A blog on crafting stories—and all the heartache and inspiration that come along with it.
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(via creatingaquietmind)
Essentials for Crafting a Story
“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” - Anais Nin
Story is life, and I think that’s why I find stories fascinating. Learning how to write a story has taken me deep into the depths of the human condition, truth and why we do what we do. It helps to me understand life and to continue to grow and learn. Here are my essentials for undertaking the story adventure:
The Complete Works of Shakespeare - Shakespeare’s ability to artify the human condition amazes me the more I study him. And he knew how to throw a good insult!—“I do desire we may be better strangers.” I like to read along with the BBC audiobooks (you can buy them on iTunes).
Story by Robert McKee - this is the master teacher. Follow him, become his disciple, his apprentice. Get the book, become a member of Storylogue ($20 per month)—you will get more from this than four years in any creative writing program. He also does seminars all around the world, and I hope to attend one soon! “The love of story—the belief that your vision can be expressed only through story, that characters can be more “real” than people, that the fictional world is more profound than the concrete.” - Robert McKee
A Course in Miracles - is a self-study course for spiritual growth and attaining enlightenment. It gives a complete and total description of the workings of the ego and our unconscious beliefs—the beliefs that really drive human behavior. To write an honest and compelling story, you have to know the inner workings of your self and others. “When you want only love you will see nothing else.” (ACIM) I recommend any work that really looks into the darkside of human nature, particularly Freud.
That’s it! Those are the three works I use as my foundation. You will have your own, but I highly recommend Story by Robert McKee. Start with his book and use it like you were an apprentice of a master from back in the old days.
P.S. One more thing, maybe the most important thing. Use your own honest self examination. Socrates said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” The greatest source of experience is not from the things you’ve either done or haven’t done, but from your own inner nature, a deep place within you that knows the truth. Go to this place and there you will find your answers.
How to Design a Great Book Cover Without Designing
To get a great cover for your book you don’t need any artistic/design skills. You just have to be willing to explore and make contact. Here’s the whole process in three steps:
Step 1: Find an illustration or artwork that you really like from tumblr, deviantart, flickr, etc. Search tags or just browse the art. You can also look at photography.
Step 2: Contact the artist and let them know you really like their piece and ask if they would be willing to consider letting you use it for your book cover. The artist retains all rights, you’re only asking for the right to use it on your cover.
Step 3: Make your offer. You can offer an amount upfront, or offer the first $500 of sales from your book, for example. So if your book makes money, the artist makes money—win win!
So in three steps you get a great piece of art/design work, the artist gets to use their work for something and keep the credit for it, and if your book makes money, you both get paid! No one loses. Everyone wins.
