Two Essays, One Book
👋🏻
I started reading Story by Robert McKee yesterday. Not to be hyperbolic out of the gate, but Story is coming off to me like a sacred Jedi text. I am asking myself "how have I even dared to think about storytelling critically without fully understanding how stories are or should be made?" 😅 I think I'll be extending my library's copy and read the whole thing.
Joking aside, McKee put things I know in my gut into words on a page and that is powerful. I can see how this would help me dissect and analyze works, while also improving my own writing. I'm gonna just go out on a limb and echo the recommendations I have flagged over the years—read Story if you are interested in the craft.
Now, I went in to read Chapter 5 "Structure and Character" for my essay on God of War: Ragnarök, but I find myself digging up nuggets for that essay and my Memento/The Last of Us Part II project.
"Structure and character are interlocked...If you change one, you change the other. If you change the event design, you have also changed character..."
I mean, come on, if that isn't perfect for my Memento/The Last of Us Part II idea and recutting a story into chronological order, I don't know what quote will be.
Until next time...
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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