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Writing Your Story's Theme
- The Writer's Guide to Plotting Stories That Matter (Helping Writers Become Authors)
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
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Creating Character Arcs
- The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development
- Written by: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters - but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.
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Indispensable
- By Alex Makar (the author!) on 2019-09-19
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- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
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Why do some stories work and others don't? The answer is structure. In this IPPY and NIEA Award-winning guide from the author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel, you will discover the universal underpinnings that guarantee powerful plot and character arcs. An understanding of proper story and scene structure will help you to not only perfectly time your story's major events, but will also provide you with an unerring standard to use in evaluating your novel's pacing and progression.
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Actionable tips that are easy to understand
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-06-02
Written by: K. M. Weiland
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Let outlines help you write a better book! Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal.
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Following up his perennially best-selling writers' guide Story and his inspiring exploration of the art of verbal action in Dialogue, the most sought-after expert in the storytelling brings his insights to the creation of compelling characters and the design of their casts. Character explores the design of a character universe: The dimensionality, complexity and arcing of a protagonist, the invention of orbiting major characters, all encircled by a cast of service and supporting roles.
Written by: Robert McKee
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Dialogue
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Brilliant and Dedicated
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Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress, and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese, and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives, and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience.
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Very informative
- By elc on 2023-10-22
Written by: Robert McKee
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Creating Character Arcs
- The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development
- Written by: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters - but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.
-
-
Indispensable
- By Alex Makar (the author!) on 2019-09-19
Written by: K.M. Weiland
-
Structuring Your Novel
- Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story
- Written by: K. M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why do some stories work and others don't? The answer is structure. In this IPPY and NIEA Award-winning guide from the author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel, you will discover the universal underpinnings that guarantee powerful plot and character arcs. An understanding of proper story and scene structure will help you to not only perfectly time your story's major events, but will also provide you with an unerring standard to use in evaluating your novel's pacing and progression.
-
-
Actionable tips that are easy to understand
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-06-02
Written by: K. M. Weiland
-
Outlining Your Novel
- Map Your Way to Success
- Written by: K. M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
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Let outlines help you write a better book! Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal.
-
-
Indispensable
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Written by: K. M. Weiland
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Character
- The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen
- Written by: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Following up his perennially best-selling writers' guide Story and his inspiring exploration of the art of verbal action in Dialogue, the most sought-after expert in the storytelling brings his insights to the creation of compelling characters and the design of their casts. Character explores the design of a character universe: The dimensionality, complexity and arcing of a protagonist, the invention of orbiting major characters, all encircled by a cast of service and supporting roles.
Written by: Robert McKee
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Dialogue
- The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
- Written by: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.
-
-
Brilliant and Dedicated
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Written by: Robert McKee
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Story
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- Narrated by: Robert McKee
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Overall
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Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress, and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese, and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives, and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience.
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Very informative
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Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying.
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Great info but lacking PDF content
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There is one sure-fire way of improving your novel fast...You may know the fundamentals of how to write fiction. You may be more than competent in plot, structure and characters. But if your dialogue is dull it will drag the whole story down...Don't sabotage your chances of selling your work to readers or publishers because the dialogue is unexceptional. Dazzle them with what the characters say. How to Write Dazzling Dialogue will give you the tools to do it.
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Action explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning originality by deconstructing the action genre, illuminating the challenges, and, more importantly, demonstrating how to master the demands of plot with surprising beats of innovation and ingenuity.
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On Writing
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“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
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5 Secrets of Story Structure: How to Write a Novel That Stands Out
- Helping Writers Become Authors, Book 6
- Written by: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
If you’ve read or listened to all the books on story structure and concluded there has to be more to it than just three acts and a couple of plot points, then you’re absolutely right! It’s time to notch up your writing education from “basic” to “black belt”. Internationally published author K.M. Weiland shares five “secret” techniques of advanced story structure.
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Short and Sweet
- By Anonymous User on 2022-05-12
Written by: K.M. Weiland
Publisher's Summary
Theme is what your story is really about.
Theme - the mysterious cousin of plot and character. Too often viewed as abstract rather than actionable, theme is frequently misunderstood and left to chance. Some writers even insist theme should not be purposefully implemented. This is unfortunate, because in many ways, theme is story. Theme is the heart, the meaning, the point. Nothing that important should be overlooked.
Powerful themes are never incidental. They emerge from the conjunction of strong plots and resonant character arcs. This means you can learn to plan and implement theme. In doing so, you will deepen your ability to write not only stories that entertain, but also stories that stay with readers long after the end.
Writing Your Story’s Theme will teach you:
- How to create theme from plot and character.
- Why every supporting character and subplot should enhance the theme.
- How to prevent theme from seeming preachy or “on the nose”.
- What to consider in identifying the best theme for any given story.
And much more!
Conscious mastery of theme will elevate every story you write and allow you to craft fiction of depth and meaning.
Take control of your story via a powerful implementation of theme.
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What listeners say about Writing Your Story's Theme
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ivy Mills
- 2022-07-02
Infinitely Useful
This will be a favourite for years to come. Technical and practical advice that demystifies the dreaded "Theme". Welcome structure for the plotter; Helpful back-of-mind theory for the pantser.
Great narration, but I took one star off the performance. The appendices are in desperate need of a PDF.
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- wondernate
- 2021-10-05
Awesome info if you get past the drama.
I thought she went through extreme efforts to make it sound nebulous and elusive but then gave great examples to help understand the principles. I think that because there is a wide array of ways to use theme, that doesnt make it hard to understand. So if you can get past the over dramatization it's a good read.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Chris S. Manion
- 2022-02-17
Worth a second read or listen
I listened to the audiobook (excellent) for my first read. I had not given enough thought to my novel’s theme until Weiland’s treatment of this important element to storytelling. With Weiland’s thorough overview of how theme plays a vital role —it does not have to be unique—I now have new insights into how to filter theme in small ways through mini themes in scenes and character arcs. Theme helps solve the plot v character writing challenge.
I will be re-reading her fascinating section on subtext and symbolism, two ways to deepen your theme. I found her treatment of the truth vs. lie model to theme and character the best I’ve read to date. Identifying the lie a character believes used to present a bit of a challenge for me. Thank you, K. M. Weiland. You cleared that up for me.
Although I’ve written non-fiction for thirty years, I found this book valuable as I work on my first novel. Weiland provides essential understanding in terms of useful principles and approaches to theme, a topic not covered in over a dozen other craft books I’ve studied. I will be ordering the paper copy or ebook because I want to see the lists she provides. The summary of the five main character arcs in her appendix was outstanding and succinct. She has a book on this topic ( creating Character Arcs) but I learned what I wanted at this moment on character arcs from this appendix alone.
I learn best from examples and Weiland givens plenty for why some famous books and films fall flat without well - developed themes. Plot, character, and theme are a “holy trinity” of storytelling. I love threes. By focusing more on my theme and subtle symbols reflecting it, I feel more confident in how to avoid preaching while each story provides a powerful impact readers will enjoy unpacking.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Pious
- 2023-09-08
Complete & Utter Fail
This author takes the abstract concept of themes in literature and manages to make it even more abstract rather than less. For example: “When dealing with my theme, I prefer to use the bob and weave concept..” That’s great… What the hell does that mean? This book was a great idea, but I was so disappointed. I noticed some of the good reviews stated that this is a good title to listen to over and over again, but that’s because you have to listen to it over and over again to absorb any of the information. How could the author have improved this book to make it less abstract? Examples! Examples! And more examples! She should have given an example of the Bob and weave concept, as one example. She should have use an example. After every single point she made, examples in literature, Instead, she uses very few examples, and the ones she does use are cheap examples, like Captain America, or Wonder Woman, or other movies that aren’t even books. She never even took the time to go down a list of common themes in literature. I’ve read other authors who describe theme better in one chapter of their book than this author’s entire book could pull off. I will be requesting my credit back.
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- KMM
- 2023-07-21
Pinning down the ether
Theme is so hard to pin down and conceptualize, but this book/author does it and more. Clear, concise, effective, and compelling/inspiring. Her other book on character arcs is just as good.
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- Thorn Winter
- 2022-12-07
Listen Again and Again
I very much appreciate this Lady’s publications on craft and this one is packed with thought keys, pointers toward other learning resources, and a good spirit of self betterment in our art. Theme is a tough planet to land on but Weiland will help you get in a decent orbital pattern. The other books are just as clear, concise, and informative. I bought all the audiobooks and bought them in print too. My not criticism is that I think she’s underselling. These books are worth at least double what she’s charging. The podcast is awesome too. The narrator for these audiobooks is great for them but it’s nice to here Weiland’s authenticity, humility, and love of our craft come through in her own voice. Ok. I have gushed enough I think. But seriously, this is a book to trust.
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