{"product_id":"story-substance-structure-style-and-the-principles-of-screenwriting-by-robert-mckee","title":"'Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting' by Robert McKee","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eRobert McKee’s enormous, exacting account of how stories work.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawn from his influential seminars, \u003cem\u003eStory\u003c\/em\u003e treats screenwriting as a craft governed by principles rather than formulas, repeatedly distinguishing genuine structure from the dead machinery of convention. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eIt's a masterclass in how character, conflict, setting, genre, pacing and moral pressure combine to create narrative movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcKee explores how story must occupy a particular world because, setting is not background scenery but a field of influences that determine what can happen and what those events mean. His examples range widely across cinema, theatre and fiction—from \u003cem\u003eDr. Strangelove\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eChinatown\u003c\/em\u003e to Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky—making for a long argument about form, consequence and the architecture of change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is occasionally thunderous and doctrinaire—McKee did not build an international seminar empire through bashfulness—but it remains one of the foundational modern books on narrative craft. Best for screenwriters, novelists and anyone who wants to understand the hidden engineering beneath apparently effortless storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethuen, 1998. Later printing of the first UK hardcover edition, with dust jacket. Light shelf wear; clean and sound overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45910484975699,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Untitleddesign-2026-08-05T122152.209.png?v=1785896619","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/story-substance-structure-style-and-the-principles-of-screenwriting-by-robert-mckee","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}