How to Write Stories That Work
- And Get Them Published
An e-course for writers who are serious about being successful
• Write stories that attract readers using the secret language of fiction.
• Have a published book in your hands with your name on it.
What’s different about this course?
• This course is all about the PHYSICS that makes
'hero's journeys', three-act structures, character
development and all those other things work in fiction.
• It contains the principles that lie behind
almost all other advice you'll ever read about.
• This course doesn’t tell you about getting published,
it walks you through the entire process
- at a fraction of the cost.
• Become an independent publisher empowered to
print and distribute your own work
from the moment you complete the course.
Forty years of study of fiction enabled me
to unlock the answers to the following questions:
• How powerful do your ideas have to be
to make your book work?
• What makes characters attractive
- and what doesn't?
(And what actually is a 'character'?)
• How can you get guaranteed
emotional commitment from readers?
• What is the invisible force which drives plots forward
and glues the reader to each page?
• How can you make sure that you don't
disappoint your readers?
Without confident answers to these questions,
you have very little chance of attracting readers.
I've always been fascinated by fiction -what it is,
why it works, why we read it.
I wanted to know why certain books appealed to
me, and why others didn't.
I wanted to know how some stories achieved
spectacular effects, while others fell flat before
they even got going.
I wanted to know why some authors held me in a
spell, while others struggled to keep my attention.
What was it about the works of C. S. Lewis or
J. R. R. Tolkien that had such a powerful effect
on me and on thousands of others?
How did J. K. Rowling manage to gain so many
followers?
Why did some authors make it commercially, while
others struggled all their lives?
What were the secrets of the 'master authors'?
Why did writers like Shakespeare and Dickens have
god-like status?
How did movie makers like George Lucas or
Steven Spielberg come up with hit after hit?
What was happening to create television
success stories like Doctor Who or Friends?
Were there common denominators behind all
successful fiction?
What mechanisms were at work in these stories
that got such results?
Everything in this course is based on my
extensive 40-year study of English literature
and popular fiction, ranging from Shakespeare
to contemporary movies like Star Wars or the
Marvel superhero films or American television
sit-coms, as I tried to answer these and other
questions.
Work examined during the course includes that
of master authors like Hardy, Austen,
E. M. Forster, C. S. Lewis and many others.
Students also get to examine film hits like
It's a Wonderful Life or Captain America:
The Winter Soldier, and TV smash hits like
American situation comedy Friends.
What they find is something truly amazing,
something that takes their breath away every time:
All successful stories have distinct patterns
in common.
This isn't about 'the hero's journey' or
three act structures; this is about simple
fundamentals that are so simple and so
fundamental that they will change the way you
look at fiction forever.
You read so many stories as a child, and at school, loving them or hating them without really knowing why.
You encounter so much fiction through films, plays and the internet, and are drawn to it or repelled by it without understanding the forces that are at work.
You accept so many standard things, like characters and plots, without questioning how they are affecting you.
Fiction can be taken apart, right in front of you, with its components laid out before you like the pieces of an engine - and when it is, you will truly appreciate what it does and how it accomplishes its effects on you.
There are five basic mechanisms at work in any good story:
These create forces which act to
• attract you to a central figure, which you know as a 'character' (you'll find out what a 'character' really is and how to build a convincing one in minutes -and it has nothing to do with listing out what he or she would do in certain situations)
• compel you to turn page after page to find out what happens
• stick you to every scene until you can figure out what is really going on
• involve and engage you by asking you to make moral choices
• captivate you completely in the author's main message and drive you forward to the story's conclusion.
If any of these mechanisms are missing or not functioning at full capacity, a story loses its power to move its readers.
You, as a reader, lose interest; your attention wanders; you predict too easily what will happen; you put down the book or walk out of the cinema or switch off the television.
Effectively, the story fails.
Introduce any of these mechanisms (not even all of them) and a story can pick up your interest, grab your attention, surprise you, and glue you to your seat until the tale is done.
Apart from these five basic mechanisms, there are other things too which most good stories contain:
• a set of incredibly distinct and amazingly universal archetypes (quite different to those you might be expecting)
• a sequence of happenings which propel readers and viewers forward time after time, even though they have seen the same sequence many times before
• four powerful and moving endings which create lasting impact on readers and viewers
• 'attention commanders' embedded in the tale which tell you what to expect and what the story is really all about.
Once you know how the engine of fiction is constructed, you will never be able to read a book or watch a film or attend a play in the same way again.
But, rather than spoiling your fun, you'll become an expert, and be far more able to appreciate the magic and the craft of story-telling.
You will become a 'story-whisperer', able to see things in and do things with fiction which will seem like magic to those around you.
Your own favourite stories will suddenly come to life in new ways; you will immediately appreciate how your favourite authors had such an effect on you.
And you will become expert in doing the same things in your own fiction.
In 2016, this material, the result of four decades of research and testing, was condensed into the book How Stories Really Work, about which you can read more here.
But I was struck by the excitement and questions generated by the book, and so I went further, and developed a course from the book which consists of 12 easy to apply modules.
Step by step, you learn to
• manage your time so that you get writing actually done
• understand the five basic mechanisms which control and guide reader attention
• develop genuinely attractive characters along universally workable lines
• work on your writing style so that it reflects your underlying themes and intentions
• construct a bridge to your exact target audience
• deliver powerful emotional messages which can change readers forever.
You also learn how to
• proofread and edit your own work
• format a manuscript ready for publication
• independently publish your own work
• market and sell your own published book to readers.
At this point, you may be thinking, 'What is all this going to cost?'
But, because I have reduced all this material down into an easy-to-read pdf format, which you can download directly to your computer or even to your phone, this isn't going to cost a fortune.
Feedback as you progress
• As the course continues, it becomes
more and more ‘tailor-made’ to fit your needs
• You get a direct line to me and precise tips
for your fiction.
• All submissions from the course are looked at live
using over 40 years of experience in studying
fiction of all kinds.
• You will get feedback on how to use your ideas,
how to develop your characters, how to attract
readers and get emotional commitment from
them and a whole lot more.
Publishing your work
In the second part of the course, you’ll
•get into print for real
and
• learn how to market your own book
to the masses through Amazon and others
Once you have your story ready, based on
the advice you'll get in this course, you’ll have
a proof-read manuscript that has been
edited into shape.
You’ll get instructions on how to get your manuscript
formatted, page numbered and so on.
Then you’ll get published, to your specifications.
Unique, Exclusive Material
This e-course contains unique, exclusive material
not to be found anywhere else on the planet.
It’s based on 40 years of research and work in the
field of literature.
It’s been field-tested with students over fifteen years.
Become a master author and gain:
• a profound knowledge and insight into
how stories really work
• the secrets of master authors
through the centuries
• how to design attractive characters
• how to glue readers to the page
•how to build a workable plot
•how to fulfil your readers’ expectations
‘I was extremely impressed. This is not idle flattery.
You’ve done a superb job in uncovering the
factors that go into making a great piece of literature.’
-B.R. (Executive)
‘This is an absolutely amazing achievement!
I highly recommend it to anyone interested
in writing fiction.’
-T.R. (Student)
'It’s beautiful, informative, essential reading for anyone who wants to write fiction.
It’s almost a responsibility point,
you’re committing a crime if you don’t get it
into peoples’ hands!!!’
-B.R. (Author)
'I'm reading through "How Stories Really Work."
I've studied writing books for years but I've
never seen anything like this!
This book is REVOLUTIONARY.
Everything is made so simple and precise that other
methods of writing seem clumsy by comparison.
It's not just a way of writing, but a way of seeing.
-A. P. (Author)
Your book is teaching me all the stuff that the other books don’t! I can learn all about three-act structures and all that stuff elsewhere -this book is telling me exactly
what to put INTO the structure! It makes writing
so easy and you can immediately spot
where you’re going wrong!
Excellent!’
-L.J. (Professional)
Skills you will master:
• Energise your creative ideas
• Implement the secrets of the master authors
- ranging from Shakespeare and Dickens
through to modern television and screenwriters
• Be able to proofread and edit a work
• Become empowered to self-publish
any kind of work you wish in the future
• Understand how marketing and sales work,
what makes them tick and how to apply them
to your book(s)
and more.
The whole course,
complete with bonus material,
is worth £1,000s.
It's available now for £700.00 -with big discounts for Inner Circle Writers' Group members and Inner Circle Writers' Magazine subscribers.
That’s complete with a
30-day money-back guarantee
in the highly unlikely event that you’re not happy with your purchase.
That means there is
no risk at all
in purchasing this course.
• This is designed as a
twelve-week course
but you can do it in whatever
units of time you wish.
• The first week is an overview and
provides help in planning your time
so that the rest of your life doesn’t
get in the way of you getting the
most out of the course.
• All modules are contained in
one complete course pack
a pdf downloadable document,
so you can read and work on
them wherever you are.
• You can
ask questions during each module
and I’ll answer them personally ASAP.
• During certain weeks, you’ll be able to
submit your work for a tailor-made critique.
• After the course ends, you’ll have
access to the course with all its modules
for as long as you like
in case you need to go through them
more than once or can’t work through them
all during the course.
• On application at the end, you’ll receive an
invitation to join a
private Facebook group
so that you can connect with other writers
if you wish to.
Through the comment sections, Facebook group
and feedback sessions, you’ll have the opportunity
to connect with each other, get support
and encouragement and get personal feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will the course take?
There is a huge amount of material in this course
- much, much more than a normal writing course.
In the first part of the course there are tools for
managing time and other commitments, but
remember that you don’t have to do this course
in twelve weeks if you don’t want to.
The weekly modules are yours to manage them
however you wish.
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts as soon as you sit down to do it.
It is a completely self-paced e-course.
You decide when you start and when you finish
and how much time you spend on it.
How long do I have access to the course for?
You have
unlimited access to the whole course for as long as you like
across any and all devices you own.
You can download the materials and even print them
if you like, so you can keep them offline.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
It’s hard to imagine that you would be,
but if you are,
contact me in the first 30 days and
I'll give you a full refund.
Just email:
Have a question that isn’t covered here? Simply email me at
and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Ready to begin?
Remember, the course includes a comprehensive
Marketing Programme
AND
TWO sets of bonus material:
How to Succeed in Business as a Writer
This bonus package, worth £1,995.00 in itself,
is the simplified version of a
business mentoring procedure
especially adapted for writers.
You’ll learn the basics of how to operate your writing life
as a business, how to manage readers as customers
and much more.
AND
How to Achieve Your Personal Goals!
In this package, worth hundreds of pounds in its own right,
you’ll be taught how to apply the basics of success to yourself
and your immediate family and friends.
That’s complete with a
30-day money-back guarantee
in the highly unlikely event that you’re not happy with your purchase.
That means there is
no risk at all
in purchasing this course!
