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

I think this might be my new favorite writing guide. Deeply practical, slightly anti-authoritarian, and ruthlessly insightful, it's a very real look at what goes into creating a solid and entertaining story. No vague truisms here. The author gets down under the hood with clear thinking and solid tec......more

I have read dozens, if not hundreds, of books on writing (though not, ironically Stephen King's ON WRITING yet). I can count the ones I think have been truly worth the investment of time it takes to read them on the fingers of one hand. But I found Matt Bird's The Secrets of Story to be densely-pack......more

Matt Bird fez um mestrado em guionismo na Universidade de Columbia, pelo qual pagou 60 mil dólares, passado um ano, quando se apresentou num estúdio para fazer o seu primeiro trabalho de escrita, pediram-lhe para realizar uma tarefa e ele entrou em pânico. Nunca tinha ouvido falar sobre “introduções......more

The best book on writing I've read in a couple of years. It's oriented towards those that have read about narrative structure and the remaining aspects of writing stories, and have learned many rules about what works and doesn't. The author, someone with plenty of experience in the field by the look......more

Some great, practical advice in here, but I am knocking off a couple of stars because the irony of a poorly written writing book is so distracting. The phrase “au contraire!” is used approximately 54 million times in this book, give or take a few. Au contraire! I may be exaggerating, but it is hard......more