Welcome to Litsy!

Making a start on my #firstbook of the new year. Wishing everyone a safe, healthy, and happier 2021 💐

The science is compelling - Author Storr explores why humans are drawn to storytelling, what storytelling teaches us, and why stories carry the same themes and structures across cultures and time. I wish the book wasn‘t so Anglophilic and that he used more varied examples, but if you are a writer struggling to complete your novel or are interested in storytelling, you‘ll find something to enjoy in this book.

“One benefit of understanding the science of storytelling is that it illuminates the ‘whys‘ behind the ‘rules‘ we‘re commonly given... While there are general structural principles, and a clutch of basic story shapes which are valuable to understand, trying to dictate obligatory dos and don‘ts is probably a mistake.” This is the book for the writer who wants to learn to tell stories better. I am learning so much!

This is a brilliant book for biblophiles. It gives you insight into what makes great stories, characters and descriptions. It educates us on the importance of story in our histories and cultures. It argues how fiction is essentially in creating empathetic human beings. The final chapter outlines Storr's approach to writing if you have ambitions in this area. A book I will come back to.

This book is a fascinating approach to story structure and the craft of writing fiction. I intend to add it to my reference library of writing books and have recommended it to writer colleagues and friends from grad school. It's an interesting approach to creation of character, narrative, plot, and so forth seen through the lens of brain science and psychology.

I received an copy from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So far, this is fascinating! I may have to buy a hard copy for my writing reference book collection.