![]() I got this book after hearing huge, extreme, impressive worshipful endorsements from the folks at and the Paper Wings podcast- and also I had read his other book Golden Theme and greatly, greatly enjoyed it. All of these points underscore the central lesson of using invisible ink: elements that are unseen by the majority of your audience, but help tell the story in a deeper way than dialog and visuals alone can convey. Some of the main insights include the importance of armature (an underlying structural theme that tells an important lesson about humanity and is supported by each element of the story), the elements of story that your audience expects to see, the importance of telling the truth, the use of clones to show the consequences for your character, and why you are the slave of your story and not its master. The book contains numerous examples from popular films and television, and McDonald manages to point out a number of plot foibles and triumphs that I immediately agree with but am embarrassed to say I'd never noticed before. It will also color the way I view films, books and other media. This is a quick and easy read, and one I'd certainly return to any time I'm working on a story. McDonald's insights are simple yet profound, and their seeming obviousness is only clear in retrospect. "Invisible Ink" is a great corollary to that book, and dives into more specific and readily-applicable tools for creating compelling stories. It was helpful, but dealt with storytelling at the broadest level. ![]() I recently read Brian McDonald's "Golden Theme". ![]() The guy knows what he's talking about." -Paul Feig (creator of NBC's Freaks and Geeks, co-executive producer The Office) "With Invisible Ink Brian McDonald has written us a book to keep and heed forever because through the simple, graceful, graspable, original wisdom of it, we might just save our screenwriting lives." -Stewart Stern (Screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause) Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage) "If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form." -Dr. Ignore him at your peril." -Jim Taylor (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election). ".Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. ![]() ".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). You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue-the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller's art. Acclaimed by successful screenwriters and authors, Invisible Ink is a helpful, accessible guide to the essential elements of the best storytelling. ![]()
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