Film Courage, the website and radio show dedicated to empowering independent filmmakers, interviewed at length screenwriting teacher John Truby on the art and craft of screenwriting, and released a total of 14 videos between August and now.
I have yet to watching the whole series but decided to share the latest video I’ve watched because I thought it had some interesting beats.
I don’t always agree on some very specific points* with Truby but overall he has a different discourse than the regular ‘Hollywood Screenwriting Teacher‘ that I found healthier and closer to reality.
If you’re driven by making money and becoming famous, you might be disappointed by Truby’s philosophy. The man believes in two things: work and time. Sounds very logical when it comes to writing a story but somehow, in most books and screenwriting classes they assure you they have found the miraculous recipe to write a pitch/outline/draft that will seduce all species and will propel you to stardom in 10 minutes/days/weeks.
Truby, however, emphasizes the importance of mastering the craft but also the difficulties attached to a job that means you will spend most of your time alone in front of a blank page listening to your darkest thoughts. (Ok, Truby didn’t really say anything about dark thoughts, but he should have, because it’s true.)
You know the drill, I embedded the video with chapters breakdown. There are only three of them for this 10 minute video, and they are all worth watching, but I always say that so do as you please, just try to enjoy:
- Chapter 1: Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting
- Chapter 2: What Being a Writer Means
- Chapter 3: The Key Quality for a Writer
*(i.e. in this video: ‘Screenwriting is the most difficult craft in the WORLD.’ Just that, really… Not a huge fan of the hyperbola tendency, unless Truby has practiced every single craft in the world. Then, of course, my apologies for doubting his words. Otherwise, saying it’s a difficult craft is enough I believe.)
Subscribe to mentorless weekly newsletter with exclusive bonus links
Print 
PDF
October 30, 2012 at 8:47 am ·
Apparently it`s harder than rocket science and brain surgery.
October 30, 2012 at 9:37 am ·
I would argue though that rocket science and brain surgery require a very specific set of skills and do have a clear blueprint on how to achieve succes. Whereas storytelling doesn’t have a clear recipe and applying twice the same ingredients won’t give the same result. There is a right way to do a brain surgery, there is not one way to write a story. (i think)
October 30, 2012 at 5:35 pm ·
Wouldn’t someone who has actually succeeded at screenwriting be better poised to address this issue? He talks an awful lot about “professional techniques” and what goes on at the “professional level,” but he’s not at that level. He’s writing books and teaching classes.
Look, I have no problem with non-professional screenwriters writing books about the craft. It’s certainly possible to study good scripts and analyze what sets them apart from the pack, even if you’ve never written a Hollywood-caliber script yourself. Robert McKee does this quite well. But when you cross over into talking about the real ins and outs of professional screenwriting when you’re clearly not part of that world, you’re misrepresenting yourself.
October 31, 2012 at 1:21 am ·
I understand your position, I had at times teachers or randome men (it seemed) giving a class or doing a conference and claiming to detain the recipe for success in screenwriting when it was obvious they were only failed writers and even crooks sometimes. But I also have seen professionals who were excellent at their craft and had zero skills to explain and transmit their knowledge (to a point where it was painful and frustrating). Teaching and accomplishing often require two different skills set I believe. I agree with you that Truby is a tiny bit too affirmative, but to his defense the man has been around for a long time and doing it on a big scale. And that doesn’t happen if you don’t have something concrete to bring on the table. The teachers and crooks I mentioned above, they make a living out of their lack of skills, but they’ll never become references.