How to Tell a Story: The Secrets of Writing Captivating Tales

by Peter Rubie, Gary Provost

Examines every facet of storytelling, from narrative hooks to climaxes, to create gripping narratives with strong characters for fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Self Help, Research, Reference, Education, Language

234 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

Reviews

[Robin Helweg-Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fundamental aspects of writing strong stories. Aimed primarily at first-time novelists, but with enough insights to engage more experienced writers.

The sentence that most resonates for me is: "The story is *not* what happens, the story is *who* it happens to." A full chapter hangs on this, and it will allow (or require) me to rewrite all my fiction. All of it.

[Vincent Desjardins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently began writing my first middle grade novel, but as a novice writer, I felt like I was adrift at sea. I happened upon this book at the library and it has been of tremendous help. One of my biggest problems was on how to structure my story and I was happy to discover that this book gives expert and clear advice on that very problem. The book starts off with a chapter on how to know whether your idea for your book is good or not. The authors also explain genres and how to find the one that best fits your book (this is more useful than you might imagine). The chapters that were most helpful to me were the ones that talked about the importance of character goals, how to write scenes, the importance of conflict, and how to develop a theme and/or subplot. The authors use numerous examples to back up each topic. Sometimes the examples show the right and wrong way to write a scene, other times they are used to point out how something works in a narrative. Although this book is geared toward writing fiction, it does cover points on how these lessons can also be applied to writing nonfiction. As a matter of fact, the Appendix of the book is all about writing a book proposal for a nonfiction title. It even includes a complete example of such a proposal. This is the sort of book that has so much useful information, that in order to absorb it all, you'll probably want to re-read it several times. And one of the great things about it is that the information is presented in a very entertaining and easy to read manner.

[Fee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The explanations on plotting, characters, goals, writing in scenes, conflict, and pace were extremely insightful. The book elaborates exactly what it says in its title―about writing stories that captivate the readers, so it is more of a "how to" book, particularly for those who already have a basic idea on writing something but are unsure of being able to write ones that are interesting enough. I borrowed this book from my local library and thought of getting a copy for myself, but upon finishing it, I found that the notes that I've taken from the whole book were only 2 pages long (the chapters about genre and plot/subplot were just okay), so I changed my mind and told myself that perhaps there are better guidebooks about writing out there. I learnt a lot things from the book, but somehow I felt like they were not enough.

[Elle-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great simple guide that completes its purpose. Written almost like a text book with writing exercises ending each chapter this book really helps to open the mind up to writing without over teaching or preaching a right or wrong way.

I actually found a few passages called to me so much, even in there simplicity, that I copied them to stationary and taped them on my wall.
Later these simple passages, that may confuse one who wasn't there to understand their importance, guided me and provoked further thought for my work.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

No gimmicks, nothing fancy, just a very well written book written by someone who who know the business of writing, not just the skills required to write. Peter Rubie is an agent and has represented many successful agents, as well as written several books himself. His book will give you tips that no mere author or workshop instructor could give. Read this book and you will learn not only to tell a good story, but also the secrets to making that story successful on the market.

[Mars Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on telling an engaging fiction story.

Pretty, pretty, prettay goood.

I'm reading a lot of these lately, that's why I'm surprised I learned new principles. Most books regurgitate the stuff I read everywhere, but I found a lot new gems in this one.

The writing style flows, the tips are plenty. It's no the best, but it's good enough for a read if you want to take your storytelling to the next level. Especially if you want to be a fiction writer.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book if you are new to fiction writing and need some direction. For a writer with more experience it may be a bit too basic, starting with where to find ideas. I found the most helpful chapter was writing in scenes and linking scenes. The appendix about writing a book proposal was puzzling because it didn't seem to fit into the theme of this book. Overall this book had a number of good suggestions, but I would have liked the entire book to be about writing a captivating story

[Madeline Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This awesome book really breaks down the parts of a good story in an easy to digest way.

Gem: "The best structure is not a series of parallel, sometimes intersecting, lines, but coils." Think about that. I highly recommend reading "How to Tell a Story" before writing your next story, or re-writing your last one.

[Richard Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time through with this no nonsense guide on how to write a book that may actually get published.

Short on philosophy, long on the nuts and bolts of good writing. Might serve as a wake up call for academics, particularly those with newly minted MSWs in writing.

[malrubius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent, nuts-and-bolts telling of how stories come together. For people who already know what character, plot, setting, etc are. Clear and compassionate.

[ياسمين خليفة · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read book for anyone who want to be a writer.

[Joshua Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically "Save the Cat" (without the humor) for literary writers. Not groundbreaking, but had a lot of solid, helpful reminders on good storytelling.

[Joe Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has great recommendations for improving writing. I feel like I have new tools in my toolbox.

[Dilbag Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and very informative, got to know the new aspect of storytelling.

[Carole Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, general introduction to story-telling: plotting, characters, scene-writing and more.

[Jo Shackelford · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have the basic mechanics of writing sentences under control, but find you are struggling with the structure of your story, give Rubie’s book a read. He gives practical suggestions for writing scenes that move the story along, set up the next scene, and keep the story interesting by creating conflict. He gives great examples of what not to do (such as stringing together episode scenes or having all of your characters speak in the same voice).

Many books on writing cover this content, but Robie’s explanations and examples really make the concepts clear. After reading a chapter, you can see a scene in your own story more clearly and make changes to strengthen it.

[Burning Thoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good craft advice and techniques on narrative structure. Although I took more notes, these three items especially caught my attention.

1. Good dramatic structure is more important than syntax and grammar.
2. The events are not the most important thing. The most important thing is the meaning of the events to the characters.
3. To make supporting characters rounder, write a scene from their Point Of View before starting the first draft.