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Title: The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth by James N. Frey ISBN: 0-312-30052-2 Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.76 (17 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Overly simplistic, but possibly helpful
Comment: If you're not willing to read the many exciting books on the role of myth in story creation (like Campbell's classic, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces"), Frey's book may be a shortcut. But don't be duped into thinking he's done all the work for you.
Believe me, this ain't a "Cliff's notes" version of the harder books on mythology -- it's the Reader's Digest version. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you know what you're getting.
As a previous reviewer noted, Frey is too limiting in his definitions of who the protagonist and antagonist can be in your story (he overlooks completely the fact that an antagonist need not be a person at all -- it could be the weather, or a giant whale, or an entire town, among other things).
Also, many of Frey's plot and character suggestions are too dramatic, and would have no place in literary fiction, where readers demand a greater degree of subtlety. But if you're looking to write rollicking adventure stories, and you want to see how other authors have used mythology to create a firm, workable structure for their stories, this book may be the right place to start.
I wouldn't stop there, though. If you want to write works of any depth or meaning, it would be better to move on -- if Frey manages to pique your interest in the power of myth rather than just turning you off -- to the harder, but more insightful stuff than Frey offers in this limited book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Changes the way you read and see movies
Comment: The Key is a straightforward book that provides writers with the basic tools and knowledge needed to create our own mythic journey, wheter it's set on present time or on some other fantastic timeless place. Reading The Key is like having your own personal writing instructor by your side. James Frey provides the reader with multiple examples of the terms and, characters, functions and mythological structures a myth-based novel should have. He even writes a short example of a novel which works great as a demonstration of the power of the myth. After reading it, you'll find yourself analysing all movies and books you read, and you will discover that this specific way of writing suits almost every situation and plot. From Gone with the wind to Star Wars, the hero and his journey lie deep within our subconscious mind, and The Key does a great job at remindg us that.
Rating: 3
Summary: Already been done
Comment: The book is basically a rehash of Christopher Vogler's classic "The Writer's Journey." Frey's book covers exactly the same concept, however, his focus is more basic and directed toward novelists versus screenwriters. (If you read Vogler's book, and you're a novelist, you'll do just as well if not better.)
I might have liked this book more if I hadn't read Vogler's first which covers the concept much more comprehensively. One reviewer noted he's using Frey's book as a 'template' rather than a 'guideline.' Fine, if your goal is cookie-cutter fiction. (Vogler's book specifically warns against using mythic concepts in this way.)
If you want a simple introduction to myth-as-story, this book will do. (In fact, the entire book is summarized in a single chapter toward the end. If you must have it, borrow the book from the library and photocopy the chapter.) But if you really want to fully explore the potential mythic structure has to offer, this book comes up a bit short.
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Title: How to Write a Damn Good Novel : A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey ISBN: 0312010443 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 December, 1987 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: How To Write A Damn Good Novel, II : Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey ISBN: 0312104782 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Nancy Kress ISBN: 0898799058 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: May, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, Dave King ISBN: 0062720465 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 16 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Immediate Fiction : A Complete Writing Course by Jerry Cleaver ISBN: 031228716X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 13 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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