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Reviews tagging 'Cancer'
Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig
1 review
annettewolf's review
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
When you read a lot of books on writing, you start to feel like there isn't a lot of "new" advice out there, that a book on plot will look much like any other book on plot, and so on. Damn Fine Story, dear readers, feels like a very new, fresh take on a writing craft book.
The overall tone is funny, irreverent, crass in a way that keeps you engaged. It's what we need, honestly. We have a lot of books being very precious about the whole writing and storytelling process. Adopt such and such specific routine, or fill out this 101 questions form on yon secondary character to ensure the proper depth to your narrative. This book throws that out the window and tells you to write it how you want to write it.
There's excellent advice in here. Good examples pulled from books and movies we are likely familiar with. There are footnotes, which are hilarious and break up the text in a fun way. Cause that's the thing--even a book about storytelling is telling a certain kind of story, and Chuck Wendig does that really well.
The most important, overall best thing about this book and its advice is to NOT follow the advice that doesn't work for you. It is so rare for a book on craft to point that out. That their way is prescriptive but maybe it isn't the right prescription for you and you should only take from it what builds your writing and leave the rest. I love that so much, because this is the book I needed when I was a kid. And instead I was reading a bunch of craft books written by cishet white men saying their way is the only way and if you do it any other way you are invalid. And yeah, this book is written by another cishet white dude. But, at least he feels like an ally.
There's something in this book for every kind of storyteller, since it is about story, first and foremost, not about a specific form like novels or screenwriting or what have you. And I honestly think every writer who likes to read craft books should read this one. It even has a chapter on theme! And talks about it in a way that is not mind-numbingly boring or impossible to put into practice. He literally says you can write your story without giving a first thought to theme at all. OH THE FREEDOM.
Do yourself a favor and read this book. It might just ruin you for most other books on writing...and I promise that's a good thing.
The overall tone is funny, irreverent, crass in a way that keeps you engaged. It's what we need, honestly. We have a lot of books being very precious about the whole writing and storytelling process. Adopt such and such specific routine, or fill out this 101 questions form on yon secondary character to ensure the proper depth to your narrative. This book throws that out the window and tells you to write it how you want to write it.
There's excellent advice in here. Good examples pulled from books and movies we are likely familiar with. There are footnotes, which are hilarious and break up the text in a fun way. Cause that's the thing--even a book about storytelling is telling a certain kind of story, and Chuck Wendig does that really well.
The most important, overall best thing about this book and its advice is to NOT follow the advice that doesn't work for you. It is so rare for a book on craft to point that out. That their way is prescriptive but maybe it isn't the right prescription for you and you should only take from it what builds your writing and leave the rest. I love that so much, because this is the book I needed when I was a kid. And instead I was reading a bunch of craft books written by cishet white men saying their way is the only way and if you do it any other way you are invalid. And yeah, this book is written by another cishet white dude. But, at least he feels like an ally.
There's something in this book for every kind of storyteller, since it is about story, first and foremost, not about a specific form like novels or screenwriting or what have you. And I honestly think every writer who likes to read craft books should read this one. It even has a chapter on theme! And talks about it in a way that is not mind-numbingly boring or impossible to put into practice. He literally says you can write your story without giving a first thought to theme at all. OH THE FREEDOM.
Do yourself a favor and read this book. It might just ruin you for most other books on writing...and I promise that's a good thing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Cancer, Cannibalism, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Excrement, Medical content, and Animal death
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