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This book was phenomenal. Please go out immediately and torch your copy of SAVE THE CAT and get this book instead.

Well, maybe I exaggerate. I didn't agree with Truby's contention that three (or four, or five) act plot structure, containing three plot points on which to hang the story, was artificial and useless. I'll stand by it; it was good enough for Shakespeare and it's good enough for me, and it helps with pacing. However, apart from the occasional minor niggle, I thought this book was absolutely brilliant.

I sometimes tell people that writing fiction is like juggling cats: it's an intensely multidimensional, ticklish craft in which the ultimate aim is to get a thousand different elements linking together in a sort of beautiful organised chaos that means something far more profound than they could ever do alone. There's a density and richness that comes when all the elements begin to link up, presenting the main theme of the story from a myriad of different angles. On the way, an infinite number of pitfalls lurk as the hapless writer faces all the many decisions that he could make (but how to know which is best?)

The worst thing is how few writing manuals or articles do more than scratch the surface of the art. Truby's book, by comparison, dives deeper and speaks more clearly and to the point than anything else I've ever read. This is the book you've got to read if you want to go beyond cheap entertainment and write a work of art that will resound with your audience long after reading, a work of art that will unfold new facets on multiple re-reads. Truby effortlessly articulates a multitude of concepts I'd only ever dimly, partly grasped, and pushes them far beyond what I'd ever imagined.

Every writer should own a well-worn copy of this book, and go through the writing exercises regularly. It really is that good. (And if I haven't convinced you, check out the channel on YouTube for a more in-depth application of Truby's brilliant storytelling principles).