I consider myself very fortunate to have Brian McDonald as a teacher and friend. I could probably go on far longer than this post would allow, embarrassing him with praise for his amazing storytelling ability. So Ill just let the professionals do that. For those of you who want to learn and better yourself in the craft of storytelling, get The Golden Theme and his previous book, Invisible Ink. You can also check out his blog here. Cheers!
“Brian McDonald is one of the world’s wisest teachers of
the elements that create great storytelling. On this subject,
you can trust everything he says, because there is simply no
angle or aspect of storytelling – what stories mean and our
experience of them – that he has not deeply reflected upon
(and from the standpoint of numerous disciplines in the
sciences and humanities), then drawn a conclusion that we
can take to the bank….
…If I had not retired last year from teaching classes on literature and
the craft of writing at the University of Washington, I would place
McDonald’s two books before my undergraduate and graduate students as
required reading…
…So my recommendation is quite simple:
If you a writer in any genre, read The Golden Theme. If
you are a non-writing reader who just loves stories, read it. If
you are a teacher, share it with your students. And give it to
friends, who will thank you for the clarity Brian McDonald
so generously brings to our lives.”
-- Charles Johnson: National Book Award Winner
"Writing stories is hard. They are stubborn by nature. No matter how many times you master one, the next story is obligated to conceal its faults with an entirely new disguise. Your only recourse is to keep writing, while concurrently increasing your understanding of this deceivingly simple, yet highly complex, organism we call story. Brian McDonald's insightful book does just that. Somehow, Brian has found yet another fresh and objective way to analyze how great stories function, and emboldens you to face the challenge of scaling whatever story mountain looms before you. If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read 'Invisible Ink'."
-- Andrew Stanton
"Writing stories is hard. They are stubborn by nature. No matter how many times you master one, the next story is obligated to conceal its faults with an entirely new disguise. Your only recourse is to keep writing, while concurrently increasing your understanding of this deceivingly simple, yet highly complex, organism we call story. Brian McDonald's insightful book does just that. Somehow, Brian has found yet another fresh and objective way to analyze how great stories function, and emboldens you to face the challenge of scaling whatever story mountain looms before you. If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read 'Invisible Ink'."
-- Andrew Stanton