Customer Reviews

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Great movies aren't made up of just a bunch of scenes with characters and dialog thrown together. They have a purpose and are well constructed. Films like Casablanca, It's A Wonderful Life, 12 Angry Men, Psycho, The Godfather, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Schindler's List, Star Wars, E.T., Aliens, The Terminator, Ghost, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Silence Of The Lambs, The Shawshank Redemption, Toy Story, Finding Nemo and other "classics" stand the test of time and still resonate with audiences many years later because at their core are perfectly constructed stories with a clear message. Any movie can entertain, but only great movies impact us on an emotional level and teach us something, while being entertaining.

When telling ANY story, the construction is what's most important (A good idea, executed poorly, is a bad idea). Every detail (plot, characters, scenes, dialog, etc.) all hang from it's skeleton. If the foundation is weak, the details won't matter.

I've read and owned every major book regarding stories, screenwriting, dialog and character development (Poetics, Robert McKee's "Story," Syd Field's Books and DVD, All of Joseph Campbell and Linda Seger's work, Bill Idelson's Writing Class, etc.)... and still NONE OF THEM teach what this book does!!! Brian breaks down stories better then anyone! He does to story structure what Bruce Lee did to Martial Arts. He's come along and smashed conventional wisdom by simplifying everything and getting to the heart of what stories are about and what makes them work. Here you will get the bedrock fundamentals on the purpose, creation and power of the art of storytelling. No frills, just the straight goods.

It scares me to imagine writing (or even watching a movie) without knowing the information contained in this marvelous little book. I can see it now, a life as an amateur writer/filmmaker parroting back all of the limited and typical information out there and creating "clever" films that look interesting but that only "artists" care about. No thanks! I want to write and create stories that are good, period. Brian teaches you how to do that, even if your last name isn't Wilder, Hitchcock or Kurosawa.

Andrew Stanton, August Wilson, Stewart Stern and Dr. Charles Johnson (among others) all consider Brian McDonald a MASTER at the craft of structure and storytelling. The folks at Pixar, Disney and ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) listen to Brian... What does that tell you?

Brian McDonald WAS the best-kept secret in Hollywood... Now his book is out.

This is literally true in my case. The contents of this book really messed with my enjoyment of films for a while. I've come to comfortable terms with it now, but beware! Change isn't always pleasant! But Brian's book is illuminating if you are interested in telling stories in any medium and not just films.

Some will look at the contents of this book and brush it off as Hollywood 'formula.' Just another in a long line of guides spouting more Joseph Campbellisms! I completely understand this sentiment. I admire that rebellious streak. But simply keep it in check while you take a gander at Invisible Ink and be open to Brian's wisdom and realize that most of our contempt for 'formula' stems from those who use it poorly. There will be great films mentioned in the book... true favorites... of which you won't even realize these fundamentals were chugging away without you even knowing.

Brian practices what he preaches. His writing is always simple, clear, and a breeze to read. The book will fly by. But don't think for a second that means its creation was a cinch. If you get anything out of this book, it should be that it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to make this stuff look easy. It is anything but.

Do you want to be the next Michael Bay? If so, this book is not for you. If you want to write a formulaic modern-Hollywood screenplay filled with action, twists and subplots that are completely unnecessary to telling the story, then I would recommend something like Robert McKee's STORY.

However, if you'd like to understand what makes a good story tick and have it broken down for you and explained in its simplest form, then you will want to pick up Brian McDonald's Invisible Ink. Brian's writing is so easy to digest, it feels like listening to an old friend tell you a story.

After reading Invisible Ink, I saw my writing instantly and dramatically improve. I was no longer just writing down words, I was crafting a story. If something didn't contribute to my overall theme, it didn't go in the story.

This book is important. It's amazing that so many terrible movies are being made today with a storytelling guide like this so readily available.

This and Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing should be required reading for any screenwriter. Hollywood, take notice, this is how great stories are made. Highly recommended.

Invisible Ink is an amazingly lucid and gripping book on how to structure stories in a way that makes sense and will connect with your audience. Just using its ideas on the Depleted feature we're working on has already shaved hours and hours off the script development process. (Some of the methods helped us quickly be able to chop off unnecessary portions of the film and focus our efforts on those things that will support the armature of the film more effectively.) I highly recommend this to anyone who has any interest in writing anything creative for any medium. Just remember to go ahead and buy a couple copies of this book, as folks will not "remember" to return your copy when they "borrow" it from you.
-Jeremy Hanke, Editor-in-Chief, [...], Issue 53, Final Score: 10/10

I was first introduced to the concepts in INVISIBLE INK in Brian's 2-day workshop at 911 Media. Those two days CHANGED MY LIFE AS A WRITER. I learned the core of story and was overjoyed that there were real tips and techniques that would help me write a memorable story, no matter whether it was a script, a short story or a novel.

After taking Brian's class, I rewrote my current script in just a few weeks and a few months later that script placed in the Top 5 for the WA State Screenplay Contest and was a Semi-finalist in Creative Screenwriting Magazine's AAA Contest. I could not have done that without the concepts I learned from Brian McDonald and Invisible Ink.

I use my notes and Brian's generous handouts from class all the time. I'm thrilled that Brian's teachings are now in a book. Now more writers can discover what I did. No matter what kind of writer you are, you should buy INVISIBLE INK. Read it, absorb it, keep it by your dictionary and thesaurus (like I do) and become the writer you were meant to be. Write on!

Brian McDonald's book is:

-Full of techniques I've never heard of (& yup, I went to film school)

-Ready-to-use: I learned to keep a notebook with me as I read. I kept finding solutions to problems with the play I was writing at the time.

-A fun read: Most books on screenwriting are a terrible bore. Reading this book is like sitting down with a favorite professor who tells you all the secrets of the writing universe.

On every future writing project, there will be an "Invisible Ink technique" pass. I highly recommend this book!

This is not empty hyperbole: INVISIBLE INK will not only make you a better storyteller of any kind, it will make you a *good* one. And if it isn't the best damn book on the actual craft -- not theory -- of storytelling, it's certainly close. BILL IDELSON'S WRITING CLASS & PADDY CHAYEFSKY'S TELEPLAYS are the only two that come close to being as enlightening and as applicable as Brian McDonald's book.

I have every top notch book on screenwriting you can name. From "Story" by David McKee to John Truby "The Anatomy of Story" as well as the Save The Cat series by the late Blake Snyder. Invisible Ink is a unique and indispensable tool for writers. Brian McDonald has written in a style that speaks directly to screenwriters by not wasting words. He gets right to the point, giving you an analysis of a story's emotionally effective components from a perspective that is easily understood. He gives you techniques to enrich characters and engage the reader. I wish I had this book when I produced the feature Blue Hill Avenue. I'd be a rich man by now.

Are you looking for a book that will take care of your creativity? and what if you could multiply your ideas by the hundreds?

INVISIBLE INK is an excellent choice for anyone who would like to learn how to tell a story, create better stories, or simply understand the mechanism (here called "invisible ink") which makes a story work. It's not too long, not too short, not pedantic, not simplistic, not boring: it's exciting and powerful.

Brian McDonald's style is one of the most limpid I've ever read. It's an example of concision, clarity and coherence. Therefore, the book is in itself a lesson on the art of pedagogy. I bet Brian McDonald is an excellent teacher.
He does not rush into difficulties; instead, he breaks dificulties into small chunks which are easy to grasp. He has organized his book into small chapters which go straight to the point, so that you swiftly get the idea behind each of them. As a result, the reader progresses quickly in his understanding and mastery of the complex mechanism called storytelling. The book has the very rare quality: it analyzes each little spring in the machinery behind of a good story, but it never loses its readers, because it also gives a general overview of the whole mechanism.

What adds to the pleasure of reading INVISIBLE INK is that the author always appeals to the intelligence of his readers, and he has chosen to illustrate each of his chapters with many telling examples.
He has a very fine and original understanding of stories everybody knows, and at the same time he always proves what he says. You will rediscover movies you've always known and seen a hundred times, such as E.T. in my case. It's enlightening, and always honest.
For one thing, and it's very important, Brian McDonald makes a clear distinction between personal taste and appreciation of the technique. (See for example his comment on Close Encounters of The Third Kind.)
What's more, he also gives one of his own works at the end of the book --- the scenario of his movie, WHITE FACE --- to be read and analyzed so as to see if the reader can notice all the "invisible ink" involved in it. He does not only teach, he also demonstrates himself what he is writing about.

Not only is this move honest, but it's also clever, as it synthesizes all that has been covered in the preceding chapters.
This was the final exercise of the book, and to me it felt like a treasure hunt. Other appealing exercises precede it, and I warmly recommend them.
The exercises are a way to understand and apply Brian MacDonald's concepts: "the seven easy steps to a better story", "clones", "supporting plot" (instead of "sub-plot"). You can also use them if you're stuck in the middle of a story. "Personal hell", for example, is great when your main characters are so perfect that they kill the plot. Study their "personal hell," and you'll have a story, or maybe four or five!
I see each of Brian McDonald concepts and exercises are catalysts for creation. Do you remember when as a young child you started to read on your own? You probably read everything that was in you visual field: the label on the bottle of milk, the ingredient list on the cereal box, the TV-guide, the signs on the streets, ads, and of course you read books, real books, books without pictures in them! You exercised your new skill all the time, everywhere.
It's the same after you've read INVISIBLE INK: you will start inventing stories all the time. And it's one of the best things about INVISIBLE INK. As a teacher of creative writing, late novelist John Gardner used to spin plot after plot in front of his students to illustrate his point, and I believe it's a good exercise, because out of the quantity you will always find diamond stories. This is what I like most about INVISIBLE INK: in no time you will be creating non-stop and easily. As a consequence you will be able to concentrate on the quality of your stories.

Brian MacDonald's ingenuity also lies in the fact that, while he is a screenwriter, his lessons apply to any genre of fiction writing. As award-winning Charles Johnson already said, INVISIBLE INK will be of use not only to screen writers, but also to short story writers and novelists.
As a teacher, I would readily recommend it to any student interested in literature, and anyone who would like to get an overview of how literature works.

I've put INVISIBLE INK in my special bookshelf of high-prized books on writing, such as Gardner's The Art of Fiction, E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel, Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life, and Rodari's Grammar of Fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading Brian McDonald next book, The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator.

This is a short book, strongly recommended to me by a Disney animator.

Wow! Without a doubt, this is the most useful and directly applicable book on the craft of storytelling I've ever read. It really shows that MacDonald is an industry pro and an educator, because he focuses on the mistakes that fairly practiced writers make, mistakes that beginners won't even get to for a while.

I've written many story stories, two published, one taking 1st Place in a Writer's Digest competition. I've struggled for a long time to figure out what-the-heck I did that worked so well in those two stories but was evidently missing from all the others. Thanks to Invisible Ink, now I know! And I'm excited to pull out those other stories and start rewriting.

If you're a practiced writer ready to take it to the next level, "Invisible Ink" is what you need.