- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (25 Feb 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0898795958
- ISBN-13: 978-0898795950
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 466,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
20 Master Plots and How to Build Them
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Presents 20 fundamental plots that recur through all fiction -- with analysis and examples -- outlining benefits and warnings, for writers to adapt and elaborate in their own fiction.
About the Author
Ronald B. Tobias has spent his career as a writer moving from genre to genre, first as a short story writer, then as an author of fiction and nonfiction books and finally as a writer and producer of documentaries for public television. He is currently a professor in the Department of Media and Theatre Arts at Montana State University.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
The shelves of libraries are stacked with the stories of centuries, but out in the street, the air swarms with newly made fiction. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The shelves of libraries are stacked with the stories of centuries, but out in the street, the air swarms with newly made fiction. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the better "how to write" books that I've brought over the past few months or so, and i found myself rather pleasantly surprised by it. The tone was light, comfortable to read and each chapter is very in-depth. Rather surpring to me was the initial starting chapters-which I expected to be boring page filler/introductory text. But, they actually turned out to be some of the most helpful and informative tips on the subject of plots that I've read.
What I particularly found good about this book was that it raises points that made me think about my own story and its plot, and I found myself mentally applying the principles discussed in this book's pages to my own work.
The author uses clear and friendly writing to get accross a point, drawing from examples in both fiction and film. The author does not assume that you've seen most of what they discuss, so whenever a title is discussed, the author gives enough information to those that might not be familiar to the work being discussed. I didn't feel like I had to go and do several hours of reading homework before I could access this book and know what the hell the author was talking about.
I'll be referring to this book again as I write my own story. There are no winning solutions, but lots of sensible advice, much of which is pretty logical---but to a beginner like myself, it was invaluable and highly useful.
What I particularly found good about this book was that it raises points that made me think about my own story and its plot, and I found myself mentally applying the principles discussed in this book's pages to my own work.
The author uses clear and friendly writing to get accross a point, drawing from examples in both fiction and film. The author does not assume that you've seen most of what they discuss, so whenever a title is discussed, the author gives enough information to those that might not be familiar to the work being discussed. I didn't feel like I had to go and do several hours of reading homework before I could access this book and know what the hell the author was talking about.
I'll be referring to this book again as I write my own story. There are no winning solutions, but lots of sensible advice, much of which is pretty logical---but to a beginner like myself, it was invaluable and highly useful.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A cut above the usual stuff that fills most of the "how to write" genre over and over again. A useful look at the major categories of plot and what readers expect from each. This is NOT a write-by-numbers book. It could be especially useful for anyone who wants to experiment with writing different, and perhaps unfamiliar, types of stories.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read this book a couple of times. It is easy to follow and logically laid out. The author brings a wealth of practical experience to this work. This is a great book for a starter, it helps build a proper foundation for formula story writing. Thank - you Ronald.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Solid resource to make you think
This book is a decent read and will certaintly make you think. You may conclude that few decent films sit comfortably in any single plot type and using this as a blue print may... Read more
Published 13 months ago by M
Three 5-star books
This is great, but you should also get the wonderfully practical 'Plot and Structure' by James Scott Bell and completely brilliant 'The Seven Basic Plots' by Christopher... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Fergus O'Connell
20 Master plots
I bought this as I was preparing to start work on my latest writing project and it yielded some useful information, although some of the information in there can be arrived at once... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. M. Sanders
Finally some one who talks sense.
I've just finished reading it and I really like his writing style; clear, to the point, and humourous. Read more
Published on 5 April 2005 by Caroline
Great Basic Info
This is a wonderful book. Not too complex, and handy as all get-out. Readers have certain expectations, and this helps you make sure you've covered all your bases. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 1999
Look elsewhere for help with plotting
This author's style is arrogant and condescending toward certain genres. Overall, I found the book to be a rather boring read, and it hasn't helped me much in my efforts to create... Read more
Published on 26 July 1999
A great help for a beginner writer
As a begginer writer, I love this book. Very easy to read and urderstand. Besides the explanation of the 20 plots, the first chapters about plot and structure in general are... Read more
Published on 28 April 1998
Great handbook for Plot making/revising
Tobias includes Aristotles three parts of the play, then expands this into a list of "the lowest common plot denominators. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 1996
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
