Saturday, February 27, 2010

TELLING STORIES




Most of you that visit this often NOT updated blog are interested in story . If you are one of those people I would HIGHLY recommend this book written by my friend Brian McDonald-Invisible Ink. I was very lucky to run into him when I was very young in my career and it made a big difference in steering me. He started writing a blog that is chock full of practical advice for writers and artists who tell stories. There are alot of books out there about this medium but most of them are for analyzing stories after the fact or create confusion using highfalutin words which only make people feel stupid , some even have graphs and charts that start to look like football plays. But if you are actually creating stories I would say his book would benefit you more than most.
Brian clears away the useless and makes visible what was previously hidden , then tells you how to hide it again. But don't take my word for it listen to these yahoos


“Writing stories is hard. They are stubborn by nature. No matter how many times you master one, the next story is obligated to conceal its faults with an entirely new disguise. Your only recourse is to keep writing, while concurrently increasing your understanding of this deceivingly simple, yet highly complex, organism we call story. Brian McDonald’s insightful book does just that. Somehow, Brian has found yet another fresh and objective way to analyze how great stories function, and emboldens you to face the challenge of scaling whatever story mountain looms before you. If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read Invisible Ink.”
Andrew Stanton (cowriter Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., and cowriter/director Finding Nemo and WALL-E)


Invisible Ink is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to become a better screenwriter.With elegance and precision, Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril.”
Jim Taylor (Academy Award™- winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election)



Brian McDonald knows that underneath a good story are the difficult mechanics of plot. He offers insights into both the construction needed and the art of hiding that construction.”
—Jim Uhls (screenwriter of Fight Club)


also here

3 comments:

RAWLS said...

Awesome! Thanks for this my friend! I will definitely go and check it out!

dave yee said...

That's awesome! I've been sending my storyboarding students to his blog every semester for some knowledge. Thanks for the heads up.

Phattro said...

Great! Thanks to you...now I am gonna be up way past my bed time reading all the stuff.