The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
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- Create Date：2021-07-10 06:54:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Truby
- ISBN：0865479933
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Summary
"If you're ready to graduate from the boy-meets-girl league of screenwriting， meet John Truby 。 。 。 [his lessons inspire] epiphanies that make you see the contours of your psyche as sharply as your script。"
--LA Weekly
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 it shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script。 Based on the lessons in his award-winning class， Great Screenwriting， The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology， offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach to building an effective， multifaceted narrative。
--LA Weekly
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 it shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script。 Based on the lessons in his award-winning class， Great Screenwriting， The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology， offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach to building an effective， multifaceted narrative。
Reviews
Pippin Hart • The Pigeon
，
Absolutely packed with examples and brimming with the author’s careful study of pop culture， this writing enchiridion proved to be one of the month’s unexpected treats。 In breaking from craft-book tradition， The Anatomy of Story tackles symbolism and setting before it even touches plot， and the resulting approach––deeply concerned with meaning， and content to wait for structure to emerge organically from there––holds an allure that almost makes up for the fact that I had to read a 20-page scene- Absolutely packed with examples and brimming with the author’s careful study of pop culture， this writing enchiridion proved to be one of the month’s unexpected treats。 In breaking from craft-book tradition， The Anatomy of Story tackles symbolism and setting before it even touches plot， and the resulting approach––deeply concerned with meaning， and content to wait for structure to emerge organically from there––holds an allure that almost makes up for the fact that I had to read a 20-page scene-by-scene summary of a movie I have not， and will never， see。 Almost。from my wrap-up 。。。more
علی عموکاظمی
，
آناتومی داستان از جهاتی به "داستانِ" رابرت مک کی شباهت داره。 یعنی نویسنده فرمولهایی در مورد ساختار فیلمنامه ارائه کرده که مثال نقضش رو میشه برای فیلمهای موفق پیدا کرد。 با این حال هر دو کتاب حاوی مطالب بسیار مفیدی در مورد فیلمنامه نویسی هستند。 یکی از نقاط قوت کتاب، مثالهاهای زیادش از فیلمها و رمانهای مشور جهانه。 در واقع نویسنده این داستانها و فیلمنامه ها رو از جنبه های مختلف تحلیل کرده。 به کسانی که قصد نگارش طرح فیلمنامه یا داستان دارند، مطالعه فصل دوم و سوم کتاب رو توصیه میکنم。 آناتومی داستان از جهاتی به "داستانِ" رابرت مک کی شباهت داره。 یعنی نویسنده فرمولهایی در مورد ساختار فیلمنامه ارائه کرده که مثال نقضش رو میشه برای فیلمهای موفق پیدا کرد。 با این حال هر دو کتاب حاوی مطالب بسیار مفیدی در مورد فیلمنامه نویسی هستند。 یکی از نقاط قوت کتاب، مثالهاهای زیادش از فیلمها و رمانهای مشور جهانه。 در واقع نویسنده این داستانها و فیلمنامه ها رو از جنبه های مختلف تحلیل کرده。 به کسانی که قصد نگارش طرح فیلمنامه یا داستان دارند، مطالعه فصل دوم و سوم کتاب رو توصیه میکنم。 。。。more
Katy McCallion
，
Very helpful！ I've still got to do some of the exercises but I've finished reading it so I thought I'd review it anyway。 Gets me thinking about my own stories and what I want to achieve。 Very helpful！ I've still got to do some of the exercises but I've finished reading it so I thought I'd review it anyway。 Gets me thinking about my own stories and what I want to achieve。 。。。more
T。J。
，
I like to think of Lecter as Yoda from hell; the training he gives Clarice， though brutal， is far more valuable than anything she learns at the FBI Academy。
Alistar
，
Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro。 Lo leí después de que Libbie Hawker lo recomendara en su excelente Take off your pants！。 Por un lado tiene perlas muy buenas， muy interesantes a la hora de crear una historia。 Pero， por otro lado， a veces tenía la sensación de que la narración se embarullaba un poco。 Me hubiera gustado un enfoque más sistemático y preciso， donde los ejemplos estuvieran más entrelazados con el texto。 Me temo que la traducción tampoco ayudó mucho。 En mi opinión， es un Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro。 Lo leí después de que Libbie Hawker lo recomendara en su excelente Take off your pants！。 Por un lado tiene perlas muy buenas， muy interesantes a la hora de crear una historia。 Pero， por otro lado， a veces tenía la sensación de que la narración se embarullaba un poco。 Me hubiera gustado un enfoque más sistemático y preciso， donde los ejemplos estuvieran más entrelazados con el texto。 Me temo que la traducción tampoco ayudó mucho。 En mi opinión， es un gran libro de consulta， para digerir con calma， pero no llega al podio de mis libros de escritura。 。。。more
Niquita Utrera
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Be ready to take notes because this book is very thorough。 I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it。
Erin
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This book didn't work for me。 I can recognize that it's thorough and practical， but it was a struggle for me personally to get through it。 In the end， I read about half of the chapters before giving up。 My first problem is that everything is phrased in a way that suggests that if you don't follow the described method perfectly， your work is doomed to be a hopeless mess。 Everything is crucial。 It's a lot of pressure， and eventually it's just depressing。 Secondly， the language tended towards the This book didn't work for me。 I can recognize that it's thorough and practical， but it was a struggle for me personally to get through it。 In the end， I read about half of the chapters before giving up。 My first problem is that everything is phrased in a way that suggests that if you don't follow the described method perfectly， your work is doomed to be a hopeless mess。 Everything is crucial。 It's a lot of pressure， and eventually it's just depressing。 Secondly， the language tended towards the abstract- big picture rules rather than technique tips。 As a result it was still helpful but harder to apply。 Perhaps part of my problem was simply that I bit off more than I could chew。 I've been writing seriously for under a year， and the deluge of information was overwhelming。 I'm sure this book could be enormously helpful for others， but it just didn't work for me。 。。。more
Racek
，
The secret sauceI always knew there was structure to good story。 But writers who write the books on how to write skip over it， pretending it’s not a technique， implying it just happens - like magic。 Those books only tell you what to do but not how to do it。 John Truby’s book tells you how to do it。 Not only how to do it but how to do it for every story genre。
Siddhartha
，
It’s was hard to complete。 It took about three weeks。 We should watch all those movie told on the book and re read will give us better understanding。
he chow
，
作者好牛啊！
Megan Thomas
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I will 100% be referencing this guide again as I continue to work on my novel！ John Truby makes a lot of good points here about how to structure your story to shock and amaze your audience。 Looking forward to putting these concepts to work in my own story！
Mikko Tolonen
，
The book I’ll read again （and again）This book is definitely everything except light and short。 It is a pleasure to read， because there are no lengthy rambles or metaphorical journeys before the author gets to the point。 However， there is more than enough language about what an unnamed， common author is doing wrong。 Sometimes the defensive language the author used got on my nerves， but I can certainly believe all the vitriol the internet can create。 The further I got into the book， the more the p The book I’ll read again （and again）This book is definitely everything except light and short。 It is a pleasure to read， because there are no lengthy rambles or metaphorical journeys before the author gets to the point。 However， there is more than enough language about what an unnamed， common author is doing wrong。 Sometimes the defensive language the author used got on my nerves， but I can certainly believe all the vitriol the internet can create。 The further I got into the book， the more the pages were filled with concrete， highly detailed examples and less with defensive language。This is the main reason why I’m giving this book four stars instead of five。 From a practical standpoint this book is well thought out: key information is easy to find， techniques and options are clearly marked out。 Chapters are tightly structured and well named once one learns the author’s special vocabulary。 This is a happy middle ground between a textbook and a reference book， which is why I’ll return to it time again。 There is a lot more in this book than I expected。 More than I can hope to use in any one project， which is why I believe this book will be so useful going forward。 。。。more
Aly
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Guida con molti spunti utili per lo studio della sceneggiatura e della composizione delle storie。
Michael
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Excellent analysis of what makes a good story， applicable to any form。 Highly recommended！ I expect to refer back to this book often。
Shan
，
Opinionated， demanding， authoritative， friendly， and useful。 Truby begins with helping the writer define a workable premise--ideally， something that will change the writer's life--and works through a the entire process， including character development， world building， a 7-step model for story structure， and plotting using the 22 steps of the subtitle。 Exercises in each chapter lead the writer to a fully developed idea including a list of all the scenes， in order， that will tell the story in a co Opinionated， demanding， authoritative， friendly， and useful。 Truby begins with helping the writer define a workable premise--ideally， something that will change the writer's life--and works through a the entire process， including character development， world building， a 7-step model for story structure， and plotting using the 22 steps of the subtitle。 Exercises in each chapter lead the writer to a fully developed idea including a list of all the scenes， in order， that will tell the story in a compelling way。 He gives examples from more than 277 movies （I stopped keeping track after the world building chapter）， many of them quick mentions to illustrate a point but a few in every chapter analyzed to ensure the reader can really understand。 For instance， the chapter on scenes compares the scene order in an early version of The Godfather with the order in the final script， and the chapter on plot analyzes Casablanca and Tootsie according to those 22 steps。He has strong opinions， and frequently contrasts the superior stories he expects his readers to write against the run-of-the-mill。 He points out weaknesses he sees in classics like Huckleberry Finn。 His exercises are difficult， and some likely require returning to them over and over to revise as the reader completes exercises later in the book。He's that teacher who demands more of you than you might be able to give。 The writing style can be crotchety at times， but the overall feeling throughout is that he's on your side as a writer--he wants you to write the best story， and to write something that makes you happy。I got hung up on the premise chapter exercises for quite a while， and finally decided to read the whole book， thinking about but not completing the exercises as I went along， in hopes the later chapters would shed some light on those early ideas。 It seems to have worked。 At any rate， I managed to finish the premise exercises and have moved on to the 7-step story structure exercises。Truby's world is movies， not novels， so occasionally his advice is specific to something you'd write for the screen。 Overall， though， I'm finding this a very helpful guide that I hope will enable me to reach my novel-writing goals。 。。。more
Barto Bulos
，
“A great story lives forever。 This is not a platitude or a tautology。 A great story keeps on affecting the audience long after the first telling is over”
Ellisnoblebooks
，
Adoro i manuali di scrittura， perché per quanto sei a conoscenza dei fondamenti per scrivere una storia， ti forniscono sempre quel qualcosa in più che ti aiuta a migliorare。。。 questo mi ispirava in particolare perché era da anni nella mia lista di libri da leggere e non mi ha affatto delusa， dal momento che， come dice lo stesso titolo， seziona film e romanzi per mostrarti la struttura dietro la loro storia （avviso per chi vorrà leggerlo: dovete almeno averne visto la metà delle storie citate o v Adoro i manuali di scrittura， perché per quanto sei a conoscenza dei fondamenti per scrivere una storia， ti forniscono sempre quel qualcosa in più che ti aiuta a migliorare。。。 questo mi ispirava in particolare perché era da anni nella mia lista di libri da leggere e non mi ha affatto delusa， dal momento che， come dice lo stesso titolo， seziona film e romanzi per mostrarti la struttura dietro la loro storia （avviso per chi vorrà leggerlo: dovete almeno averne visto la metà delle storie citate o vi perdete perché spesso va nel particolare） e il perché funzionano e sono diventati classici。 Inoltre si concentra tanto anche su come render più effettivi i momenti in apparenza meno importanti delle storie， come i cambi scena o l'ambientazione， e rispetto ad altri manuali letti， si concentra molto anche sul lavoro pre scrittura， dando molti consigli utili sulla creazione della storia vera e propria。Insomma， dategli una possibilità， come a tutti i libri dell'Audino Editore！ 。。。more
Oliver Blue
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was fantastic！ It had lots of great tips on screenwriting and very interesting tips on how to plot your story。 If you are a screenwriter I would highly recommend you keep this book。 I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading it！
Kyra Dagny-Heath
，
As far as craft books go， not very helpful。 Maybe if you're just picking up creative writing and read little fiction， you could find some helpful information in there。 If you've done any sort of creative writing or think about what you read， then this book is a waste of time。 He takes pretty basic concepts of storytelling and gives them new titles while claiming this is the only way to write a GOOD story。 （A fact he repeatedly drives home） His tone is pretentious and condescending。 Honestly I've As far as craft books go， not very helpful。 Maybe if you're just picking up creative writing and read little fiction， you could find some helpful information in there。 If you've done any sort of creative writing or think about what you read， then this book is a waste of time。 He takes pretty basic concepts of storytelling and gives them new titles while claiming this is the only way to write a GOOD story。 （A fact he repeatedly drives home） His tone is pretentious and condescending。 Honestly I've gotten far more helpful， useful information from reading fiction and looking at what worked than I did from this book。 。。。more
Ridanwise
，
Amazing and insightful book; but pretty much about as much theory as I am willing to read。
Mongo
，
There's a lot of interesting film theory and story structure analysis included in this book but honestly it sucks the joy and soul out of the movies he analyzes。 And I think a lot of the conclusions he comes to don't actually hold true for certain genres of film and in particular more modern films。 There's a lot of interesting film theory and story structure analysis included in this book but honestly it sucks the joy and soul out of the movies he analyzes。 And I think a lot of the conclusions he comes to don't actually hold true for certain genres of film and in particular more modern films。 。。。more
R。J。 Southworth
，
Like any book on writing， this one offers a new perspective on approaching the creation of a story， and there are quite a lot of useful pointers here， including concepts that you might not have consciously considered before but which seem obvious when you do。 However， I really didn't like the author's voice when providing his lessons: he comes across as arrogant， pretentious and even snobbish; he often takes a negative angle （i。e。 "most writers get this part all wrong"）; and he insists on using Like any book on writing， this one offers a new perspective on approaching the creation of a story， and there are quite a lot of useful pointers here， including concepts that you might not have consciously considered before but which seem obvious when you do。 However， I really didn't like the author's voice when providing his lessons: he comes across as arrogant， pretentious and even snobbish; he often takes a negative angle （i。e。 "most writers get this part all wrong"）; and he insists on using male pronouns （every hypothetical writer or character is a 'he'）。 His focus on the same stories as case studies - The Godfather， Casablanca， Tootsie - also gets repetitive， with sometimes the same explanatory text repeated in different sections， and is harder to grasp if you're not already familiar with the films in question。 In summary， there are far more engaging books on writing out there。 。。。more
Kara Jorgensen
，
This is more a me issue。 I have a hard time with structure， and while this book brings up good points， I have not seen any of the movies mentioned as guides throughout （The Godfather or Butch and Sundance or Tootsie）。 Not knowing any of the movies means trying to parse out the examples and spending WAY too much time trying to do that。Skimming helped a lot。
Kari Veenstra
，
This book is an excellent craft resource。 I recommend reading Lisa Cron's Story Genius first to get an understanding of story， then reading this。 TAOS is masterclass level for story telling。 With a good foundation， I was able to injest and （hopefully） apply the techniques Truby suggests。 Looking forward to crafting my next organic novel。 This book is an excellent craft resource。 I recommend reading Lisa Cron's Story Genius first to get an understanding of story， then reading this。 TAOS is masterclass level for story telling。 With a good foundation， I was able to injest and （hopefully） apply the techniques Truby suggests。 Looking forward to crafting my next organic novel。 。。。more
elif
，
extremely thorough and detailed。 the examples I found were weak compared to the very strong theoretical aspect， but I definitely walked away from this feeling like I'm better equipped to tell a story。 not exactly an easy read so I'll say take your time as you go through the chapters。highly recommend it extremely thorough and detailed。 the examples I found were weak compared to the very strong theoretical aspect， but I definitely walked away from this feeling like I'm better equipped to tell a story。 not exactly an easy read so I'll say take your time as you go through the chapters。highly recommend it 。。。more
Andrea Oliverio
，
Una guida ottima per imparare le tecniche di costruzione di una storia che appassioni il pubblico。 Molti degli esempi sono mutuati dal cinema， ma i contenuti sono declinabili anche per un romanziere。 Ne consiglio la lettura， ovviamente le minuziose nozioni vanno prese con la dovuta flessibilità e non seguite pedissequamente （sarebbe eccessivamente accademico）。 Diciamo che come ogni testo nozionistico， la funzione è quello di affrontare la progettazione e la stesura di un romanzo con approccio sc Una guida ottima per imparare le tecniche di costruzione di una storia che appassioni il pubblico。 Molti degli esempi sono mutuati dal cinema， ma i contenuti sono declinabili anche per un romanziere。 Ne consiglio la lettura， ovviamente le minuziose nozioni vanno prese con la dovuta flessibilità e non seguite pedissequamente （sarebbe eccessivamente accademico）。 Diciamo che come ogni testo nozionistico， la funzione è quello di affrontare la progettazione e la stesura di un romanzo con approccio scientifico。 。。。more
Brenna
，
A practical and thorough guide to the design constraints of story。 My criticisms: framing conflict as the sole driver of story and too many Tootsie examples
D。 S。 G。 Burke
，
Though the focus here is on screenwriting， there’s plenty of good storytelling advice for a novel writer like myself。 This book should really come with a list of movies to watch beforehand though—if you are planning to dive in and have not seen the following movies， beware: Tootsie， Casablanca， Goodfellows， It’s a Wonderful Life。
Felipe Lizarzaburu
，
Espectacular manera de abordar la construcción narrativa。
Toni Cifuentes
，