for one, doesn't work for another. Honestly, probably simple as that.

[@rayeiswriting4372]

Like he said about tools- they’re tools! Which is fun that I’m listening to these videos as I literally do my own DIY home improvement, so I experienced the metaphor in real time. I realized that I like the painter’s tool better than a putty knife for scraping wall paper off the wall. Why? Because it’s better? No, because it feels right in my hands as I tackle this project

[@DillonChichester]

My suggestion: Eric Edson’s “The Story Solution”. Sequencing is a story structure model I’ve almost never seen talked about on writing YT so I’d like to see your take on it, both generally and this specific version of it.

[@adeladam2325]

I think sometimes the true value of these books isn't in their equations or dogmas, but rather, in the alternative POV's they provide. Sometimes, seeing storytelling/creative life from a whole new perspective can be so much more valuable than if the character cries by page 6 or whatever.

[@Jefnam]

The thing about having a project is something I've been realizing more and more recently, and I did actually do that last time I picked up Anatomy of Story 😅

[@JackMyersPhotography]

I remember buying Truby, and his software, when it first came out with high hopes and finding it vexing. Also, reinstalling the software at the time was beyond difficult and complicated. I was hoping “Into the Woods,” by John Yorke makes your list.

[@youngman6355]

I haven't watched the video yet but I've been waiting on my guy to finally read this book. Whatever his take is, it's bound to be funny and exciting.

[@stephenoconnor6180]

Have you ever come across Jeff Vandermeer's Wonderbook? To me (and I haven't finished it yet) it seems less like a rulebook or guide and more like a collection of tools that may or may not help you when writing. It's not "here's how you should do something," but more "here's a way that you could do something." It also has a handful of essays by other authors and is really well illustrated.

[@mebequack]

I loved the c418 music in the background. Man you brought back old memories ❤❤

[@Minacoleta2]

I'm so glad you're doing this series! I've been reading screenwriting books (and watching your super helpful videos) while writing the first draft of my graphic novel. Since I'm not from a film background, a lot of these books and concepts are totally new to me. Excited to see what else you cover next!

[@Direwreck]

This channel is a godsend wellspring encyclopedia of nuanced takes and information. Thanks 🤙

[@timmceown7646]

Your video’s are consistently the most useful content I consume. They’re all actionable and free of self aggrandizement. That is so f*cking rare. Thank you very much.

[@JPNixon-hu2jd]

"Designing Principle. What does it mean? IDK, and neither does [Truby]." ► It seems that I am not alone.

[@oneofmanynone5082]

What I have learned from reading/listening writing advice, is to take what makes sense to you and try it. If it makes a successful story, as in one that works as a story with little issues, then its good advice. Not one person has the complete truth to story so it's best to pull from as many options as possible.

[@Avarn388]

Excellent video. Your character sheets are having me make more progress on my story than a majority of exercises I tried. I really like how you framed writing advice as “ creating your own desired story”. I know for me; the story I am creating is a hero’s journey story. I like those types of stories. Call me old fashioned but I like having an underdog or person who has a problem and in turn the journey helps them resolve it. That also helped inform what media I chose to consume to get me in the frame of mind. My tale being a voyage and return and a quest storyline like Wizard of Oz, Narnia and then me trying to tackle the Chosen one. The concept a lot of folks say you should avoid and I’m like “ I want to see if I can tackle the concept”. All in all, it’s good to listen to feedback and advice but good advice should help you figure out how to tackle your story. I thank you for these videos because they help me better think about my own work and just stories in general.

[@wtfisthisthingdude]

This is the damn funniest roast

[@matthewlavagna6080]

I've read lots of books on screenwriting and in my humble opinion the vast majority of them are much thicker than they need to be. They're overwritten, and because of that, any useful nuggets of information tend to be buried within pages upon pages of unnecessary, overly complicated and often confusing prose. Screenwriting certainly isn't easy, but I think it's far simpler than many people make it out to be.

[@Blockzord]

Hampton Fancher's "The Wall Will Tell You" is only 68 pages long and splits into categories of pointform insights. The points read like poetry and aren't specific. Yet I'd recommend a read if your "pantsing" a first draft; as some reminder can get brain juices flowing into thinking critically about your structure, without reading for long.

[@mothgoth0]

I'M SORRY, "MAGNUM COPUS"? I fucking choked on my coffee

[@Rebelofold]

A little late for bean spilling, but Brandon Sandersons writing lecture series here on youtube has good tools for story writing. He emphasizes that he is more focused on book writing but the tools he talks about can apply to a lot of types of writing.

[@Kira-ji2ft]

You can honestly learn more by just studying your favorite novels or movies and reverse engineering them. It's like learning a language: reading about writing can help you understand it, but you only really learn by reading, understanding, and writing fiction yourself.

[@youcantbeatk7006]

That's a skill in itself.

[@Zerox_Z21]

"I hate the hero's journey" Oh thank God someone said it, every other video discusses it as of it's some irrefutable law of physics. I always hear that and just can't believe that something so limiting really is that unavoidable.

[@alfred8936]

Low key think I have a mild addiction to reading books about writing written by writers instead of actually writing

[@shada0]

Haven't watch your video yet, but thank you! I've run into way too many BS books on writing. As someone who wants to learn, but who doesn't want to write for film or novels, every step of the way has been hell.

[@Skwidiot]

I really like this video format where I can listen to you talk while I work.

[@Schloetz]

The writing commentary is cool and all but that breakfast at the start of the conclusion section looks delicious

[@DTux5249]

Keeping Truby in the meat freezer is the highlight of the vid for me.

[@cde3003]

When you were deciding on a personality for your KZbin persona, what made you settle on 'gratingly smug'?

[@Oculliptic]

Started the writing journey with no ideas on how to write and read John Truby's book- the design principle stomped me for a good 3 months just trying decipher wth it was HAHA. it's been one year since I started, I now have 7 different projects I am working on (some more developed than others for sure) and your videos has saved my approach to storytelling. Lets gooooo

[@Mr_Mguffin]

entirely unrelated, but I'd love to see a video that's like, "SEE THIS!! *slams desk* "THIS IS WHAT DOING IT RIGHT LOOKS LIKE!!!" my suggestion would easily be Zuko's arc in "Avatar: the last Airbender" (not the Live action). I haven't met anyone who says its bad yet but his arc is the most phenomenal piece of writing I've ever seen. id love to see what you have to say on why ppl love it so much. kind of like an exemplar for assignments. also, watching your vids is euphoric

[@RATZGobbler]

I dropped out of reading Anatomy of a Story in the middle of his section on the Web of Symbols. When you feel the need to say that Symbols have to be meaningful over and over again, it’s no wonder this guy hasn’t written anything else. I still found the idea of a premise list and some other stuff helpful.

[@Nkanyiso_K]

14:53 I bought a tonnes of script writing books in 2016 after I lost family & I was so aimless the books did nothing. I totally agree, when you have the drive research helps.

[@khmatrix]

I found your channel recently and I been enjoying the knowledge you been giving out. Though it's mostly for screenwriting, I "think" a lot of what you say can still apply to make character driven stories for COMICS etc. I also wonder what you think of Jessica Brody's "Save the Cat! Writes A Novel"?

[@Denmosocial]

What kind of fireplace is that bro? That is dope

[@DangerousMuteLunatic]

I don't know if it's just the massive, well-deserved shitting on Anatomy Of Story, but you've made me a lot more interested in the Coffee Break Screenwriter.

[@martinebonita2658]

personally, story genius by lisa cron and reading like a writer by francine prose were really important for me. i wonder if screenwriting books translate as well to novel writing as the reverse

[@MaterialObserver3956]

This would make for a great podcast

[@notvriska227]

I once read through a "how to write" book and underlined a bunch of things just to write things next to them like "???" and "no!" so this is a video after my own heart

[@haomakk]

love the minecraft background music, this video is hella chill

[@AgeOfGarSkew]

Love your Channel man ! Just discovered this and been binging for the past two days. Also curious why no opinion on the McKee book. With your Channel, it's the only other break down of script writing that resonates with me.

[@Writing-Theory]

Great video! Just beat me to a video on writing books. Love seeing your humor and your takes!

[@ChrisGloomTube]

story genius - lisa cron. First novel writing book I found that didn't feel like bullshit. I bet you'd have some interesting takes on it.

[@unit1pirate380]

u are a GODSENT BookAssScriptMan... i love you so much

[@crakhaed]

Great video, especially the ending. If you don't already have an idea or project in mind you're just consuming instructional content without any direction to aim it in. Damn. That's pretty good description of my relationship with writing. 😅 thanks for the video!

[@9nikola]

Taking a spin on the "if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail" for a little "if you don't have a nail, don't waste time looking at hammers" at the end here. I think I'm just gonna put these hammers on the watch-later list from now on till I've got a nail to apply to them to.

[@fuzzyfuzzz]

One writing book I remember really enjoying was Stephen King's 'On Writing' which served as part memoir and part writing guide and King's methodology was super fascinating to me. Unlike other professional authors, he's really upfront about viewing it as work which is what it is for him. He talks about going into his writing place and just churning away for hours a day because he loves to do it, but also because he writes actually like it's his job (which would explain the amount of books he pumps out to varying degrees of quality). He also talks about not getting lost in descriptions and how you shouldn't need paragraphs on paragraphs to describe a pretty cherry blossom or a fluffy white rabbit. I know this channel is focused a lot more on screenwriting, but I think King's pragmatism probably has a way of translating. His hatred for adverbs especially is just personally kind of hilarious to me as well as how he reassures young authors that there's not as much of an issue as english teachers say with using "said" to describe dialogue instead of "yelled, screamed, cried, explained, etc." I think the general gist of not needing to over do it with descriptions because a good writer should be able to convey it in the words and actions itself is a lesson I personally relate to a lot as someone who can very much so get bogged down in overexplaining things sometimes and needing to tone it back.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

Oh my God, it was Stephen King who said that??? I loved adverbs 😤 I have beef with him now

[@fuzzyfuzzz]

@@amazinggrapes3045 I personally like adverbs as a concept but I can definitely see King's point with him saying they can needlessly especially after dialogue. I can't remember any exact examples he uses but it's along the lines of: "What are you doing!" She yelled excitedly. King's point is that the passion or whatever context the dialogue comes in should be conveyed more in the dialogue itself rather than explained after the fact which in his view means the writer either didn't properly write the dialogue that they did but are needlessly bloating the story with adverbs. I think his issue is more in line with excessive use specifically though in needing to describe every single line of dialogue that way and that it's not really an issue when used sparingly. I can understand the beef though lol

[@thereccher8746]

Stephen King does this all the time though. The Outsider had an entire paragraph dedicated to a character describing the last Mel Gibson movie he saw.

[@paloma8423]

tbh designing principle was one of my main takeaways from Anatomy of Story-I don't think it's meant to be a category in the way terms like character, beat, scene, arc, etc. are (hence the vagueness), but rather a term-ification of what you mention in the end: every story has different needs. It worked for me as a way of reminding myself to put into words what sort of story I'm trying to write instead of leaving it a vague vibe in the back of my mind.

[@ldm8393]

The dramatica theory is dope. Definitely something local script man should check out. (Free pdf online and subtxt has articles)