If you put a gun onstage in Act I you must use it by Act III.
—Anton Chekhov
If there is something wrong with the third act, it’s really in the first act.
—Billy Wilder
Praise for Brian McDonald and Invisible Ink
“Writing stories is hard. They are stubborn by nature. No matter how many times you master one, the next story is obligated to conceal its faults with an entirely new disguise. Your only recourse is to keep writing, while concurrently increasing your understanding of this deceivingly simple, yet highly complex, organism we call story. Brian McDonald’s insightful book does just that. Somehow, Brian has found yet another fresh and objective way to analyze how great stories function, and emboldens you to face the challenge of scaling whatever story mountain looms before you. 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)
“Invisible Ink is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to become a better screenwriter.With elegance and precision, Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril.”
—Jim Taylor (Academy Award™- winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election)
“Brian McDonald knows that underneath a good story are the difficult mechanics of plot. He offers insights into both the construction needed and the art of hiding that construction.”
—Jim Uhls (screenwriter of Fight Club)
“Brian McDonald’s Invisible Ink is a wise, fresh, and highly entertaining book on the art of storytelling. I read it hungrily in one sitting, delighted by his careful and illuminating analysis of my favorite films, novels, television shows, and even comics. A multitalented creator, McDonald never errs in his critical judgments or the very practical principles he provides for creating well-made stories. I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form.”
—Dr. Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage)
“Nobody, in Hollywood or out, understands story better than Brian McDonald. Never give a script to Brian to read casually, because he doesn’t know how to do that. He only knows how to make it better—whether you like it or not.”
—Mark Handley (screenwriter of Nell)
“If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. The guy knows what he’s talking about. A very well-thought-out, easy-to-follow guide to the thing all we writers love to pretend we don’t slavishly follow—story structure.”
—Paul Feig (creator of NBC’s Freaks and Geeks)
“Brian unlocks the secrets to making a great screenplay. I only wish I had read it sooner.”
—Steve Higgins (producer, Saturday Night Live)
Invisible Ink is an uncommonly good guidebook that reveals the unseen workings within great movies, TV, and literature. Brian McDonald, the author of the guidebook, is like a modern day magician who understands the enchantment that lives within a good story, and fortunately for us, he is ready to share his many secrets.
—Joel Hodgson (creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Cinematic Titanic)
“Storytelling has been my bread and butter for twenty-five years now, and in that time I’ve sat down with at least a couple of dozen books that swore they could help me with my craft. Invisible Ink is the first one I’ve finished. Brian McDonald understands story like no one else, from the need for and nature of an underlying structure—‘armature’ is his fine and nimble term for it—through the land mine-laden path to fleshing it out. McDonald himself is a screenwriter, but this is by no means a book solely for screenwriters. It’s not about screenwriting; it’s about writing and telling stories. If you’re a writer of any kind—fiction, short stories, textbooks, travel articles, newspaper features, you name it—you’ll come away from Invisible Ink with a deeper grasp of how you do what you do… and how to do it better. And you’ll never look at The Wizard of Oz in quite the same way again.”
—Aaron Elkins
(Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist)
Brian McDonald’s Invisible Ink lays the foundations for storytellers of any kind to do what they are supposed to do; communicate clearly and entertain. Had I not had the good fortune of meeting Brian when I was young, I have no doubt that I would be aimlessly lost in the miasma of ideas, instead of where I am today.
––Brian Kalin O’Connell (episodic director on the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars)
“The nuts and bolts of storytelling are laid out with clarity, passion, and fun. A lively read, with vivid examples throughout. It’s inspiring.”
—Paul Chadwick (creator of the critically acclaimed comic book, Concrete)
“Don’t tell anyone, but the secret to exceptional story crafting is written in Invisible Ink. I advise you read it, memorize it, and then eat the pages one at a time and digest it thoroughly, so that it stays with you. Besides, you can’t afford for this book to fall into the hands of your competitors. Brian’s powerful concept of armature as understructure will change the way you look at movies and writing forever.”
—Pat Hazell (producer/playwright/ former writer for NBC’s Seinfeld)
“Invisible Ink fell into my hands at just the right time—as I was banging my head against the wall trying to structure a screenplay that had too much going on in it. The book’s thoughtful exploration of what makes movies work helped me see my core story clearly, and throw away a third of my material—which I now understand will not be missed. I have a stronger, more focused script thanks to a process inspired by this book.”
—George Wing (screenwriter of 50 First Dates)
“Invisible Ink is a great, easy-to-understand, guide to the screenplay writing process. Brian breaks it all down to its simplest form. I found the information the most accessible of any book of this genre. Read it before you start your next script, then read it again when you’ve finished your first draft.
—Joel Madison (television and film writer/producer)
Foreword by Stewart Stern (screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause)
This is the only book on screenplay structure I have ever had the least inclination to read all the way through. Something has always kept me out of structure books: They seemed too confident to reach for and very unpleasant if you got there. Any semblance of structure in my screenplays has been mainly accidental, relying on emotional tides that often beguiled then drowned me. I love Invisible Ink for inviting me in, for showing me I can touch the stove without burning my hand, and for not holding up to me, as examples to follow, more than one of those overwhelmingly intimidating models, the “3 Cs”: Citizen Kane, Chinatown, and Casablanca. Brian McDonald’s rich curiosity takes him to different allusions, unexpected literary originals that anyone of courage who had a childhood can climb. Eerily and precisely to the point, they enroll us without threat, not just because they’re entertaining in themselves, but because his examples let us hold out our aprons safely to all the trees he plucks them from as we walk with him on the guided tour of his wonderful varied orchard—here Aesop, there nursery rhymes, farther on fairy tales, comic books, cartoons, the Bible, the theater, anthropological discoveries, barroom jokes, Billy Wilder, Shakespeare, Spielberg, Pixar, The Wizard of Oz, ancient African proverbs, and two irreplaceables, Joe Guppy, and Matt Smith. 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.
Acknowledgments
I would very much like to thank my former student Heather for insisting that I write this book. And thanks, also, to Pat who convinced me that I could write this book. And thanks very much to Michael who has been a fan of the book since before it existed. And gratitude to Wayno for always being a cheerleader.
All teachers who write books thank their students and I am no different. My students have taught me more about my craft than any teacher ever could.
Thanks too to my family for celebrating all of our triumphs great and small.
And thanks most of all to Heather (my Heather) for sticking through the rough times.
Dedication
For Scott Tolson, A friend, a brother, a teacher, and a storyteller
