Into the Woods - John Yorke

Insightful, accessible and totally comprehensive. John Yorke's 'Into the Woods' isn't just a book for aspiring screenwriters, it's for anyone interested in stories, and the psychology behind why we tell them. He doesn't only offer sage advice on how to tell (read - show) better stories, but why we do so in such a frequently recurring form.

John is primarily concerned with structure, and although he mainly references films his theories can be applied to any dramatic form, be they for the screen, stage or page. He successfully argues that the 5 act structure fits perfectly within the 3 act structure. In the traditional 3 act story, act 2 is twice as long as act 1 and act 3, and in John's example he divides this longer act 2 into 3 separate acts, therefore equating 5.

Around this central peg of structure he details how it affects each and every scene, how it influences subtext, characters and even dialogue. It's hard to pick out the most prevalent quote, seriously, at the risk of sounding a kiss ass, there were so many spot on sentences that perfectly articulated an idea, but the importance for every fiction writer to grasp how to show rather than tell, is essential and summed up succinctly.

"Screenwriting is showing not telling; structure is the presentation of images in such a way an audience are forced to work out the relationship between them."

This is where the audience's imagination comes into play, where they have to do a little work and interpret what they're seeing or reading, and this is why films, novels and plays can be so powerful - because good writers encourage their audience to invest some of themselves in the material, to make up their own minds, to form their own conclusions. Rather than shove the exact idea you want your public to take from your work, give them the ingredients, and see what recipe they come up with.

John also pulls no punches, respectfully critiquing gurus such as Robert McKee and Joseph Campbell, as well as some the best screenwriters working today, like Charlie Kauffman. The appendix is full of breakdowns of structural form, and outlines of protagonists' road of change, of some well known movies, from the Godfather to Indiana Jones.

Further Reading

Story - Robert McKee

The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell

Screenplay - Syd Field

The Writer's Journey - Christopher Vogler

On Screenwriting - Frederick Gaffney