¡®If you want to write a novel or a script, read this book¡¯ Sunday Times
¡®The best book on the craft of storytelling I¡¯ve ever read¡¯ Matt Haig
¡®Rarely has a book engrossed me more, and forced me to question everything I¡¯ve ever read, seen or written. A masterpiece¡¯ Adam Rutherford
Why stories make us human and how to tell them better.
There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story – but few have used a scientific approach.
In this incisive, thought-provoking book, award-winning writer Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us.
Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories – and make sense of our chaotic modern world.
INCLUDES NEW MATERIAL.¡®Rarely has a book engrossed me more, and forced me to question everything I¡¯ve ever read, seen or written. It¡¯s a masterpiece. I am in awe¡¯ Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived
¡®The best book on the craft of storytelling I¡¯ve ever read¡¯ Matt Haig
¡®Easily the best book I've read this year¡¯ Hannah Fry
¡®Reading this book feels like cheating. It gives you an unfair advantage over other writers. A fascinating new way of looking at writing and how to exploit the fact that storytelling is hardwired into our brains¡¯ Charlie Higson
¡®A brilliant, accessible and very human book not just for writers but for anyone interested in how the mind works £¿ not least their own. Will manages to be both detached and compassionate on every page, sometimes within the same sentence. That such a complicated book is so easy to read is testament to his clarity of thought and skill as writer. A stupendous achievement¡¯ Robert Webb
¡®A hugely compelling reading experience. Storr¡¯s superb exploration of the enduring appeal of the novel offers a smart, fascinating exploration of the science and psychology behind our most sophisticated art form that also works as an effective how-to guide¡¯ Alex Preston, Observer
¡®If you want to write a novel or a script, read this book. It is clear, compelling and tightly shaped around one fascinating and productive idea ¡¦ Storr wants to free writers from programmatic, plot-based writing guides, and his approach feels liberating¡¯ Sunday Times
'If you¡¯ve ever read a book, watched a movie, binged a television series, or tried to write one, this book is mandatory reading. A truly revolutionary look at the how and why of storytelling¡¯ Craig Pearce, screenwriter of Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby
¡®So much more than a book about how to write stories. It¡¯s a book about what it means to be alive¡¯ Tim Lott