The Secrets of Story

Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers

By: Matt Bird

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

The Secrets of Story is a revolutionary and comprehensive writing guide for the 21st century, focused on clever ways to get an audience to fully identify with an all-too-human hero. Authors will learn to how to cut through pop culture noise and win over a jaded modern audience by rediscovering the heart of writing: shaping stories that ring true to our shared understanding of human nature. Providing conversational advice that spans multiple disciplines - from fiction to film to creative nonfiction - Matt Bird's insightful techniques allow characters to come alive and stories to reach a new level of appeal.

©2016 Matt Bird (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

I Have Become A Fortune Teller

What did you like best about this story?

I've become a fortune teller after reading this book. I was watching a movie the other day I'd never seen and could predict many of the clique plot points, twists and turns thanks to this book. Amazing book on the process of writing a good story. Didn't realize how formulaic writing is especially for movies and TV shows. Really explains why there are so many bad movies and TV shows out there. Think Transformers or almost every comic book movie.

Any additional comments?

Author gives reader a formula on how to write good work. Got me thinking may be there should be, quote, bad writing and we should be able to create, quote, bad TV shows, books, and movies. I was kind of off put on how structured the creative process is and that's seen as a good thing. I'm not so sure.

Fantastic Reference Tool for Characters & Plot Dev

Matt Bird’s The Secrets of Story is the perfect book for any writer looking to tell a story whether they write novels, plays, screenplays, etc. I love to write and I’m always looking to improve my skills. Up until now, the only go-to book I ever used when it came to the craft was Stephen King’s On Writing. Matt Bird’s The Secrets of Story is just as good, dealing more with what makes for a good story more than anything. If you’re looking for tips on grammar and punctuation, this is not the book. But if you want to know what really appeals to audiences and what makes a good story tick, Bird dissects the formula for compelling stories and helps you to craft characters your audience will cling to. There are so many good pointers within this book, I couldn’t begin to nail them all for you in this review, but I will say this is a must have tool that I will refer to on a regular basis. Bird also provides worksheets and checklists on his website to help you better absorb what he is explaining and so you can see how your own fiction will hold up under scrutiny. This was another one of those books where I was iffy on the author also being the narrator, but in this case Bird does a superb job. He has a captivating voice and his stories are personable. There couldn’t be a better narrator for this book.

Great read!

Loved this book! I highly recommend to any writers or creators looking to learn the best way to craft a story, really insightful with many useful tools for story crafting.

Fantastic writer’s resource

If I had to choose one “on writing” book to give to a fellow aspiring writer, this might be it.

My new favorite primer on modern storytelling

Author, Matt Bird , delivers in spades both in teaching and in reminding us how to produce stories that sing on key (useful techniques) with heart (emotional resonance) and melody (memorable voice). I love his real-world examples which include his own personal testimonial on the significance of stories. I will be sure to tell everyone I know about this fabulous book as I plug away at my latest project, a middle grade graphic novel. Thank you to Matt Bird for sharing his story secrets.

Succinct

Succinct. The outlined points encouraged me to explore aspect of the novel I am writing from new perspectives. Inspiring.

Best Book on Fiction I've Read So Far

Sorry, this book is so complete and simple at the same time so thorough I would have to write all morning. You will be happy to have discovered it.

Worth every penny!

Where does The Secrets of Story rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've purchased many books on writing but this one by far provided the most clarity to what makes a best seller and/or what subtleties make a story more believable. Thank you Matt Bird!

What did you like best about this story?

I wish I could absorb this book into my cells so I can carry this information into each sentence and chapter! I've listened several times and learn or realize something new each time. This by far is the most descriptive or most inspired book on writing I've found thus far.

What does Eric Michael Summerer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has a great voice and really seemed to "get" the topics or points expressed as if he was a writer himself.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me gasp at the clear logic of the topic of writing a story so that everyone will want to read what you write.

Any additional comments?

I want more books by Matt Bird!

The Best in Show

Having read many, many books on the art of story, this one is hands down my favorite. It opened my eyes to all new ways of thinking about this seemingly-easy, yet dastardly-elusive task of story crafting.

I can’t recommend it highly enough.

This is a fiction writer's gospel.

I got this on a whim, but damn, was it a good buy!

I'm going to be referencing this book for ages.

Every chapter is packed with nuggets of truth, vividly describing the craft of storytelling.

You need this book! Get this book!