This brand new book from Rob Parnell, "the world's foremost writing guru", represents a thorough examination of commercial story writing that investigates the fundamentals necessary for a modern author to progress in this most competitive of fields, whether your choice is to write short stories, novels or screenplays.
Rob Parnell, the bestselling Kindle author of the acclaimed Easy Way to Write series, presents "Elements of Story: Character, Agenda & Plot", a valuable writing resource that will help expand and deepen your understanding of inspiration, idea-development, characterization and its relation to agenda, plotting and story creation.
Character, they say, is where all fiction starts. That's the accepted view. But Rob Parnell questions whether this is truly the case. Is there some other, more intuitive starting point?
And is there a knack - a simpler way - of coming up with compelling and memorable characters, plots and effective templates for your short stories, novels and screenplays?
There is indeed and Rob reveals all within the pages of this fascinating treatise on author purpose and the nature of fiction.
In "Elements of Story: Character, Agenda and Plot", Rob lays bare the arguments for and against the conventional theories on story creation and then goes further, exposing their positives and some of their limitations, before moving on explain a more effective way of maintaining authorial integrity in order to create truly compelling and commercial stories that may guarantee success whether you choose to self-publish or submit your stories, books and screenplays to editors, publishers and/or producers.
In a sense, fiction has to be more believable than real life, at least to a reader. And effective willing suspension of disbelief is only achieved through the exercise of disciplined craft. Rob shows how, by mining your own world-view, you may use fiction as a vehicle for self-expression and entertainment without compromising your values or your duty to seek the truth.
Story is not just about making things up, in other words, it's about inspiring others and being master of your own destiny.
Within the pages of this book, the age old question 'where do ideas come from' is answered. Rob details how to have an endless supply of ideas and how to turn each into a helpful resource for your regular storytelling practice. He examines the various types of characters, their key agendas, his own classic plot templates and how a fiction writer uses action, agenda and 'show don't tell' to inform and entertain reader with stories they simply can't put down.
When it comes to writing stories, once you have a good grasp of your characters and their agendas, you can then move on to creating a great plot for your novel, short story, screenplay, play, or even a piece of flash/fan fiction.
Plotting is fundamental to any story. It can make or break the impact of your writing - and your career. But a plot is not merely a sequence of events and emotional story-beats. In order to be truly effective and commercial, a plot must be a profound synthesis of theme, premise, the author's value system and literary skill that complements and enhances the reader's world-view. Rob Parnell explains, in simple language, how this miracle is achieved, and how you can create stories that will resonate with depth and meaning.
In this book you'll find hundreds of ways to explore and develop ideas and plots, invent effective characters with purpose and create stories that will genuinely affect your readers - and thereby go a long way to ensure your success as a full time author or screenwriter.
Rob Parnell, the bestselling Kindle author of the acclaimed Easy Way to Write series, presents "Elements of Story: Character, Agenda & Plot", a valuable writing resource that will help expand and deepen your understanding of inspiration, idea-development, characterization and its relation to agenda, plotting and story creation.
Character, they say, is where all fiction starts. That's the accepted view. But Rob Parnell questions whether this is truly the case. Is there some other, more intuitive starting point?
And is there a knack - a simpler way - of coming up with compelling and memorable characters, plots and effective templates for your short stories, novels and screenplays?
There is indeed and Rob reveals all within the pages of this fascinating treatise on author purpose and the nature of fiction.
In "Elements of Story: Character, Agenda and Plot", Rob lays bare the arguments for and against the conventional theories on story creation and then goes further, exposing their positives and some of their limitations, before moving on explain a more effective way of maintaining authorial integrity in order to create truly compelling and commercial stories that may guarantee success whether you choose to self-publish or submit your stories, books and screenplays to editors, publishers and/or producers.
In a sense, fiction has to be more believable than real life, at least to a reader. And effective willing suspension of disbelief is only achieved through the exercise of disciplined craft. Rob shows how, by mining your own world-view, you may use fiction as a vehicle for self-expression and entertainment without compromising your values or your duty to seek the truth.
Story is not just about making things up, in other words, it's about inspiring others and being master of your own destiny.
Within the pages of this book, the age old question 'where do ideas come from' is answered. Rob details how to have an endless supply of ideas and how to turn each into a helpful resource for your regular storytelling practice. He examines the various types of characters, their key agendas, his own classic plot templates and how a fiction writer uses action, agenda and 'show don't tell' to inform and entertain reader with stories they simply can't put down.
When it comes to writing stories, once you have a good grasp of your characters and their agendas, you can then move on to creating a great plot for your novel, short story, screenplay, play, or even a piece of flash/fan fiction.
Plotting is fundamental to any story. It can make or break the impact of your writing - and your career. But a plot is not merely a sequence of events and emotional story-beats. In order to be truly effective and commercial, a plot must be a profound synthesis of theme, premise, the author's value system and literary skill that complements and enhances the reader's world-view. Rob Parnell explains, in simple language, how this miracle is achieved, and how you can create stories that will resonate with depth and meaning.
In this book you'll find hundreds of ways to explore and develop ideas and plots, invent effective characters with purpose and create stories that will genuinely affect your readers - and thereby go a long way to ensure your success as a full time author or screenwriter.
