#046 Story Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting - Part 1 The Writer and the Art of Story

I have already written the note on the Chinese translation version of this book, you can read it here: “#033 故事——材质、结构、风格和银幕剧作的原理”. The only reason why I reread the English version is my distrust of translation and my pursuit of the original meaning.

Introduction

• Story is about principles, not rules.
• Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.
• Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.
  • The archetypal story unearths a universally human experience, then wraps itself inside a unique, culture-specific expression.
• Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.
• Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.

1 The Story Problem

Stories are equipment for living.

Story isn’t a flight from reality but a vehicle that carries us on our search for reality, our best effort to make sense out of the anarchy of existence.