The Anatomy of Story
I'm an aspiring screenwriter, currently trying to read up on as much as I can because whenever I get into something, I want to study it from back to front. One of the main things I got recommended was John Truby's Anatomy of Story. However, when I started reading and occasionally looking up reviews, I saw a lot of people say it has its fair share of problems, sometimes gets overly complex, and you won't even end up using a majority of the stuff inside.
What was your experience reading it, if you have? Did you end up using a lot of the strategies? Was a lot of it useful? Was it just a research endeavor? Is it beginner-friendly? Should I even be reading this as a beginner? Etc.
Edit 1: Thank you guys, so much! I was super nervous and scared making this post, and I didn't expect so many replies; I'll take all of your good-faith advice to heart, from things I should be doing to reading recommendations, all of it. Thanks again!