The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers

Bird, Matt

ISBN 10: 1440348235 / ISBN 13: 9781440348235

Published by Writer's Digest Books, 2016

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1440348235
• ISBN 13: 9781440348235
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

You've just boarded a plane. You've loaded your phone with your favorite podcasts, but before you can pop in your earbuds, disaster strikes: The guy in the next seat starts telling you all about something crazy that happened to him--in great detail. This is the unwelcome storyteller, trying to convince a reluctant audience to care about his story.

We all hate that guy, right? But when you tell a story (any kind of story: a novel, a memoir, a screenplay, a stage play, a comic, or even a cover letter), you become the unwelcome storyteller.

So how can you write a story that audiences will embrace? The answer is simple: Remember what it feels like to be that jaded audience. Tell the story that would win you over, even if you didn't want to hear it.

The Secrets of Story provides comprehensive, audience-focused strategies for becoming a master storyteller. Armed with the Ultimate Story Checklist, you can improve every aspect of your fiction writing with incisive questions like these:  

   • Concept: Is the one-sentence description of your story uniquely appealing?
   • Character: Can your audience identify with your hero?
   • Structure and Plot: Is your story ruled by human nature?
   • Scene Work: Does each scene advance the plot and reveal character through emotional reactions?
   • Dialogue: Is your characters' dialogue infused with distinct personality traits and speech patterns based on their lives and backgrounds?
   • Tone: Are you subtly setting, resetting, and upsetting expectations?
   • Theme: Are you using multiple ironies throughout the story to create meaning?
To succeed in the world of fiction and film, you have to work on every aspect of your craft and satisfy your audience. Do both--and so much more--with The Secrets of Story.

About the Author

Matt Bird has an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia University. He lives and writes in Chicago where he and his wife Betsy are raising two delightful little kids.