44 pages • 1 hour read
Robert McKeeStory: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “The Writer and the Art of Story”
Part 1, Introduction Summary
Robert McKee explains why he wrote Story, what he expects the aspiring writer to learn from it, and eight universal truths of storytelling:
Story is about principles, not rules (3).
Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas (3).
Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes (4).
Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts (5).
Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing (5).
Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace (6).
Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience (7).
Story is about originality, not duplication (8).
With each of these headings the author briefly explores his reasoning, using personal experience and examples from popular films. He presents the overarching idea behind the book (and also behind powerful, masterful storytelling): that screenwriting is less about anticipating the next big Hollywood trend and more about finding universally recognizable truths about the human condition. McKee argues that by embracing archetypes in place of stereotypes, we can present a story that feels real to the audience even if the time and place is somewhere entirely fantastic. It’s this ability to tap into archetypal emotions and conflicts that creates groundbreaking, cult-favorite, Hollywood blockbusters. McKee also explores the idea of true originality, the difference between originality and eccentricity, and the value of a distinctive personal voice. The introduction closes with a call to action for the reader to express themselves through their craft and to tell new stories.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “The Story Problem”
This chapter’s first section, “The Decline of Story,” explains that storytelling across mediums is more prevalent than it has ever been; however, despite its popularity, the overall quality of the art form is in decline. Contemporary screenwriters are catering to spectacle rather than true insight. McKee also explains that no country outside the US is directly competing for Hollywood’s market. His opinion is that while European filmmaking has eroded considerably, Hollywood screenwriters could learn something from their Asian peers.
The next section is titled “The Loss of Craft” and begins exploring why so many people turn to screenwriting without any foundational training. Over the last generation, educational resources for creative writing have shifted their focus from the intrinsic—or, as McKee calls them, “stories seen from the inside out” (16)—to the extrinsic, or the study of form and language. The author suggests that storytelling is suffering because people are learning how to write more than how to tell a good story.
“The Story Imperative” takes a more personal look into the beginnings of McKee’s career as a script reader and discusses why so many stories he read got rejected. He compares line-level craftsmanship with storytelling ability: Both are necessary, though storytelling ability is rarer and outweighs literary competence. He uses contrasting examples of popular films to illustrate effective and engaging form.
“Good Story Well Told” continues to argue that innate storytelling ability is at the forefront of successful writing. This ability, combined with creativity and with mastery of the craft, is what guides the writer to their goal. In “Story and Life,” McKee compares the “personal story” script with the “guaranteed commercial success” script: Each is doomed to failure, though for different reasons. The former is an unstructured snapshot of real life that focuses only on what’s superficial, therefore missing the real story; the latter relies on an “assault of the physical senses” through car chases (24), explosions, and CGI and, again, misses the real story. A true story, McKee argues, must be “a metaphor for life” (25).
“Powers and Talents” discusses the spectrum of reality, from fact to imagination. The writers of the two unsuccessful script types discussed in the previous section display two important storyteller characteristics: in the “personal story,” heightened sensory perception, and in the “guaranteed commercial success,” the power of imagination. These two attributes, along with literary talent and storytelling ability, are what make successful scripts.
The final section of this chapter, “Craft Maximizes Talent,” compares subject matter with storytelling ability: “given the choice between trivial material brilliantly told versus profound material badly told, an audience will always choose the trivial told brilliantly” (28). The chapter closes with a call to compound storytelling ability with literary craft.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Analysis
Although the author closes several of his chapters with a “call to action” for the aspiring writer, that’s really what this section is in its entirety—one big call to action to read the text and use its teachings to effect change in the world of film and television. The introduction summarizes the larger themes and big picture ideas that the following chapters will explore in more depth. He uses a clever device in his thematic statements, such as “Story is about principles, not rules” (3). By italicizing the first word, McKee gives it a dual meaning: The word “story” refers to both the craft form of storytelling and to the physical text itself. Therefore, each statement applies to both the broader idea and to this specific work. These statements are also effective in that the author doesn’t just repeat chapter titles or section headings; he concentrates them into their most basic, foundational ideas.
The introduction also begins laying the groundwork for some of the major themes that echo through this book. McKee explains that story is “about eternal, universal forms, not formulas” and references several seemingly contradictory films that have become commercial successes (3). He suggests that all of these films work on basic, universal story archetypes—an idea that McKee explores more thoroughly later on. He also hints at ideas of responsibility to the audience and to the craft form with his instructions to avoid clichéd stereotypes and to respect the audience as sacred. Chapter 1, “The Story Problem,” takes the idea further as it explores the nature of “entertainment” and what we are really doing when we entertain an audience, how the bulk of contemporary screenwriters fail that essential symbiotic relationship, and how mastery of the storytelling craft can repair that fissure in the industry.
He goes on to compare story and life, two things that are inextricably intertwined but are not quite the same thing. Emphasizing his point in italics, McKee says, “Story is a metaphor for life” (25). This idea appears over and over again in various sections of the text, illustrating how a story must be even truer than truth itself: Even through the filter of the fantastic, an audience will recognize deep universal truths within the narrative.
