November 15, 2014 Leave a Comment

Exclusive Content for Subscribers

Last night my wife and I went to see Christopher Nolan’s new film, Interstellar. Our discussion afterwards about the problems in Interstellar‘s plot inspired me to create an exclusive podcast for subscribers to The Comic Muse Email Newsletter.

In the podcast, I use Interstellar to zip you through the basics of storytelling structure. Just 15 minutes and you’ll have completed your mission to a new storytelling galaxy.

Don’t get left on the ground! Enjoy the podcast by signing up right here for The Comic Muse Email Newsletter. It’s FREE!

I'm Ready for the Turning Point

Also, please keep in mind that throughout November I am presenting a series of posts at danielmcinerny.com which will itself comprise a very brief introduction to storytelling structure, a series I’m calling THE HAPPINESS PLOT. It’s perfect for fiction writers of all kinds as well as writers of narrative non-fiction, not to mention those doing work in brand storytelling.

I hope you’ll stop by and that you’ll sign up for The Comic Muse Email Newsletter and enjoy the exclusive content.

Filed Under: The Comic Muse Podcast, The Craft of Fiction, The Craft of Screenwriting, The Happiness Plot Tagged: , , , , , , ,
May 16, 2014 Leave a Comment

The Books on Writing I’ve Learned From Most

Aristotle, Poetics

The first principles of storytelling briefly and sometimes cryptically stated.

 

Linda Seger, Making a Good Script Great

I discovered this book some years ago now in a public library in Houston, Texas. Broke open for me the whole idea of story structure: inciting incidents, turning points, etc. Not just for screenwriters.

 

Robert McKee, Story

It’s big. It’s theoretical. It repays attention a hundred-fold. Read Seger first then let McKee take you even deeper into what makes a story work. If I could keep only one writing book on my shelf, it would be this one. Not just for screenwriters.

 

Dorothea Brande, Becoming a Writer

A book about what the title says. Invaluable advice on how to focus the mind for writing fiction.

 

Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners

Wit and wisdom from one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

 

Viki King, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days

Think the title sounds cheesy? I followed the program and produced a script, my very first, which got me a reputable agent in LA. A great resource for the overly-analytical.

 

John Vorhaus, The Comic Toolbox

Broke open for me the principles of comedy. If we can’t have Aristotle’s lost book on comedy, at least we have Vorhaus.

 

Stephen King, On Writing

I’ve never read a Stephen King novel but I’m greatly in his debt for this book.

 

David Mamet, Bambi vs. Godzilla

In this book Mamet reveals the Long Lost Secret of the Incas. Learn it. Memorize it.

 

I have on my shelf Percy Lubbock’s The Craft of Fiction, a book Graham Greene mentions in his autobiography. I’ve never looked at it but I aim to now.

Filed Under: The Craft of Fiction Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,