Winners and Losers

By: Paul Beck

Narrated by: Alec Sand

Originally course notes for a university level creative writing class, this book blossomed into something far more profound.

Author’s note: “Our creative writing class was trying to come to some concrete conclusions about the characters we were designing and discussing. We needed a simple and straight forward system to design characters that travelled well on what writers call a character arc. In a story, you want some characters to change. They are called round or dynamic characters. Some characters don’t change and are called flat or static characters. We needed a path for the characters to travel, a code for them to follow. So we decided on a design principle where characters were one of two things, winners or losers. It worked out brilliantly.”

More than just a 724 point list, this book is part philosophy, part poetry and part standup comedy routine. It will change the way you write, change the way you think, and ultimately change the way you live. Winners and Losers is a thought provoking and sometimes controversial examination of the human character. Every page is guaranteed to provoke discussion, dissonance and laughter.

©2009 trout lake media (P)2009 Trout Lake Media

horrible may even be a practical joke

This was not a book. It is not philosophical, educational, or even entertaining. its literally a little over an hour of a guy listing things that make people winners and losers. "If you are X you're a winner". "If you're Y, then you're a loser". Although it was only 4 dollars, I am going to try to get my money back out of principle.

WHAT. IS. THIS.

This "audiobook" is on sale for $3.91, and for good reason. This is one of the worst pieces of writing I've ever encountered: unoriginal, unimaginative, and certainly far from "thought provoking" and "controversial." HOW this made it to a recording studio, (much less to a publisher) is beyond me. An open mic night would have been more engaging. The Publisher's Summary said: "More than just a 724 point list, this book is part philosophy, part poetry and part standup comedy routine."
Mmm. No. It's just a 724 point list- and a negative point list for that matter. The Publisher's Summary also said: "It will change the way you write, change the way you think, and ultimately change the way you live." Really. (How presumptuous!) It didn't change the way I write, think or live. So... No, no and no. (Sorry for the hostility. It's surprising even to me. Can you imagine what my review would have been if I had paid MORE than $3.91? :-)