The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth - Hardcover

"You could struggle through learning the basics of storytelling by trial anbd error or you could just read this book. I wish I had this fifteen years ago."--Sara Pariott, screenwriter for "The Runaway Bride"
"For me, the mythological approach has indeed been the key to creating stories that have a far greater impact on the reader than anything I'd written before."--Tess Collins, author of" The Law of Blood "and "The Law of Revenge"
"This well-written and witty how-to [focuses] on the tradition of myth as a recipe for storytelling. Drawing from Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth," Frey explains that people respond strongly to mythic images and will essentially read the same stories over and over again; readers of romances are a good example of this concept. The first half of the book is especially interesting, for it examines the mythic structure in such diverse works as "Robin Hood," "Beowulf," and "Jaws" and looks at myths that function in everyday modern life. In the second half, Frey provides the reader with a sample novella titled 'The Blue Light' to illustrate the use of myth as a writing tool. Expect beginning writers to use this informative guide along with the author's other books."--"Library Journal"
"Everything I know about plotting a novel, I learned from Frey."--Marjorie Reynolds, author of" The Starlite Drive-In"

You could struggle through learning the basics of storytelling by trial anbd error or you could just read this book. I wish I had this fifteen years ago. "Sara Pariott, screenwriter for The Runaway Bride"

For me, the mythological approach has indeed been the key to creating stories that have a far greater impact on the reader than anything I'd written before. "Tess Collins, author of The Law of Blood and The Law of Revenge"

This well-written and witty how-to [focuses] on the tradition of myth as a recipe for storytelling. Drawing from Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth," Frey explains that people respond strongly to mythic images and will essentially read the same stories over and over again; readers of romances are a good example of this concept. The first half of the book is especially interesting, for it examines the mythic structure in such diverse works as "Robin Hood," "Beowulf," and "Jaws" and looks at myths that function in everyday modern life. In the second half, Frey provides the reader with a sample novella titled 'The Blue Light' to illustrate the use of myth as a writing tool. Expect beginning writers to use this informative guide along with the author's other books. "Library Journal"

Everything I know about plotting a novel, I learned from Frey. "Marjorie Reynolds, author of The Starlite Drive-In""

"You could struggle through learning the basics of storytelling by trial anbd error or you could just read this book. I wish I had this fifteen years ago." --Sara Pariott, screenwriter for The Runaway Bride

"For me, the mythological approach has indeed been the key to creating stories that have a far greater impact on the reader than anything I'd written before." --Tess Collins, author of The Law of Blood and The Law of Revenge

"This well-written and witty how-to [focuses] on the tradition of myth as a recipe for storytelling. Drawing from Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, Frey explains that people respond strongly to mythic images and will essentially read the same stories over and over again; readers of romances are a good example of this concept. The first half of the book is especially interesting, for it examines the mythic structure in such diverse works as Robin Hood, Beowulf, and Jaws and looks at myths that function in everyday modern life. In the second half, Frey provides the reader with a sample novella titled 'The Blue Light' to illustrate the use of myth as a writing tool. Expect beginning writers to use this informative guide along with the author's other books." --Library Journal

"Everything I know about plotting a novel, I learned from Frey." --Marjorie Reynolds, author of The Starlite Drive-In

James N. Frey is the author of two internationally best-selling books on the craft of fiction writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel and How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, as well as nine novels. He has taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Extension, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and the Oregon Writers' Colony, and he is a featured speaker at writers' conferences throughout the United States and in Europe. He lives with his--he says, "truly heroic"--wife, Liza, in Berkeley, California.