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How to Do Things with Stories
- A Guide to Transformative Storycraft
- Narrated by: Mattias Martens
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
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How to Do Things with Stories
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Publisher's summary
A story is evidence of a transformation. We write of what has transformed us; what we write will transform others. Stories build the human collective world because they encode the two challenges each of us will face again and again: the challenge of facing the unknown and emerging anew; and the challenge of understanding each other.
To live is hard. To write is hard. The difficulty of writing is tied to the difficulty of living. The difficulty of remaining coherent while staying in motion. In stories, we face the unknown. But storytelling itself is not mysterious. There is a rhyme and a rhythm to the process of crafting an impactful story. Learn how to tell stories that stay with your listeners, by planting in them a question that will be the seed of their transformation.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
At the time of his death, Italo Calvino was at work on six lectures setting forth the qualities in writing he most valued and which he believed would define literature in the century to come. Here, in Six Memos for the Next Millennium, are the five lectures he completed, forming not only a stirring defense of literature but also an indispensable guide to the writings of Calvino himself. He devotes one "memo" each to the concepts of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity.
By: Italo Calvino, and others
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The Romantic Manifesto
- A Philosophy of Literature
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 272
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 169
In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned collection of essays, Ayn Rand throws new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again, she demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let conventional ideas define her sense of the truth. Rand eloquently asserts that one cannot create art without infusing it with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy - even an attempt to withhold moral overtones only results in a deterministic or naturalistic message.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Essential AYN
- By Mica on 07-15-08
By: Ayn Rand
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The Artisan Soul
- Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art
- By: Erwin Raphael McManus
- Narrated by: Erwin Raphael McManus
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 275
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus, author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles, pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence but reveals how we can craft our lives into works of art. There are no shortcuts to quality, and McManus celebrates the spiritual process that can help us discover our true selves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bravo
- By Achley on 05-20-16
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Six Walks in the Fictional Woods
- By: Umberto Eco
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 81
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
In this exhilarating book, we accompany Umberto Eco as he explores the intricacies of fictional form and method. Using examples ranging from fairy tales and Flaubert, Poe and Mickey Spillane, Eco draws us in by means of a novelist's techniques, making us his collaborators in the creation of his text and in the investigation of some of fiction's most basic mechanisms.
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5 out of 5 stars
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big ideas presented simply
- By Ashton on 01-31-14
By: Umberto Eco
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Directing Actors
- By: Judith Weston
- Narrated by: Judith Weston
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 147
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Story5 out of 5 stars 146
In this essential guide to acting, internationally renowned directing coach Judith Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, and what directors do wrong. She also goes over script analysis and preparation and how actors work, and she shares important and helpful insights into the director/actor relationship.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Directing Humans
- By Jacob Moore on 10-15-19
By: Judith Weston
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All Things Shining
- Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular World
- By: Hubert Dreyfus, Sean Dorrance Kelly
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 145
The religious turn to their faith to find meaning. But what about the many people who lead secular lives and are also hungry for meaning? What guides, what approaches are available to them? Distinguished philosophers Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly explain that a secular life charged with meaning is indeed within reach.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Book that refreshes the classics
- By Tod on 06-14-11
By: Hubert Dreyfus, and others
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Conversations That Matter: Insights & Distinctions - Landmark Essays, Volume 2
- By: Steve Zaffron, Laurel Scheaf, Mark Spirtos, and others
- Narrated by: Gale LeGassick, Steve Zaffron, Laurel Scheaf, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
Landmark Essays, Volume 2 continues a wonderful journey to the heart of the matter of our lives, to what matters most. It points out what's possible if we step outside of what we know, and recognize and embrace our capacity to bring forth an entirely new possibility for living—not because it is better, but simply because that is what human beings can do.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A part of this was worth buying
- By goyo on 12-14-11
By: Steve Zaffron, and others
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William Blake vs the World
- By: John Higgs
- Narrated by: John Higgs
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 95
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story5 out of 5 stars 82
A wild and unexpected journey through culture, science, philosophy, and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best book ever
- By idamae on 11-04-22
By: John Higgs
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The Courage to Create
- By: Rollo May
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 173
What if imagination and art are not, as many of us might think, the frosting on life but the fountainhead of human experience? What if our logic and science derive from art forms rather than the other way around? In this trenchant volume, Rollo May helps all of us find those creative impulses that, once liberated, offer new possibilities for achievement. A renowned therapist and inspiring guide, Dr. May draws on his experience to show how we can break out of old patterns in our lives.
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5 out of 5 stars
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May takes on the Creative Act
- By Lowball on 01-16-19
By: Rollo May
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The Daily Laws
- 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Robert Greene
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 908
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 757
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Story5 out of 5 stars 754
From the world’s foremost expert on power and strategy comes a daily devotional designed to help you seize your destiny.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Chapters are Busted
- By Colin on 10-12-21
By: Robert Greene
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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
- How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
- By: Jason M Baxter
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story5 out of 5 stars 98
C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By andrew wilson smith on 03-08-22
By: Jason M Baxter
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Story
- Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
- By: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,234
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,490
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,455
Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress, and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese, and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives, and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Only 5 Chapters
- By Stephen Buck on 02-15-11
By: Robert McKee
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Choice Words
- How Our Language Affects Children's Learning
- By: Peter H. Johnston
- Narrated by: Peter H. Johnston
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills, they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Check it out at the library or don't
- By Lesley on 04-01-12
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The Inside-Out Revolution
- By: Michael Neill
- Narrated by: Michael Neill
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 774
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 662
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 656
Would you like to experience amazing clarity, peace and freedom, even in the midst of challenging circumstances? In this ground-breaking audiobook, bestselling author Michael Neill shares an extraordinary new understanding of how life works that turns traditional psychology on its head. This revolutionary approach is built around three simple principles that explain where our feelings come from and how our experience of life can transform for the better in a matter of moments.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Real
- By Tad Davis on 05-03-16
By: Michael Neill
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50 Self-Help Classics
- By: Tom Butler-Bowdon
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 312
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4 out of 5 stars 113
Discover the books that have already changed the lives of millions. This award-winning, unabridged guide to the "literature of possibility" surveys 50 of the all-time classics, giving you their key ideas, insights, and applications, everything you need to know to start benefiting from these legendary works.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Surprisingly Interesting
- By Cathy Dopp on 10-15-06
What listeners say about How to Do Things with Stories
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ray Doraisamy
- 05-09-23
For anyone intent on changing worlds
Focusing anything on a specific external outcome is unreasonably effective.
This book outlines a way to write stories with an external outcome in mind. While this is aimed at the written word, it fires for effect on anyone who wants to make things happen with their stories.
The structure it proposes for this purpose is:
1. Make the reader care.
2. Ask a dramatic question.
3. Dramatic question exposes theme question.
4. Answer dramatic question.
5. Invite them to think about the theme question.
This is dense with useful information, much like the ambiguity (or double meanings to incite a feeling of uncertainty) that the author advocates for using.
What I took away from this is the importance of setting up choices for your audience, in the same way that one would when designing a game. To that end, I'm going to review Choose Your Own Adventure novels to see if there's anything more to be learned about doing this with captive prose (as opposed to say, a text-based game).
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