Screenwriting 101: Mike Carey
“I tend not to read How-To guides. I’ve read a little bit of Syd Field, I’ve read a little bit of Vogler, and I’ve read a little bit of McKee on story. But at a certain point I tend to get discouraged and stop because I don’t like structuralism.
I see the point of structuralism, but there seems to be a stultifying effect that comes from dwelling on the fact that when you take away all the things that make stories unique, yes, they start resembling each other.
That doesn’t strike me as a deep insight. I would rather get things wrong by playing with a set of ideas, a set of characters, a set of situations, and then seeing what structure arises. I’d rather do that than start from the sense that ‘This story needs to do X, Y and Z in order to be shapely,’ in order to be fit for purpose.”
— Mike Carey