Damn Fine Story
Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig. Book purchased at Book People* in Austin, Texas. *Best book store EVER* Post contains affiliated links.
I picked this book up in Austin after attending a Chuck Wendig's Characters as Architects workshop put on by the Austin RWA. My co-writer, Genevieve Lynne, and I made a writing retreat out of it. It was awesome! You can read all about it here.
Sidenote: Chuck's blog on TerribleMinds.Com is FABULOUS (and the reason why I jumped at the chance to hear him in person.) It is straightforward, blunt language (and I do mean BLUNT language—not something you want the kids reading over your shoulder) what you need to hear about writing and publishing.
The day after the workshop, we popped into Book People (one of my favorite places on the planet) and I picked up Damn Fine Story.
HOOK YOUR AUDIENCE WITH UNFORGETTABLE STORYTELLING
What do Luke Skywalker, John McClane, and a lonely dog on Ho‘okipa Beach have in common?
Simply put, we care about them.
Great storytelling is making readers care about your characters, the choices they make, and what happens to them. It’s making your audience feel the tension and emotion of a situation right alongside your protagonist. And to tell a damn fine story, you need to understand why and how that caring happens.
Using a mix of personal stories, pop fiction examples, and traditional storytelling terms, New York Timesbest-selling author Chuck Wendig will help you internalize the feel of powerful storytelling. In Damn Fine Story, you'll explore:
- Freytag's Pyramid for visualizing story structure - and when to break away from traditional storytelling forms
- Character relationships and interactions as the basis of every strong plot - no matter the form or genre
- Rising and falling tension that pulls the audience through to the climax and conclusion of the story
- Developing themes as a way to craft characters with depth
Whether you're writing a novel, screenplay, video game, comic, or even if you just like to tell stories to your friends and family over dinner, this funny and informative guide is chock-full of examples about the art and craft of storytelling - and how to write a damn fine story of your own.
This is a twist on a craft book that makes my slightly-nerdy heart happy. The majority of the examples come from Die Hard and Star Wars. He also has hilarious footnotes to almost every topic.
This isn't a how-to guide. It isn't something that I would recommend for a brand new writer because there is an assumption of understanding the basics, but I definitely broke out the post-its and a pen and started marking things up.
If you already have a decent grasp on story structure and are looking for something to boost your plot and strength your character development, Damn Fine Story is worth the read.
One warning: Lots and lots of strong language.
If you want to read more about our trip, you can do that here.
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