How To Use John Truby in Fiction
How To Use John Truby in Fiction
Since posting this image a few da ys ago, Ive had a few fiction
writer friends ask me how I ended up with just an overt outline. It
looks very definitive up there, doesnt it? Like I know what Im
doing or something (ha!). The truth is, thanks to a book called
The
Anatomy
of
Story,
by
script-guru
named
John
Tr u b y,
actually do know a lot more what the next book is shaped like
th a n I di d on l y t wo we e k s a g o . Two we e k s a go , thi s i de a wa s a
jumble of notes and rejected pages, a pile of characters and a
daunting list of research.
Over the next five days, Im going to share how I use/ interpret/
John
Trub ys The
Anatomy
of
Story, which
is
used
by
many
foundation
for
starting
book
ever
since
my
mother
me
copy
of
book
that
was
supposed
to
help
s c r e e n w r i t e r s , I r e m e m b e r f e e l i n g , w e l l , n o t i n s u l t e d e x a c t l y, b u t
kind of like, Wtf am I (a novelist) supposed to do with this?
A t t h e t i m e , I d ye t t o w r i t e a s c r e e n p l a y, a n d w a s v e r y m u c h o f
the belief that books were the best form of entertainment ever (far
a b o v e f i l m ) , a n d a c t u a l l y, t h a t b o o k s w e r e n t
they
were
only
entertainment
an
werent
art
form
r e a l l y,
(and
well,
that
books),
even entertainment,
books
and
that
that
were
it
was
Which is all to say that you should look at the I had a new idea
for a novel but no plan about how to execute it part of this post
t o u n d e r s t a n d e x a c t l y w h y I n e e d e d Tru b y.
Also, I hadnt got ten an MFA, so aside from a fe w undergraduate
workshops, and what Id read, and the help of friends, I didnt
have a solid method in place when starting a new project. I was
not unlike that wild animal in a dark room myself, bumping into
w a l l s , f e e l i n g g r u m p y, t r o t t i n g a f t e r n o t h i n g o n l y t o f i n d a d e a d
end. I had yet to write a screenplay myself, yet to experience that
satisfying,
quicksilver
screenplay brings.
I had
feeling
yet
to
that
producing
understand
that
clean-cut
aligning
plot,
subplot, character, stor y world, and a lot of other elem ents , wo uld
save me a lot of time and energy in revisions. Or see that I
b e l i e v e , d e f i n i t i v e l y, t h a t s t o r y g r o w s o u t o f c h a r a c t e r . O r e m b r a c e
that I love big plot.
I find that because Trub y is written for screenwriters, the books
tone is very direct in a way that many books for fiction writers
arent. Trub y believes that there is a method to writing a good
s t o r y, a n d t h a t t h e m e t h o d c a n b e t a u g h t . M a n y f i c t i o n w r i t e r s
have this magical sense that writing a novel cant possibly be
calculated, because that kills the books power. But Ive realized,
as my career has progressed, that I reject this notion in my own
writing. Ive learned that I write better, and have more fun doing
it, if I have a roadmap. And using a roadmap like Trub ys, which
offers up the reassurance that I can make my story stronger by
thinking about all of its elements in a calculated way in advance
of writing it, is particularly useful to me.
Tom o r r o w : h o w T r u b y i s o r g a n i z e d , a n d h o w I f o l l o w i t .
Nine:
Scene
Weave
(I
usually
come
up
with
my
own
screenwriters).
Chapter
Eleven:
The
Never-Ending
Story
(I
usually
skim
this
chapter too- it feels more like a recap than part of the method).
of
that
there
particular
is
chapter).
worksheet,
At
which
the
end
reviews
of
the
everything
given
that
Truby has me reiterate and revise and rethink elements over and
over again. Premise, for example, is something he asks us to
ret ype and ree xam ine in nearl y ever y chapter, which means that I
almost always end up honing and sharpening what my book is
about, so that by the time I put together the outline, I have a
much better idea about the central conceit of the story than if Id
only thought about it once.
- F i n a l l y, I s h o u l d a d d t h a t t h e r e s a l o t t h a t g o e s i n t o t h i n k i n g
a b o u t a n o v e l l o n g b e f o r e I u s e Tru b y. T h e b o o k t h a t I m s t a r t i n g
n o w, fo r e xa m p l e , is a n id ea I ve be e n s ch e m i ng a b ou t fo r t wo
years. At one point, I had an outline and about 65 pages, but
something
wasnt
working
(I
should
have
used
Trub y before
writing
in
earnest).
put
the
book
away
for
couple
m o n t h s . O n c e I w a s r e a d y t o t h i n k a b o u t i t i n a f r e s h w a y, I p u l l e d
o u t Tr u b y, a n d g o t b a c k t o b a s i c s . I a l r e a d y k n e w, o n a g u t l e v e l ,
what the novel is about. I knew who the essential characters are.
I knew where the book takes place. But even if I didnt know those
things, Trub y would have helped me discover them. Im grateful to
b e e n c o u r a g e d t o s l o w d o w n a n d g e t t o k n o w m y i d e a i n t i m a t e l y.
Tom o r r o w : C h a p t e r s O n e t h r o u g h F o u r.
Ill
starting Trub y
begin
by
saying
that
were
creating a story can be pleasurable for both the reader and the
w r i t e r, a n d I l o v e t h a t e x t r a p u s h t o p l a y.
C h a p t e r Two : P r e m i s e
Worksheet
One,
at
the
end
of
C ha p te r Two , i s wh e r e Trub y in vi te s u s to s ta te wh a t th e b oo k is
about. As a literary novelist, this was a radical idea- so much of
what Id learned before I started working with Trub y was all about
denying that there is such a thing as a single truth of aboutness
when it comes to writing fiction. There are surely many novelists
who write brilliant, perfectly crafted books without thinking about
this. But Ive learned that Im not one of them!
Usually I come to Trub y with an alread y clear sense of what I
think the book will be about. Granted, my premise gets honed and
revised as I work through the book, and so often looks different
than what I started with. But I dont go in blind; I just dont feel
ready to tackle this method until I already know at least a little
about wh at I want to wri te about. Howe ve r, Trub y starts wi th the
s u p po s i ti on th a t yo u m ig h t n o t kn o w, a n d e n c ou r a g e s yo u to di g
deep, starting with the notion that you should write something
that may change your life. Thats a good reminder too.
By the end of Worksheet One, youll have stated your premise,
brainstormed some strong ideas about what will happen in your
s t o r y, o u t l i n e d t h e b a s i c c o n f l i c t , a n d g o t t e n a g o o d i d e a o f y o u
your main character will be.
Chapter Three: The Seven Key Steps of Story Structure
definitively about
Worksheet
One,
and
all
how
that
what
raw
material
youve
you
already
set
down
generated
in
will
s h a p e i t s e l f i n t o a n a t u r a l s t o r y. W o r k s h e e t Two w i l l h e l p y o u d o
this,
focusing
in
on
your
main
characters
arc,
from
their
t a l e - t h e m e t h o d c a n d e f i n i t e l y b e m o d i f i e d f o r y o u r u s e s ) . You
think about the Character Web, and how all the characters in your
stor y can (and must) interact and illum inate each other.
I love this part of the process because I almost always realize
that a character I believed to be absolutely necessary when I first
dreamed the book up is, in fact, not necessary at all, and theres
other ways to get across what I needed to without them. So this
chapter always saves me a lot of time in the long run, because Im
f o r c e d t o j u s t i f y, i n m o r e t h a n o n e w a y, w h o w i l l l i v e i n m y b o o k .
C h a p t e r F i ve : M o r a l Ar g u m e n t
After
all
the
deep
discovery
prompted
by
the
and
symbols
of
place
youll
be
emplo ying-
from
my
own
book
that
didnt
know
was
there
thanks
to
this
I branch
o f f f r o m Tru b y. H i s
method has you sitting down and assigning plot points to each
Story Step, but I find that I like to go backwards; at this point in
the game, given all the work hes had me do, I already know
whats
going
to
happen
in
the
s t o r y.
So
instead
of
using
My
premise-
what
my
novel
is
about, specifically what its moral argument is, and how every
moment/character in the novel works in consort with that argument
exactly
journeys
scenes;
my characters
they
will
are
be
the
taking
emotional
over
the
and
course
physical
of
the
scene,
e.g. if
one
of
the
moments
is
character A and
The
book
Im
outlining
right
now
both
past
and
present
was
also
assigned
distinct
color
ever
come
to
having,
if
not
formula,
then
at
least