The Secrets of Story cover art

The Secrets of Story

Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers

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The Secrets of Story

By: Matt Bird
Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
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About this listen

The Secrets of Story is a revolutionary and comprehensive writing guide for the 21st century, focused on clever ways to get an audience to fully identify with an all-too-human hero. Authors will learn to how to cut through pop culture noise and win over a jaded modern audience by rediscovering the heart of writing: shaping stories that ring true to our shared understanding of human nature. Providing conversational advice that spans multiple disciplines - from fiction to film to creative nonfiction - Matt Bird's insightful techniques allow characters to come alive and stories to reach a new level of appeal.

©2016 Matt Bird (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing

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All stars
Most relevant  
Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that didn't quite connect with you, but you weren't exactly sure why? Are you writing a story that just isn't coming together but you don't know how to fix it? Well this book is for you!

I have no idea why this book doesn't have more reviews. It's an absolute gamechanger for me. I've read many different books on writing and this has contained by far the most useful advice. It won't tell you the craft of writing, how to put one word after the other, but it will teach you story structure. It essentially acts as a checklist of 122 items that your story may (or may not) need and is the perfect troubleshooting tool for would-be writers. But it's more than a list; it's a comprehensive manual for constructing an effective story.

But even though this book is about telling great stories it doesn't use the old favourites as a crutch. There's very little talk of 3 act structures or the hero's journey, instead coming up with fresh takes on those ideas and explaining them in ways that simply make you go, "Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense!" In the end, as a confused writer, that's exactly what I needed.

The author is a screenwriter so most of his references are from film. For me, this made the examples even more accessible and he draws from a wide range of classic, genre and pop-culture favourites. The narration is also fantastic and really brings the book alive, giving real character to the text which is already written in a lively and accessible style. Download this today, you won't be disappointed.

This is a MUST listen for all prospective writers

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Don’t let the lacklustre voicing put you off. This is the most valuable available guide to refining your story telling. Dynamite!

Best book on writing I’ve ever found

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The only book on writing I've read that is truly comprehensive; in fact, it's probably the best I've read. It even managed to win me over despite initially saying a couple things that I disagreed with. Especially around what I think was the sixth chapter, I found myself compelled to jot down notes of what was being said (which I don't usually do). The narrator is awesome. I think I'll listen to this audiobook again (and maybe even again) in the future. Fair warning, though, you will be sick of the phrase "Au contraire," by the end.

Truly comprehensive.

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This is true gold. All sections are useful, tips are right to the point, examples are clear. Exactly what a future writer needs.

One of the best

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Simply superb. If you are put off by the repetition of ‘au contraire’, this book is wasted on you. The most valuable advice on
writing I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot.

Beyond valuable.

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Great book with excellent practical advice and questions to ask about your own writing.

Great advice well delivered

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great book but with one gripe. The constant repetition of a statement followed by 'Au contrare' becomes extremely annoying.
That said, the book is filled with great advice and helpful examples as well as online further reading so great value for money and better than most of the other 'here's my re-hashed take on structure' books out there.

all good... except...

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Very usefull and easy to listen. Would like to listen again. Also extensive check list is very usefull, it's alone makes examination of your work very interesting.

Brilliant

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I read/listened around 20 books about writting and still learned some new things from this one. Highly recommend.

Good insights

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I found the tone deeply disappointing, sanctimonious, supercilious. I don’t think I can take one more au contraire statement. Not helpful and very difficult to listen to. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I tried but gave up around chapter 20.

Disappointing

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