David Farland's "Million Dollar Outlines" is great. He gets into the try/fail cycle and how stories can resonate with readers. RIP man.
@laurenkaywrites5 ай бұрын
I haven't read this one - will have to check it out!
@RobSchwartzCoaching19 күн бұрын
I can't believe more people don't talk about Story Genius. Great video
@lynnamoroso74747 ай бұрын
Thank you for giving so much of your time. I enjoy your presentation style and your content.
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
Thank you so much! I actually took public speaking classes a while back. So I'm glad they worked -- haha!
@JeszikaLeVye3 ай бұрын
The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird was a game-changing book for me as a writer. I've read so many craft books on writing, and none of them came close to having such a useful impact on me as this one. This book focuses on what things make a good story into a great story - how theme and irony can elevate your story. It goes through in detailed actionable steps how to take all the disparate pieces of a story and turn them into an impacting experience for the reader. So many craft books I've read go over the same material and a lot of it reads as a how to with character, plot, dialog, etc - much like as an artist, I learned basics like light and shading and how to draw an egg realistically - instead this book zoomed out and felt like it was teaching me composition. What shapes and values do you design in a painting to make it beautiful and impacting. What shapes and values do you give a story to make it meaningful and impacting? I highly recommend this book!
@nightskyarty2 ай бұрын
Yes!! There is a general structure that every book/movie follows for sure! „Into the woods” by John Yorke explains this perfectly
@Lavender719322 күн бұрын
When you were talking about Bird by Bird I started crying. Gonna read that for sure
@laurenkaywrites15 күн бұрын
It's really great!!
@t0dd0006 ай бұрын
Bird by Bird is just crazy good.
@laurenkaywrites5 ай бұрын
I love it too!
@wronghandlane96656 ай бұрын
Coming back to say I decided to give Story Genius a shot, and never heard of it, and I am finally breaking out of my stuckness with the 40,0000 word book I had been working on, thank you for helping me get to these breakthroughs!
@laurenkaywrites5 ай бұрын
Yesss! Love hearing this :)
@annworthington72537 ай бұрын
Excellent suggestions. I’ve read two of the four, and plan to read the others very soon. And I love cats, too!
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
Cats truly are angels on earth. I am 100% serious when I say I couldn't have written my novel without the support of my cat. lol. Hope you find those craft books helpful!
@MediaAttorney7 ай бұрын
I loved Stephen King's "On Writing"
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
He's wonderful. And his approach to writing is as well!
@t0dd0006 ай бұрын
Great memoir. As a craft book though ... eh ...
@brianoverland54744 ай бұрын
The best.
@picasso1147 ай бұрын
These are well-explained. Good job :)
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
Thanks so much! :)
@Ozgipsy7 ай бұрын
This is really useful. Thank you.
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
Thank YOU for watching!
@MM-xm8ot4 ай бұрын
Hearing you describe "Writing Down the Bones" reminded me of "The Emotional Craft of Fiction" by Donald Maass. Have you read this one? It's my favorite!
@laurenkaywrites4 ай бұрын
I haven't! But I'll check it out :)
@KitchenTableChatsENM7 ай бұрын
I love Save the Cat! and Story Genius...I am currently reading Bird by Bird per your recommendation and can't wait to read the final one as well. I'm having a harder time finding newly released lighthearted crossover (New Adult) fiction that isn't primarily about the romance but more on the rites of passage arc. Any recommendations anyone?
@laurenkaywrites7 ай бұрын
Hm ... might have to think on this and get back to you! Any sub-genre in particular?
@sickdream40676 ай бұрын
I’ve heard that if you plot your novel using the 15-beat structure from Save The Cat, that will peg you as a new unexperienced writer and might be a red flag for agents. Is that true? Did you use the 15-beat structure?
@laurenkaywrites6 ай бұрын
I don't think this is true at all. Having a plot that alternatives pinch-points and plot points drives narrative tension and creates a page-turner. And every agent wants to work with a page-turner, because page-turners make $$$!
@t0dd0006 ай бұрын
Yeah. That's BS.
@t0dd0006 ай бұрын
I struggled with and DNFed Story Genius. Just didn't like it. I intend to give it a try again some time.
@laurenkaywrites5 ай бұрын
I totally get that! I often find that, when I revisit a book - especially a craft book - later, it sometimes reads entirely differently to me than the first time and I end up loving it. I wonder if that will be the case for you and Story Genius!