A Story is a Promise & The Spirit of Storytelling

This new edition of Bill Johnson's writing workbook has three sections, each designed to help new and experienced authors alike to better understand the craft of storytelling.

A Story is a Promise explores the mechanics of how a story transports an audience. It offers great advice about story structure to new authors and authors doing revisions.

Deep Characterization explores what happens when story characters are an extension of authors. Any author who has been told their novel's minor characters were more interesting than a main character need to read this material.

The Spirit of Storytelling suggests techniques for authors to create characters with fully realized inner lives; characters who are vibrant, dynamic, and resonate with readers.

The book includes a detailed reviews of All the Light We Cannot See, Romeo and Juliet (the play), The Shawshank Redemption, and The Usual Suspects (movies). These reviews are meant to help writers understand the underlying process that creates popular stories.

From author Carolyn J Rose, "Bill's work made me take a longer look at what matters to readers - and what matters to me as a reader - at the emotional core. I feel my characters are deeper and more memorable because of what I learned."