Invisible Ink Store
"Invisible Ink is an amazingly lucid and gripping book..."
—Jeremy Hanke
Microfilmmaker Magazine, (see full review)
"Brian McDonald [...] sheds new light on story elements too many writers overlook as they piece together incongruent scenes and call it a screenplay."
—Justen Overlander
Examiner.com, (see full review)
"...a brilliant and very accessible explanation of how great films are examples of superb storytelling..."
—Charles Johnson (Author of The Middle Passage)
E-Channel, (see full review)
Examiner.com, (see full review)
E-Channel, (see full review)
INVISIBLE INK
A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate
Acclaimed by successful screenwriters and authors, Invisible Ink is a helpful, accessible guide to the essential elements of the best storytelling. Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller’s art. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue—the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more.
"Brian McDonald calls it "The Golden Theme," and it's critical to telling more resonant stories."
—Andy Goodman
Free-Range Thinking, December 2010
(see full review, pdf)
"The Golden Theme was well worth the read and, as usual, Brian McDonald shows his insight and wisdom on the craft of writing in a way that's easy to absorb and utilize."
—Jeremy Hanke
Microfilmmaker Magazine, (see full review)
Microfilmmaker Magazine, (see full review)
THE GOLDEN THEME
How to Make Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator
At the heart of every great work is an essential commonality, which author and teacher Brian McDonald explores in The Golden Theme. McDonald's previous book, Invisible Ink, has been acclaimed by award winning authors and screenwriters. In The Golden Theme he turns to the question of what makes writing and storytelling essential to us. Readers and writers will benefit from his deep insight.
"Brian McDonald is one of the world's wisest teachers of the elements that create great storytelling."
— Charles Johnson (Author of The Middle Passage)
Brian McDonald, award-winning filmmaker and sought-after instructor who has taught his story seminar at Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Feature Animation, and George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and author of the books Invisible Ink and The Golden Theme unveils his new book Freeman exclusively at Tr!ckster.
FREEMAN
A Novella in Screenplay Form
Freeman, an original screenplay, is western about Thomas Freeman a former slave, living out West with his wife and child, building a new life. Accused of stealing, he is forced to become a fugitive. To evade the posse on his trail, he finds himself using the same tricks he used as a runaway slave.
Problem is, Freeman's also being hunted by an expert tracker by the name of Cage. Cage's former profession? Slave-catcher. And he knows all the tricks.
This taut page-turner is followed by the author's insightful notes on the screenplay's construction. This book will help authors navigate the maze that is story construction as well as teaching how to affect one's audience deeply.
COMING
SOON
INKSPOTS
Short essays on story structure, film, and related topics compiled from the popular Invisible Ink Blog.
