Advice — john truby

Have you ever noticed whom the actors thank when they win an Oscar? They profusely thank the director for "getting the performance out of them." They thank their agent, their husbands, wives, extended family and distant ancestors, the crew, the studio, the associate producer, and of course, their 8th grade drama teacher. In short, everyone but the writer. On those rare occasions when they do thank the writer, it's always for the words the writer gave them to speak. What they should be thanking the writer for, on a never-ending loop, is the wonderful role they got to play in...

With a good Action script you can write your own ticket. But Action is the most deceptively challenging genre in Hollywood. What may seem simple and straightforward on the movie screen actually requires careful planning and extremely creative solutions from the screenwriter. Action films are deceptive in a number of ways. Many people think Action movies lack character, plot and theme, but they're mistaken. The best Action films have deep stories, complex characters and a profound effect on the audience. The challenge for the writer is to create compelling characters, surprising plots, and important themes within the limiting structure of...

Writing is a craft, and undoubtedly it's the most complicated craft in the world. That's why I put so much emphasis on specific, practical techniques. Big esoteric words and inspirational slogans may sound good, but they don't get the story on the page. Blockbusters Are Story Summer is the time for big blockbuster movies. What most people don't realize is that blockbusters don't come from stars or special effects. They come from story. Smash hit movies use a number of unique story techniques that audiences love. Many of them have been around for hundreds, even thousands, of years. You just...

The Great Gatsby is a true Great American novel. What is even more amazing is that F. Scott Fitzgerald did it in little more than a short story. How did he do it? Essentially, he wrote a Great American Story. Fitzgerald was able to create what may be the fundamental story structure of 20th Century America and weave together a number of characters that each express a different take on the problem that the structure exposes. Let's begin with the novel's endpoints, because they tell us the structure. And the structure tells us more about how the story works than...

Warning: If you haven't seen Cold Mountain, this article contains spoilers which may impair your viewing pleasure. The myth-drama is one of the most powerful story combinations that we have. Myth gives us the hero's journey and the epic scope. Drama gives us the family and the deep, complex issue. When the love story is added, we have the potential for a real knockout. Unfortunately, the original writer of Cold Mountain structured his story in such a way as to remove much of the power of the myth-drama. By doing a straight cross-cut between the two leads for most of...