27 Essential Principles of Story: Master the Secrets of Great Storytelling, from Shakespeare to South Park

Daniel Joshua Rubin

Sep 2020 · Sold by Workman Publishing Company

About this ebook

“So often people ask me if there’s a book on story I can recommend. This is the one. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”––Alexa Junge, writer/producer, Friends, Sex and the City, The West Wing
 
A master class of 27 lessons, drawn from 27 diverse narratives, for novelists, storytellers, filmmakers, graphic designers, and more. Author Daniel Joshua Rubin unlocks the secrets of what makes a story work, and then shows how to understand and use these principles in your own writing. The result is “an invaluable resource” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), offering priceless advice like escalate risk, with an example from Pulp Fiction. Write characters to the top of their intelligence, from the Eminem song “Stan.” Earn transformations, from Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. Attack your theme, from The Brothers Karamazov. Insightful, encouraging, filled with attitude, and, as Booklist puts it, “perfect for any writer looking to ensure their stories operate and resonate at the top of their potential,” this book gives contemporary storytellers of all kinds a lifeline of inspiration and relatable instruction.
 
“[The] new bible of lessons and practices for creators.”––Library Journal
 
“Not a ‘how-to,’ thank God, but a ‘here’s why.’ Writers of all levels of experience will benefit from reading––and then rereading––this elegant exploration of the principles of storytelling.”––Traci Letts, Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright
 
“A godsend for storytellers in all media. It will help you decide what to write and then show you, step by step, how to tackle virtually any problem you face.”––Anna D. Shapiro, Tony Award-winning director, August: Osage County

 
 

Ratings and reviews

*Practical Fiction-Writing Gems* As someone who both works with writers as a freelance editor as well as a writer myself (though mostly nonfiction), I can't get enough books on writing. This particular book is a very well-thought-out and well-structured book that would help any fiction author hone their craft. In it, the author shares what he considers to be the 27 key elements of good fiction writing. The book is divided broadly into three sections: plot; character; and setting, dialogue, and theme. Both the plot and character sections are relatively large while the third one is not as long. Each chapter is similarly structured, first giving you a brief idea what the concept is, a deeper explanation of its key elements, a brief analysis of it being used well in a fictional context—book, play, movie, television show, song, etc.—how you can employ this technique in your writing, a brief scenario with a multiple-choice question to help cement the knowledge, and a further work you can explore that also well exemplifies what the principle is about. Interestingly, the author has opted to not use a lot of traditional words typically used when we talk about plotting and characterization like climax. He wants things to be more open-ended and easily personalized for the writer and the writer's works. The author has a writing style that is pleasant to read and easy to understand, thankfully, as he shares a lot that gets you thinking about the elements of a story. I like that the author approached and picked apart all these concepts from several different angles. If you write novels, or if you want to, I highly recommend this book to help get you and keep you on the right track. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

This is a book to read and then read again while continuing to use as a reference. There are a lot of books on story and writing and I found this one of the best. Daniel brings in examples across different genres and mediums to show how to best create a story. Whether writing for page, stage, screen or other ways this book can help. The principles are concise and the book is well structured with bullet points on how you can implement the strategies and checks to confirm the lessons. This book is also beneficial to copywriters, marketers, and others that need to share their stories. I highly recommend it.

Mohammed

About the author

Daniel Joshua Rubin is a multimedia writer and founder of Story 27 in Evanston, Illinois, a writing studio that provides consulting and education to storytellers in all media. He has taught dramatic writing at Loyola University in Chicago, and at the University of California, San Diego, and has written for television (NBC, the WB); new media (The Motley Fool, National Lampoon); and theater (with plays produced at Steppenwolf in Chicago, off-Broadway in NYC, and on the West End of London). He is a dedicated story scholar with a deep interest the role narrative plays in personal development, business, investing and politics. Rubin has an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, and a BS in Drama Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now lives in Evanston, IL.