Robert McKee’s Story Structure Seminar is an intensive three-day course that concentrates on screen writing. Most of the course is very applicable to comics writing. The course is well worth the cost and comes recommended by many people I know who have been on it.
Most seminars are in the US but he sometimes teaches overseas. To find out if and when he’ll be in your area, contact:
Two Arts Inc
12021 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 823
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tel: (001) 213 312 1002.
McKee’s Ten Commandments of Writing are as follows:
ONE: Thou shalt not take the crisis/climax out of the protagonists’ hands. The anti-deus ex machina commandment. No surprises!
TWO: Thou shalt not make life easy for the protagonist. Nothing progresses in a story, except through conflict. And not just physical conflict.
THREE: Thou shalt not give exposition for strictly exposition’s sake. Dramatize it. Convert exposition to ammunition. Use it to turn the ending of a scene, to further the conflict.
FOUR: Thou shalt not use false mystery or cheap surprise. Don’t conceal anything important that the protagonist knows. Keep us in step with him/ her.We know what s/he knows.
FIVE: Thou shalt respect your audience. The anti-hack commandment. Not all readers know your character. Very important.
SIX: Thou shalt know your world as God knows this one.The pro- research commandment.
SEVEN: Thou shalt not complicate when complexity is better. Don’t multiply the complications on one level. Use all three: Intra-Personal, Inter-Personal, Extra-Personal
EIGHT: Thou shalt seek the end of the line, the negation of the negation, taking characters to the farthest reaches and depth of conflict imaginable within the story’s own realm of probability.
NINE: Thou shalt not write on the nose. Put a sub text under every text.
TEN: Thou shalt rewrite.
• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
by Robert McKee Methuen Publishing Ltd ISBN 0413715604
“Story” deciphers the guiding structural principles that animate every classical and award-winning film, ranging from Citizen Kane through to modern acclaimed works like The English Patient.
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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