Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting

by Robert McKee

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McKee argues that story is the governing metaphor by which humans make sense of life, and that durable stories obey structural principles derived from Aristotle, protagonist, desire, antagonism, reversal, and value change. He teaches screenwriters to master these universals before innovating against them.

Published:: 1997
Pages:: 480

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In the Conversation

In this collection, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting references 3 other books.

It draws on Nicomachean Ethics, The Republic and The E-Myth Revisited.

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What This Book Draws On

The books McKee references and why each one mattered to the argument.

McKee's taxonomy of protagonist desire and ethical choice is built on Aristotle's account of character as revealed through action in the Nicomachean Ethics

References

Nicomachean Ethics

by Aristotle

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McKee draws on Plato's Republic when discussing how stories shape civic values and why story is society's primary moral teacher

References

The Republic

by Plato

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McKee's insistence on deep industry craft over talent parallels Gerber's E-Myth argument that durable work comes from disciplined systems, not inspiration

References

The E-Myth Revisited

by Michael E. Gerber

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Directly cites

Nicomachean Ethics

The Republic

The E-Myth Revisited

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