""'There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can defeat it.' Thus spake Tyrion in the final episode of Game of Thrones, claiming the throne for Bran the Broken. Many viewers liked neither the choice of king nor its rationale. But the claim that story brings you to world dominance seems by now so banal that it's common wisdom. Narrative seems to have become accepted as the one and only form of knowledge...

Scenes are the building blocks for any work of fiction--the DNA sequence that makes a novel un-put-downable and unforgettable. When writers are able to craft effective, engaging scenes, they can develop a complete, cohesive story--and a mesmerizing experience for readers. Make a Scene Revised and Expanded Edition takes you step-by-step through the elements of strong scene construction and demonstrates how the essential aspects of a compelling story--including...

Elements of Surprise opens with an novel but narrow focus: how a particular cognitive bias, the "curse of knowledge," underwrites stories that rely on what it calls "well-made surprise," as seen in (for example) classic detective fiction--that is, surprises in novels, films, television, and plays that set us up to be fooled in ways we find pleasing and satisfying. But from there, the book expands its reach. At its core, "cursed" thinking underlies...

Presents advice on the basic elements of narrative prose, covering point of view, sentence length and complex syntax, indirect narration, grammar, punctuation, and the sound of writing.

"Narrative innovation is often thought to be the domain of the avant-garde or the experimental. However, manipulations of viewpoint and timelines and other unconventional techniques, have been part of popular American culture and storytelling since at least the 1940s. How did different forms and styles once regarded as "difficult," become mainstream and familiar to audiences? As David Bordwell demonstrates in Perplexing Plots, popular narratives have...