I lost all hope as a screenwriter until I started reading his book: The Anatomy of Story. What a major breakthrough! I literally can feel my brain evolving just from the insightful questions and exercises. It's changing my life by the page!
I agree. It's like a perfect mash-up of Story by Robert McKee and Save the Cat. The second half of Anatomy is so deep it could be read multiple times and even more treasures would be found.
I am mostly just amateur writer, or writer at all. My storytelling has been pictures, paintings etc. But a year ago, I decided to chase writing, as it has been one of my "dreams" as an human and artist. 100% agree, those structures provided by Truby in anatomy of story are mind bending, if to put simply; it changed my freaking life.
I just have to say, the questions you ask - the way you ask them - You're an amazing interviewer. Whether it comes natural to you or whether it's an abundant amount of prep work, it's very impressive.
I've been structuring my story step by step using John Truby's "Anatomy of Story" book, and I must say i've never had so much success designing a story until i've read this book. Amazing information that I recommend everyone getting their hands on.
Truby's workshops are enlightening, he not only gives you insights to story, but gives you a deeper understanding of life in general. I think many movies are missing the element of 'soul' and his workshops make that obvious, and lets you see 'why'; and he gives you the tools to make bigger contributions in storytelling, to society. He's a storyteller sage.
How I miss the '70s, 80's and early '90s when STORY was the most important element. Real characters in real life situations, conflicts, no Cgi, no mythical worlds. I have to agree with, Mr. Truby, that one has to write a story one cares about as well as a theme (i.e. Love vs. hate, good vs. evil) that appeal to a worldwide audience. I noticed he mentioned the words " in my classes I..." at least five times . How I wish I could afford his classes, but I can't, so I thank you FC for bringing John to us for "nada" . Please thank John for me. In the meantime, I will continue writing as I have since I was a teen, for it saved my life, it's now my passion and I will continue doing it as long as the story ideas pop in my head and I will watch movies, read screenplays and closely listen to those film makers whom stories inspire and teach me to be a better writer with each new screenplay I write. Love u guys for all that you do for us, the creative writing community.
Last night I came across a short clip of Truby talking about writers block - totally needed that! His advice was perfect. The story had been trying to tell me the same thing, but I wasn't listening. Block exploded! :) After listening to the whole interview I should have been taking notes. I need to buy his book. Thank you for another brilliant interview!
Bought The anatomy of story a month ago, a miraculous wise book. Someone said here that he's a storyteller sage and that is so true. I always keep it at hand and is truly a bible for the budding storytellers. Plus this guy has placidity of mind and such a wonderful tranquil nature. I am a fan of this guy. Thanks to film courage for posting this.
You know what, I want the interviewer to film herself. I can tell she's very smart and I'm sure she has advice or something that she can give that's just as insightful as any of these other videos.
I'm a writer director, and this is the greatest insight I've ever received in 10 years. I'm happy and fortunate that I have practice these techniques. My personal biggest fear is that people will think I'm a psychopath or a sociopath when they read something I've written. After watching this, and knowing pound for pound the craft of what it takes to write and complete a great script, I no longer have that fear. I'm very grateful for this interview. Thank you so much. Saw the entire thing.
What he said proves why Breaking Bad was so great. The protagonist weakness isnt that hes economically challenged. His weakness is weakness. Being a drug kingpin makes him feel strong and alive. Even though he would never admit it.
Saber, we love that folks like you are finding this video. We appreciate your sentiment. Mr. Truby certainly deserves more credit than we do. Your 25 views for this video may be the most anyone has watched any of our videos, at least the most anyone has admitted to us. We think that's awesome.
Truby never ceases to amaze me. Every response he has given in this interview could be written out VERBATIM and published. He hasn't yet received the credit he deserves.
That was incredible!!! I just learned so much about a good story!!! Thank you so much John Truby and Film Courage!!! Will get your book John!!! Will scour all of Film Courage's fabulous content!!! Thank you!!!
Timely to stumble upon this video. I started working through Anatomy of Story last night. It's been in my shelf for at least two years. It was recommended by a friend who knows who's who in the film industry. Also recommended are 'Into the Woods' by John Yorke, The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lagos Egri, and Invisible Ink by Brian MacDonald.
A very informative and thought provoking interview, thank you. I was impressed with the interviewer who is sharp as a tack and the questions are really well formed and put.
Thanks. Our series with Mr. Truby on TV writing is still in progress. We've posted 11 videos so far and we still have a good number of videos to post before it is complete.
The plot is one of story telling's most important pillars for sure. Yes, being willing to be open to learning is so important. Its how you grow as a story teller. I know the experience I have in psychiatry, many do not have. I have never been a Judge or a Lawyer, or lost a parent when I was young, or suffer with a serious illness. So how can you know everything? You have to be open to listening and learning. Question what confuses you.
Very enlightening and helpful - especially the comments concerning artists always learning more. My philosophy is to be a perpetual student of what you do, really open up your mind and learning opportunities. With that, I am grateful you posted this video.
Thanks for sharing this hugely valuable wisdom it is information that helps me to create an online course and working on my book. Being a person who has had no training in these areas and finding it difficult to understand how to structure writing and how to create content that gets people interested, this video helps so much.
GraceFaith Janet Hi GraceFaith Janet, thank you commenting. Not sure if you have seen our video compilation, "Writing Character For Film & Television" but we just can't help ourselves to share it as a reply - ruclips.net/video/13KcN-fRLFI/видео.html It's one of our best videos on this channel. Hope it inspires your writing.
Totally awesome, i watched the whole interview, really wanna thank u guys alot for sharing, starting to learn about movie making and can't stop watching your videos...thanks alot for sharing such masters to teach us...
Powerful interview! Thank you both for your generosity of spirit in sharing the truth about screenwriting in a practical and encouraging manner. Especially the second half benefitted me as a budding screenwriter feeling frustrated when I have had a successful science writing career.
James! We certainly appreciate your enthusiasm. The good news for you is that we are going to sit down with Mr. Truby this upcoming week to do another video series where the subject is going to be TV writing. We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to sharing the video segments with you.
Go to one of his training seminars - he's very wise. You not only learn about the anatomy of story, but you learn a lot about human behavior/basic psychology as well. He does talk about - the Hollywood method - because that's what you're up against. Yet, he focuses more on story, and the importance of writing amazing, life-inducing stories for the masses. Story shapes society.
Love this comment. We agree with you. We are glad to report to you that we had a second opportunity to sit down with Mr. Truby today to talk about writing for TV. Excited to begin sharing some of the brand new clips this week. We covered a lot of material. We don't go deep into his story but he does share a little of his experience working on 21 Jumpstreet.
Absolutely brilliant mind! I've learned so much from mr Truby and his book! I'm still just a novice, but I feel like reading his book and watching this lecture I've went trough masterclass!
I found this advice very helpful and thought provoking. Thank you, John, for saying it's not only okay but important to spend weeks just thinking about your premise (also known as log line or one-sentence story description). I find that very freeing. Let the conscious and subconscious brain work on it for a while, you'll be surprised by what comes! Also, for those critical of John's choice of Hunger Games as a good script--I think his point is about the premise. It drives the plot from early on, the stakes are high, and the tension never stops. That, my friends, is the foundation of a good story. Plus, you can hardly argue with box office success. Godspeed.
I'm 4 days into ' The Anatomy of Story' and am only on page 80. It's tough but good. I stopped marking pages after the 3rd, there was just too much to highlight.
I'm writing a script with the help of Truby's book and it's absolutely fantastic and a huge help. I was miserable with my script until working it out with his book.
Thanks doodelay. So far we have been able to post 6 complete series. Things have gotten a little busier for us with the release of our new series with David Waugh.
Bought the book The Anatomy of Story after watching this video, and realised that what Edward De Bono did for Thinking, John Truby did it for Screen-thinking. Absolutely great! Thanks!
This is amazing! I will recommend to my former screenwriting students, and may use for my fall semester at the University of New Hampshire! Thank you so much for posting it and the other videos. You guys rock!
I am trying to write a screenplay right now. I'd have to say making sure I have a good premise for my story and making sure I put together a well formed structure before writing the entire script. This way I can have a solid story that isn't filled with holes and faults also I won't be wasting my time. Overall the entire interview is filled with great advice. Thanks Again!
Appreciate your follow up Sherman. Is this the first screenplay you are writing? During your non-writing time you may also be interested in our full interviews with Steve Kaplan, and one with Michael Hauge & Mark W. Travis.
Indeed it is. Over the past years I have developed a passion for movies and thought I could take some of the ideas I have and write a great story. If the other interviews are on your RUclips channel I will be sure to check them out!
Agree. Truby actually gives out nuggets. Some unsavory characters only give interviews purely to plug something, but Truby and a handful of other greats go out of there way to help people.
Fantastic content as always from you guys, congratulations! I have to disagree at 32:05 "If they didn't like it, it's your fault." That probably is the case in most mediocre/bad movies but let's not forget that not everyone liked Tarkovsky back in the 70's / 80's (or even today). That doesn't mean he made bad movies. Not everyone will like the Black paintings from Goya and they will heavily criticise them, but that doesn't make them less important than what they are.
Thank you so much! I was focusing too much on my protagonist setting and reaching a goal when I should have been focusing more on her having a character flaw to begin with and then overcoming it. This is the emotional resonance that was missing, that I couldn't quite articulate. Thank you!
I learned the importance of giving my characters a flaw to overcome as well. A lot of characters are written without flaws, most superheroes, and i was writing a hero who was so perfect he was boring. I went back and rewrote him the a serious flaw where he is bent on revenge and it gets his friend killed, and my story was exponentially better. I was able to mine this flaw for dramatic paydirt to great results.
Thanks! We just posted the television equivalent of this series with Mr. Truby entitled, "Anatomy Of Story - Television Edition." If you have any interest in writing for television, you may find that one helpful as well.
Prabhu, our approach is to post individual segments first and then when we can post the entire series as one video. In the case of Mr. Truby, we already have this video broken into 18 segments you can find in our playlist section.
Fascinating & Appreciated! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight into the art of screenwriting. After reading your book, and watching this video, I have a sturdier foundation to write a compelling screenplay based on strong story elements, that will appeal to a worldwide audience.
Great interview with lots of material. I do have a simpleton's question: can you post one of your vast collection on the Genre Types to which John Truby refers? Please?
Hi Daniel, unfortunately whatever Truby touches on in this interview is probably as much as we have with him about genre. Outside of our channel we did find these links - johntrubysscreenwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/secrets-of-genre.html and johntrubysscreenwriting.blogspot.com/2011/02/genres-secret-to-your-success.html We know others have also recommended Blake Snyder's 10 genres. Here are a couple links kiingo.com/tip/the-10-genres-of-save-the-cat and savethecat.com/genre/blake-snyders-glossary-of-genre-terms Hope that helps!
@@filmcourage It's a start. THANK YOU. I would hope, however, that the FC channel would find a Genre Genie to make life (and learning) easier. [Yeah. I know. "That's why you have research this, Grasshopper."]
Everything about John Truby is impressive: his words, the thoughts he expresses, what we perceive as his personal character, the interior in which he is seated. But to put it simply, the man is a classicist. He thinks in the mode of a Mozart or a Bach. If one wants to produce work of this ilk he needs to take a time machine backwards in time. Because modern Jazz has put man back in touch with the spontaneity of raw nature. The girdle of over-thinking, jamming mankind into preconceptions, constricting life into a tight moral code - all of this has become passe and today only breeds discomfort and chaffing. Rather, embrace the ravishing freedom of Modernism, made visible by a Picasso or a Motherwell.
Since April 16th, we have posted 9 new video segments about Television writing and we still have a lot more we've yet to post. Including this compilation we now have 28 videos with John currently posted to our channel. We just added the playlist to our main channel page. Hope that makes it easier for you to find the videos.
It's funny. You watch all these videos and they make you think you have to have a near perfect screenplay to get anywhere. Then you turn on the HBO/Showtime and see movie after movie with one dimensional characters, weak plots, boring stories, predictable endings, etc.. These movies made it pass screenplay readers. So apparently their judgement isn't as good as they try to make it seem.
And countless egos (actors, execs, etc) stuff up scripts long after writers have submitted them. The writer is at the bottom of the heap, they get no respect :(
“As a human being I have faults, you have faults, we all have faults. Even a great movie has faults. I think a great movie should have personality. And personality means that there are flaws, and you don’t have to correct the flaws. When you correct the flaws you’re eliminating personality. The Greek word for tragic flaw actually means, in Greek, defining characteristic. So the thing which makes the character is the thing which makes the flaw. Charlie Kaufman’s movies are highly admired and yet if you analyze them almost all of them have some problem in the third act, things that don’t really work-but they’re part of the fabric. And if you were to clean it up entirely maybe the whole thing won’t work as well…Every script, every movie has a certain DNA, and things which seem illogical may work…Because movies have gotten so expensive, executives feel more fear. And that fear rules. And that fear forces executives to make your screenplay perfect. Perfection is the enemy of art. It’s the enemy of character. It’s the enemy of anything that’s dynamic and interesting.” Nick Kazan
Interesting. I am not saying you're wrong about HBO. Because I never really analyzed HBO in its entirety, but when I think of that network it always gave me the impression that the popular belief is they give the show runner freedom to have a singular vision. And when I think of at least two shows in particular, like Boardwalk Empire (and of course Sopranos) and the Leftovers, I can confidently say the storytelling in those shows are top notch and consistently blow my mind when it comes to how much effort they put into it. In Boardwalk, in any given scene, an obscure theme will be threaded throughout, and even the placement of the camera, and what is in the frame is so thought out, it is insane. So your comment surprises me. Maybe you're right, but with those two shows in my opinion, you're not. But even in a show like Girls, I've seen hints of brilliance in some of the episodes, usually not in all of them though. Like every third one. And then there are all the old shows like Deadwood, and the Wire, and Six Feet Under which all have very good reputations as well - in terms of respect for the storytelling. So maybe the shows that are on the network are getting lazy, I don't know. I haven't noticed, but will keep my out for it now.
37:53 ~ 43:08 ... I'm not sure if I can express in words how much this section (on the importance of the pre-1st draft logline) means to me. Right now I'm developing a story for a webcomic that, in all honesty, will not be that good and will probably have a negligible audience, and compared to most others I believe I have enough material that I *could* start drawing and publishing the comic immediately and be on par with the competition; but I feel that it's important that I figure out the real core of the main character, the world they inhabit, and, importantly, the core conflict of the story ... all said, I feel I need to get these core structures in place before I draw a single panel; it means that I'm taking a very long time for what started as "a quick project to pass the time" that isn't even supposed to be *that* good by design, IDK, I've just been wondering that if I can't even decide on which plot I wanna' take it towards I have no hope of ever finishing it and I should just get started on *something* already ... this speech he gives on how a bad first draft can cement things that don't belong, and further that 90% of the story's issues needs to be (and can be) solved just in the logline alone ... that's the most comforting thing I've heard all month, and I've been binge-watching these Film Courage interviews.
We appreciate your feedback. We welcome you to return anytime. We've been spending today watching a number of vids from our newer series with John where he shares his insights on TV writing. We're going to fast track our remaining videos so we can release, "Anatomy Of Story: TV Edition - The Complete Series With John Truby."
One thing i am thinking about quite often is the part with the hero overcoming their weaknesses. I know stories don’t represent the reality but I am asking myself if that is a good thing. With kids watching movies, and are active on social media so many things morph the sense of reality. I am afraid that there are too little stories that represent life and reality as they are. I don’t know if I am alone with this opinion but I think that through the suspension of disbelief in so many places in everyday life it presents a weakness to fake news and populism and rational thinking is put on hold. I really want to know if anyone has ideas on how to create reality in stories.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I lost all hope as a screenwriter until I started reading his book: The Anatomy of Story. What a major breakthrough! I literally can feel my brain evolving just from the insightful questions and exercises. It's changing my life by the page!
I hope you found success.
I agree. It's like a perfect mash-up of Story by Robert McKee and Save the Cat. The second half of Anatomy is so deep it could be read multiple times and even more treasures would be found.
Nice
I am mostly just amateur writer, or writer at all. My storytelling has been pictures, paintings etc. But a year ago, I decided to chase writing, as it has been one of my "dreams" as an human and artist.
100% agree, those structures provided by Truby in anatomy of story are mind bending, if to put simply; it changed my freaking life.
This is gold.
I just have to say, the questions you ask - the way you ask them - You're an amazing interviewer. Whether it comes natural to you or whether it's an abundant amount of prep work, it's very impressive.
Thank you! I appreciate your comments, Meg. You always leave such interesting takes on our videos and we enjoy reading them. :)
00:00 Read more scripts, or viewed film?
02:56 Best script on film this year?
07:09 Impotence of understanding genre
10:27 Elements of Hollywood Storytelling today
14:09 Transcending genre.
16:39 Fundamental screenwriting
19:36 Question Seven
22:17 Question Eight
24:37 Question Nine
29:26 Question Ten
32:23 Question Eleven
34:24 Question Twelve
37:18 Question Thirteen
43:09 Question Fourteen
46:09 Question Fifteen
48:34 Question Sixteen
50:28 Question Seventeen
52:45 Question Eighteen
57:08 Question Nineteen
1:00:03 Question Twenty
1:04:48 Question Twenty-one
1:06:57 Question Twenty-two
1:08:43 Question Twenty-three
1:11:11 Question Twenty-four
1:12:58 Question Twenty-five
1:19:13 Question Twenty-six
1:23:34 Question Twenty-seven
1:24:47 Question Twenty-eight
I love you
Got lazy, didn't you.
I've been structuring my story step by step using John Truby's "Anatomy of Story" book, and I must say i've never had so much success designing a story until i've read this book. Amazing information that I recommend everyone getting their hands on.
how are things going now with your story
Richard Desmond Yes indeed, I enjoy it specifically more because his focus on myth coincides with the fantasy script I am working on!
samuel Jerome Very good, I have a working first draft so far (although it needs much work) but progress for sure. Thanks for asking!
glad to hear the book helped you with your script. i'm just starting to read it now. hope it helps me also
The very best Samuel, it's a tough read but worth it, hang in there. Hope it helps and hope you tell a great story!
Truby's workshops are enlightening, he not only gives you insights to story, but gives you a deeper understanding of life in general. I think many movies are missing the element of 'soul' and his workshops make that obvious, and lets you see 'why'; and he gives you the tools to make bigger contributions in storytelling, to society. He's a storyteller sage.
Thanks for supporting. We hope to compile more full-length videos like this one moving forward.
How I miss the '70s, 80's and early '90s when STORY was the most important element. Real characters in real life situations, conflicts, no Cgi, no mythical worlds. I have to agree with, Mr. Truby, that one has to write a story one cares about as well as a theme (i.e. Love vs. hate, good vs. evil) that appeal to a worldwide audience. I noticed he mentioned the words " in my classes I..." at least five times . How I wish I could afford his classes, but I can't, so I thank you FC for bringing John to us for "nada" . Please thank John for me. In the meantime, I will continue writing as I have since I was a teen, for it saved my life, it's now my passion and I will continue doing it as long as the story ideas pop in my head and I will watch movies, read screenplays and closely listen to those film makers whom stories inspire and teach me to be a better writer with each new screenplay I write. Love u guys for all that you do for us, the creative writing community.
Last night I came across a short clip of Truby talking about writers block - totally needed that! His advice was perfect. The story had been trying to tell me the same thing, but I wasn't listening. Block exploded! :) After listening to the whole interview I should have been taking notes. I need to buy his book. Thank you for another brilliant interview!
I like this guy so much. He is very very smart and wise. Learned a lot from him. Thank you very much.
Every time I need a writing boost I revisit John's book and this video. It always gets me going again. Thanks so much for making this available!
So True✌🏻
Bought The anatomy of story a month ago, a miraculous wise book. Someone said here that he's a storyteller sage and that is so true. I always keep it at hand and is truly a bible for the budding storytellers. Plus this guy has placidity of mind and such a wonderful tranquil nature. I am a fan of this guy. Thanks to film courage for posting this.
Truby's depth of knowledge in storytelling and level of nuance in communicating his thought his bewildering.
You know what, I want the interviewer to film herself. I can tell she's very smart and I'm sure she has advice or something that she can give that's just as insightful as any of these other videos.
I'm a writer director, and this is the greatest insight I've ever received in 10 years.
I'm happy and fortunate that I have practice these techniques.
My personal biggest fear is that people will think I'm a psychopath or a sociopath when they read something I've written. After watching this, and knowing pound for pound the craft of what it takes to write and complete a great script, I no longer have that fear.
I'm very grateful for this interview. Thank you so much. Saw the entire thing.
What he said proves why Breaking Bad was so great. The protagonist weakness isnt that hes economically challenged. His weakness is weakness. Being a drug kingpin makes him feel strong and alive. Even though he would never admit it.
One of the best hours I've spent honing the writing craft. Thank-you.
Saber, we love that folks like you are finding this video. We appreciate your sentiment. Mr. Truby certainly deserves more credit than we do. Your 25 views for this video may be the most anyone has watched any of our videos, at least the most anyone has admitted to us. We think that's awesome.
Truby never ceases to amaze me. Every response he has given in this interview could be written out VERBATIM and published. He hasn't yet received the credit he deserves.
That's a powerful statement. We're happy to hear that you are finding such value from our conversation with John.
That was incredible!!! I just learned so much about a good story!!! Thank you so much John Truby and Film Courage!!! Will get your book John!!! Will scour all of Film Courage's fabulous content!!! Thank you!!!
Glad you discovered our work. Hope you find some of our other videos just as useful.
Timely to stumble upon this video. I started working through Anatomy of Story last night. It's been in my shelf for at least two years. It was recommended by a friend who knows who's who in the film industry.
Also recommended are 'Into the Woods' by John Yorke, The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lagos Egri, and Invisible Ink by Brian MacDonald.
His opinion about criticism is absolutely enlighting. Thanks!!!!
A very informative and thought provoking interview, thank you. I was impressed with the interviewer who is sharp as a tack and the questions are really well formed and put.
Thanks. Our series with Mr. Truby on TV writing is still in progress. We've posted 11 videos so far and we still have a good number of videos to post before it is complete.
The plot is one of story telling's most important pillars for sure. Yes, being willing to be open to learning is so important. Its how you grow as a story teller. I know the experience I have in psychiatry, many do not have. I have never been a Judge or a Lawyer, or lost a parent when I was young, or suffer with a serious illness. So how can you know everything? You have to be open to listening and learning. Question what confuses you.
Very enlightening and helpful - especially the comments concerning artists always learning more. My philosophy is to be a perpetual student of what you do, really open up your mind and learning opportunities. With that, I am grateful you posted this video.
Thanks for sharing this hugely valuable wisdom it is information that helps me to create an online course and working on my book. Being a person who has had no training in these areas and finding it difficult to understand how to structure writing and how to create content that gets people interested, this video helps so much.
Excellent this is just what i needed in process of writing my screen play my main character is a complex character.
GraceFaith Janet Hi GraceFaith Janet, thank you commenting. Not sure if you have seen our video compilation, "Writing Character For Film & Television" but we just can't help ourselves to share it as a reply - ruclips.net/video/13KcN-fRLFI/видео.html It's one of our best videos on this channel. Hope it inspires your writing.
Okay thank you I will check it out.
One finds gems when digging in the comments. Thank you for sharing this link.
Still inspiring and insightful conversation in 2021. And will be the same in the decades future.
Totally awesome, i watched the whole interview, really wanna thank u guys alot for sharing, starting to learn about movie making and can't stop watching your videos...thanks alot for sharing such masters to teach us...
This is incredible... it's not quite his 3 day lecture... but as far as a one and a half hour basic introduction to the art goes... it's great!
Anatomy of a Story has helped me immensely, it takes storytelling, and thus writing, to en entirely new level.
Powerful interview! Thank you both for your generosity of spirit in sharing the truth about screenwriting in a practical and encouraging manner. Especially the second half benefitted me as a budding screenwriter feeling frustrated when I have had a successful science writing career.
James! We certainly appreciate your enthusiasm. The good news for you is that we are going to sit down with Mr. Truby this upcoming week to do another video series where the subject is going to be TV writing. We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to sharing the video segments with you.
"willingness to learn from anywhere, from anyone, so that your repertoire your arsenal, is constantly growing"
#beHUMBLE
wonderful interview, thanks so much for posting it
2001lextalionis We feel very fortunate to have this one in our library. Glad you discovered it.
Go to one of his training seminars - he's very wise. You not only learn about the anatomy of story, but you learn a lot about human behavior/basic psychology as well. He does talk about - the Hollywood method - because that's what you're up against. Yet, he focuses more on story, and the importance of writing amazing, life-inducing stories for the masses. Story shapes society.
You guys rock for this interview. ⚡💥 🔥 So many helpful tips for screenwriters!
We're glad you found value here!
Love this comment. We agree with you. We are glad to report to you that we had a second opportunity to sit down with Mr. Truby today to talk about writing for TV. Excited to begin sharing some of the brand new clips this week. We covered a lot of material. We don't go deep into his story but he does share a little of his experience working on 21 Jumpstreet.
Thanks Graham. We wanted to give everyone (including ourselves) access to John's words all in one video.
Mster, you are just AWESOME. You're hitting the spot in EVERY answer. You're blowing my mind.
THANK YOU.
Absolutely brilliant mind! I've learned so much from mr Truby and his book! I'm still just a novice, but I feel like reading his book and watching this lecture I've went trough masterclass!
I found this advice very helpful and thought provoking. Thank you, John, for saying it's not only okay but important to spend weeks just thinking about your premise (also known as log line or one-sentence story description). I find that very freeing. Let the conscious and subconscious brain work on it for a while, you'll be surprised by what comes! Also, for those critical of John's choice of Hunger Games as a good script--I think his point is about the premise. It drives the plot from early on, the stakes are high, and the tension never stops. That, my friends, is the foundation of a good story. Plus, you can hardly argue with box office success. Godspeed.
I'm 4 days into ' The Anatomy of Story' and am only on page 80. It's tough but good. I stopped marking pages after the 3rd, there was just too much to highlight.
John Truby's and Richard Walter's interviews are my favourite on this channel, they said most useful stuff, direct and meaningful.
Excellent video... I found it to be honest and full of really useful advice. Thanks!!!
2021 blasting forward and this remains to be the ultimate resource for achieving a completely coherent narrative! Give it up for JT!
I'm writing a script with the help of Truby's book and it's absolutely fantastic and a huge help. I was miserable with my script until working it out with his book.
Thanks doodelay. So far we have been able to post 6 complete series. Things have gotten a little busier for us with the release of our new series with David Waugh.
Bought the book The Anatomy of Story after watching this video, and realised that what Edward De Bono did for Thinking, John Truby did it for Screen-thinking. Absolutely great! Thanks!
Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful interview!
Thanks for the video. It really helps and I've learned a lot! Thanks again! I've bought The Anatomy of Story and it's really helping me out a lot!
+Tomoyuki976 Wonderful to hear, thank you for sharing. It's great to know that this interview is still having an impact.
:) I think this interview is timeless.
just bought his book on the basis of this interview. John Truby Anatomy of a story
It was a great buy!
good to hear after your first post 2 years ago. started on A of S last night.
This is amazing! I will recommend to my former screenwriting students, and may use for my fall semester at the University of New Hampshire! Thank you so much for posting it and the other videos. You guys rock!
Great video.Mr John Truby is great and I have his Anatomy of story book.Thank you Mr Truby.
This is great advice and knowledge to know for those who are wanting to write screenplays.
Thanks, what was your biggest takeaway?
I am trying to write a screenplay right now. I'd have to say making sure I have a good premise for my story and making sure I put together a well formed structure before writing the entire script. This way I can have a solid story that isn't filled with holes and faults also I won't be wasting my time. Overall the entire interview is filled with great advice. Thanks Again!
Appreciate your follow up Sherman. Is this the first screenplay you are writing? During your non-writing time you may also be interested in our full interviews with Steve Kaplan, and one with Michael Hauge & Mark W. Travis.
Indeed it is. Over the past years I have developed a passion for movies and thought I could take some of the ideas I have and write a great story. If the other interviews are on your RUclips channel I will be sure to check them out!
How did your screenplay work out?
anyone else wondering when university will become obsolete and be taken over by youtube?
Whats university?
@@politicalscientist8880 the guy saw it coming good didn't he?
You mean college ? Nobody calls it university lmao
@@TellingYouWhy most of the world, actually. “College” is kind of an American thing.
@@dannyt4663 oh wow .. never knew that .
. But then again I'm american
Wish I could Like this video more than once. Ordered his book.
Agree. Truby actually gives out nuggets. Some unsavory characters only give interviews purely to plug something, but Truby and a handful of other greats go out of there way to help people.
Fantastic content as always from you guys, congratulations! I have to disagree at 32:05 "If they didn't like it, it's your fault." That probably is the case in most mediocre/bad movies but let's not forget that not everyone liked Tarkovsky back in the 70's / 80's (or even today). That doesn't mean he made bad movies. Not everyone will like the Black paintings from Goya and they will heavily criticise them, but that doesn't make them less important than what they are.
This is got to be THE best video I've ever seen on RUclips!
I almost can't believe it.
Thank you so much! I was focusing too much on my protagonist setting and reaching a goal when I should have been focusing more on her having a character flaw to begin with and then overcoming it. This is the emotional resonance that was missing, that I couldn't quite articulate. Thank you!
I learned the importance of giving my characters a flaw to overcome as well. A lot of characters are written without flaws, most superheroes, and i was writing a hero who was so perfect he was boring. I went back and rewrote him the a serious flaw where he is bent on revenge and it gets his friend killed, and my story was exponentially better. I was able to mine this flaw for dramatic paydirt to great results.
Finally got his book. So stoked!
Thanks! We just posted the television equivalent of this series with Mr. Truby entitled, "Anatomy Of Story - Television Edition." If you have any interest in writing for television, you may find that one helpful as well.
Thankyou soo much
THIS MAN IS BRILLIANT. LISTEN TO HIM.
Prabhu, our approach is to post individual segments first and then when we can post the entire series as one video. In the case of Mr. Truby, we already have this video broken into 18 segments you can find in our playlist section.
Fascinating & Appreciated! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight into the art of screenwriting. After reading your book, and watching this video, I have a sturdier foundation to write a compelling screenplay based on strong story elements, that will appeal to a worldwide audience.
This man is one of my writing idols.
Totally bought the book due to this interview.
+CISCO DAVIS It's so worth it! It's helped me structure my entire novel.
This guy is amazing!!!
Great interview with lots of material. I do have a simpleton's question: can you post one of your vast collection on the Genre Types to which John Truby refers? Please?
Hi Daniel, unfortunately whatever Truby touches on in this interview is probably as much as we have with him about genre. Outside of our channel we did find these links - johntrubysscreenwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/secrets-of-genre.html and johntrubysscreenwriting.blogspot.com/2011/02/genres-secret-to-your-success.html We know others have also recommended Blake Snyder's 10 genres. Here are a couple links kiingo.com/tip/the-10-genres-of-save-the-cat and savethecat.com/genre/blake-snyders-glossary-of-genre-terms Hope that helps!
@@filmcourage It's a start. THANK YOU. I would hope, however, that the FC channel would find a Genre Genie to make life (and learning) easier. [Yeah. I know. "That's why you have research this, Grasshopper."]
Thanks Daniel, we are making note of it.
thanks again for the great interview from the living legend :)
I have watched this way more than 10x. Thank you!
Everything about John Truby is impressive: his words, the thoughts he expresses, what we perceive as his personal character, the interior in which he is seated. But to put it simply, the man is a classicist. He thinks in the mode of a Mozart or a Bach. If one wants to produce work of this ilk he needs to take a time machine backwards in time. Because modern Jazz has put man back in touch with the spontaneity of raw nature. The girdle of over-thinking, jamming mankind into preconceptions, constricting life into a tight moral code - all of this has become passe and today only breeds discomfort and chaffing. Rather, embrace the ravishing freedom of Modernism, made visible by a Picasso or a Motherwell.
Great discussion. Anybody interested in writing a screenplay MUST see this...
Since April 16th, we have posted 9 new video segments about Television writing and we still have a lot more we've yet to post. Including this compilation we now have 28 videos with John currently posted to our channel. We just added the playlist to our main channel page. Hope that makes it easier for you to find the videos.
Great Q&A!!!!! Thanks
It's funny. You watch all these videos and they make you think you have to have a near perfect screenplay to get anywhere. Then you turn on the HBO/Showtime and see movie after movie with one dimensional characters, weak plots, boring stories, predictable endings, etc.. These movies made it pass screenplay readers. So apparently their judgement isn't as good as they try to make it seem.
Why do you assume they were approved by readers? Many scripts, perhaps most of those produced, are never seen by readers.
And countless egos (actors, execs, etc) stuff up scripts long after writers have submitted them. The writer is at the bottom of the heap, they get no respect :(
“As a human being I have faults, you have faults, we all have faults. Even a great movie has faults. I think a great movie should have personality. And personality means that there are flaws, and you don’t have to correct the flaws. When you correct the flaws you’re eliminating personality. The Greek word for tragic flaw actually means, in Greek, defining characteristic. So the thing which makes the character is the thing which makes the flaw. Charlie Kaufman’s movies are highly admired and yet if you analyze them almost all of them have some problem in the third act, things that don’t really work-but they’re part of the fabric. And if you were to clean it up entirely maybe the whole thing won’t work as well…Every script, every movie has a certain DNA, and things which seem illogical may work…Because movies have gotten so expensive, executives feel more fear. And that fear rules. And that fear forces executives to make your screenplay perfect. Perfection is the enemy of art. It’s the enemy of character. It’s the enemy of anything that’s dynamic and interesting.”
Nick Kazan
Interesting. I am not saying you're wrong about HBO. Because I never really analyzed HBO in its entirety, but when I think of that network it always gave me the impression that the popular belief is they give the show runner freedom to have a singular vision. And when I think of at least two shows in particular, like Boardwalk Empire (and of course Sopranos) and the Leftovers, I can confidently say the storytelling in those shows are top notch and consistently blow my mind when it comes to how much effort they put into it. In Boardwalk, in any given scene, an obscure theme will be threaded throughout, and even the placement of the camera, and what is in the frame is so thought out, it is insane. So your comment surprises me. Maybe you're right, but with those two shows in my opinion, you're not. But even in a show like Girls, I've seen hints of brilliance in some of the episodes, usually not in all of them though. Like every third one. And then there are all the old shows like Deadwood, and the Wire, and Six Feet Under which all have very good reputations as well - in terms of respect for the storytelling. So maybe the shows that are on the network are getting lazy, I don't know. I haven't noticed, but will keep my out for it now.
mickey macd I think you need to reread what I said.
37:53 ~ 43:08 ... I'm not sure if I can express in words how much this section (on the importance of the pre-1st draft logline) means to me. Right now I'm developing a story for a webcomic that, in all honesty, will not be that good and will probably have a negligible audience, and compared to most others I believe I have enough material that I *could* start drawing and publishing the comic immediately and be on par with the competition; but I feel that it's important that I figure out the real core of the main character, the world they inhabit, and, importantly, the core conflict of the story ... all said, I feel I need to get these core structures in place before I draw a single panel; it means that I'm taking a very long time for what started as "a quick project to pass the time" that isn't even supposed to be *that* good by design, IDK, I've just been wondering that if I can't even decide on which plot I wanna' take it towards I have no hope of ever finishing it and I should just get started on *something* already ... this speech he gives on how a bad first draft can cement things that don't belong, and further that 90% of the story's issues needs to be (and can be) solved just in the logline alone ... that's the most comforting thing I've heard all month, and I've been binge-watching these Film Courage interviews.
Amazing questions which gave amazing answers
Really glad to see this John Truby interview, a screenwriting must for all. @filmcourage #story
We appreciate your feedback. We welcome you to return anytime. We've been spending today watching a number of vids from our newer series with John where he shares his insights on TV writing. We're going to fast track our remaining videos so we can release, "Anatomy Of Story: TV Edition - The Complete Series With John Truby."
Wonderful interviews Karen.
10:16 how do we know if we are using the right genre?
Would have appreciated more specific questions, but thanks, it was still very interesting.
what a smart man. I wish I could study under him
Best advice I've heard.
Great book. I probably need to re-read it...
One thing i am thinking about quite often is the part with the hero overcoming their weaknesses. I know stories don’t represent the reality but I am asking myself if that is a good thing. With kids watching movies, and are active on social media so many things morph the sense of reality. I am afraid that there are too little stories that represent life and reality as they are. I don’t know if I am alone with this opinion but I think that through the suspension of disbelief in so many places in everyday life it presents a weakness to fake news and populism and rational thinking is put on hold. I really want to know if anyone has ideas on how to create reality in stories.
--That being said the rest of this interview was enjoyable and worthwhile.
Very humbling and valuable advice here. I really want to learn the craft inside out after this! Thank you!
Incredibly insightful, thank you!
Thanks for this :) Always valuable content, I love it.
Great interview @Filmcourage with @JohnTruby ! Very engaging, very real and VERY insightful! Keep them coming:)
Excellent interview.
Story is information that is revealed at the proper time. The End.
You can try contacting him through his website. He has a great team that works with him.
Excellent interview!
Truby has strong, thought provoking software according to sub-genres.
His book and method are amazing