27 essential principles of story : master the secrets of great storytelling, from Shakespeare to South Park /
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...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Workman Publishing,
[2020]
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Table of Contents:
- Introduction: Old school, new adrenaline
- Part one: Essential principles of plot. Drop the hammer. (Hamlet)
- Ask dramatic questions. (Finding Nemo)
- Explore all endings. (The Night Of)
- Connect with "therefore," not "and." (South Park, "Breast Cancer Show Ever")
- Escalate risk. (Pulp Fiction)
- Clash expectation with reality. (Breaking Bad, "Dead Freight")
- Max out the middle. (If Beale Street Could Talk)
- Begin the end with a critical decision. (Frankenstein)
- Confirm the decision. (The Godfather, Part II)
- Wrap up fast. (Late Spring)
- Part two: Essential principles of character. Make your hero active and decisive. (Red Dead Redemption)
- Provoke dilemma. ("The Best of Times, the Worst of Times")
- Layer conflict. (Ms. Marvel: No Normal)
- Peel the onion. ("Interpreter of Maladies")
- Write characters to the top of their intelligence. ("Stan")
- Mask everyone. (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
- Earn transformations. (Fun Home)
- Motivate fierce antagonists. (The Piano Lesson)
- Confront evil. ("The Lottery")
- Part three. Essential principles of setting, dialogue, and theme. Link inextricably to your setting
- Exceed expectations. (30 Rock, "Jack-tor")
- Craft actionable dialogue. (Death of a Salesman)
- Hide meaning. (The Remains of the Day)
- Hunt big game. (Beloved)
- Amplify your theme. (Double Indemnity)
- Attack your theme. (The Brothers Karamazov)
- Transcend thought. (Fever Dream)
- Conclusion: The necessity of story.