Robert McKee (born 1941) is an American author, lecturer, and story consultant, best known for his teachings on narrative structure and screenwriting. He is the author of the influential book "Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting" (1997), which has become a standard reference for writers worldwide. McKee founded the "Story Seminar," a workshop series that has been attended by over 100,000 participants globally, including filmmakers, novelists, and business professionals. His work emphasizes the importance of character development, emotional engagement, and structural coherence in storytelling. Despite some criticism for being formulaic, McKee is widely regarded as a pivotal figure in modern narrative theory, with his principles applied across film, television, literature, and corporate communication.
Related Quotes
“If the story you're telling, is the story you're telling, you're in deep shit.”
“La escena no trata de lo que parece tratar en la escena. Trata de otra cosa.”
“The universal erosion of values has lead to the universal erosion of story.”
“There is no screenplay-writing recipe that guarantees your cake will rise.”
“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”
“Boredom is the inner conflict we suffer when we lose desire, when we lack a lacking.”
“To get the truth, you want to get your own heart to pound while you write.”
“In a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility.”
“Most of life's actions are within our reach, but decisions take willpower.”
“What happens is fact, not truth. Truth is what we think about what happens.”
“We rarely know where we are going; writing is a discovery.”
“All writing is discipline, but screenwriting is a drill sergeant.”
“Politics is the name we give to the orchestration of power in any society.”
“No civilization, including Plato's, has ever been destroyed because its citizens learned too much.”