Customer Reviews

The Way of Story: The Craft & Soul of Writing

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This book could not come at a worse time for me. In the middle of buying film equipment, trying to put finishing touches on two scripts, editing a friend's screenplay and working through an out-sourcing at my work - the last thing I needed was a book with a lot of "high-falutin'" words and abstract comments when it comes to writing. Just tell me about story and lets get on with it.

That, of course, was my assumption. How pleasantly surprised I was when the book I read was an honest, open and easy read about "Story." I will admit that, sometimes, I want to get away from books that take storytelling to a level of grandiose and mythic proportions. Where I almost tremble with fear when I put pen to paper or digits to keyboard - but this book is not that. This book is a straight-forward and very basic book about story. ALL about story: Character Development, Structure, Dialogue and, of course, Conflict. And more.

Is it a book for "Beginners?" I do not know if I would classify this book as "How to Write a Story 101" - but I can tell you that Ms. Jones's format is one that is very basic and very truthful and that anyone starting to write or an old (unproduced) veteran such as myself can learn something in these pages and can grow as a writer. In some ways I would say this book does an excellent job of reeling in the abstract to get a writer back to the basics and I, frankly, think we all need that once in a while.

Where the book falters, a bit, is in the fact that most every chapter ends with "Exercises" to do. Out of all my classes and many conversations with writers I've never met one person who said that they did the exercises found in books such as these. Most of the time they're too excited and want to move on to the next chapter. I would rather the exercises be moved to the back of the book or removed altogether and replaced with more horror (and not so horror) stories of Ms. Jones's journey from the stage to Hollywood. And yes, dear readers, this book is written by someone who has actually had success in Hollywood and knows what she is talking about.

One other plus in this book is that she fills the book with quotes on writing. Wonderful quotes from all across the spectrum. I will include one of my favorite quotes that she did not include:

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and open a vein." Walter ("Red") Smith - American Sportswriter

Bottom line: Ms. Jones does a wonderful job reminding the reader that it is all about the story. This is a great book for beginners and professionals alike.

The Way of Story may appear as a deceptively simple memoir/manual, but it is not. Catherine rockets you into the essentials of craft, as well as urging you to dig deep into yourself and transmit your emotions to the page, and the story.

Few books simultaneously pay equal attention to both the architecture AND the soul of the story. Finally, I think the book offers gems to both novice and experienced writers, including advice and a bounty of challenging exercises to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page. I wish I'd had this book when I started!

It was the subtitle of this book about writing that drew me to it: The Craft and Soul of Writing. The use of the word "soul" in connection with writing stopped me in my tracks. I too believe that good writing comes from the soul, yet my writing always has sounded more like a lawyer's brief than a soulful memoir or story. And so I wondered... Might this book free me from my mental prison? My hopes soared when on the first page, I read, "The whole of life can be a meditation, even writing." Clearly, I was in the hands of a philosopher as well as a writer. Here was a book which combined practical guidelines with spiritual experience.

I left the bookstore, looking at the book's unusual cover--a picture of an elderly fellow seated in a large old rowboat, its empty space in the rear crowded with colorful flowers. He uses a single wooden oar to paddle through the wide open sea as sprays of watery foam hit his face and obstruct his view. I see this as a metaphor for the obstacles and endlessly murky situations humans encounter as they row their way through each and every day, experiencing both the beauty they enjoy and the unpredictable vicissitudes that inevitably become obstacles along the way.

Numerous brilliant, relevant quotes by famous people appear on every page of The Way of Story. They remind the reader of the importance of soul to writing, of the path that writing must take in order to include the elusive soul. I read the profound and unique philosophies of such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Rimbaud, Harold Clurman, Lao Tzu, and many more, all of whom guide us to honor the soul. And we honor the soul by listening, by being still, by believing passionately in ourselves. "Passion," Jones writes, "must come first, then craft. The essence of Art is to use the outer form to convey an inner experience. This sacred thread, your innermost being or Soul, binds you emotionally to what you write, and if given respect, will lead you on to the desired end. Stories written from this center will move mountains--and even create livelihoods. Years ago, when interviewed by the New York Times about my approach to teaching, I was quoted as saying, 'We've become lopsided living only in our heads. Writing, in order to serve the Soul, must integrate outer craft with the inner world of intuition and feeling.'"

This book has become my bible because I am among those who are lopsided. And for all those writers who believe they are lopsided, Jones offers excellent guidance. Among the numerous suggestions she offers is a remarkable exercise called Soul Dialogue, in which she guides us to envision our soul, to learn from it what it wants, what it truly wants, and sincerely wishes to communicate to others. This message pervades her book. One of the many quotes I will always remember comes from another spiritual teacher--Butoh, a famous Japanese dancer: "The Soul is the important thing. Form will follow."

Form is the craft; soul, the art and passion. The author insists that the goal of writing is to reach the essence of feeling. She shares stories revealing how she has achieved this. An example was a day when Jones was in an acting class with the famous teacher, Uta Hagen. Jones was playing Ophelia. Having already played Shakespearean roles for a well known director in England, she felt confident that her improvisation was a good one. Until Ms. Hagen shouted, "I want you to play an Ophelia I believe goes to the bathroom!" At the time, she was stunned by her failure, but she carries this lesson over to writing. "Characters," she reminds us, "must be three-dimensional, grounded, and not just an extension of the writer's projected aesthetic imagination."

The essence of the author's advice is to dare to be personal. Jones reminds us that how we remember is how we give meaning to our lives. Lao Tzu asks, "How do I know about the world?" His answer: "By what is within me"--five important words I have placed on my mirror where I can see them each morning before I begin my day.

Catherine Ann Jones does not overlook the supreme importance of craft, and she is nothing less than inspiring in her chapters delineating the various genres. She covers the more obvious and less interesting ones (to me) such as structure, rewrites, outlines and dialogue. But her book is about so much more--about the voice of character and how to convey it, the unexpected synchronicities of writing, the resource of memory, the writer's voice, discovering your personal myth, one woman's remarkable story. She believes we must pay no attention to what will happen to the work, whether it will succeed in the marketplace, whether it will even reach the marketplace, quoting Robert Frost... "All the great things are done for their own sake."

There is no way to do this book justice in a brief review. Like most things in life, this book must be experienced to be fully known and appreciated. I can promise any student of writing, experienced writers, and anyone merely interested in learning more about the craft that this book will make you glad you did not leave it behind in the bookstore.

by Duffie Bart
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

After a ten year sabbatical from "serious" writing while I concentrated on making a living as a technical writer; and a three-year bout of taking care of and eventually saying goodbye to failing parents, it seemed that every original, clever, creative idea I ever had for story, character, or setting had been flushed out of my head with Drano.

Right-brain cluttered and left-brain heartbroken, I could barely find the spirit to pick up a pencil, let alone get down to serious writing. Catherine's book, The Way of Story, helped me renew fertility to those little places inside me that nurture creativity and desire to write, and trust that all those little idea seeds have stored inside them everything I need to create a fantasy world. The result was a renewed writing spirit and the completion of a novel as haunting and beautiful as I imagined it could be.

I am especially grateful for the wise and insightful choice of quotes Catherine included from great writers and philosophers. These have often led me down paths I might not have explored. While I have done many of the exercises, some of them several times, I've yet to complete them all and look forward to those little bits of time I reserve to seek out another one to try. My copy is watermarked and dog-eared and paper clipped and written in throughout. Of all the books I've collected over time on the subject of writing, this is the one that resides on the little bookshelf next to my bedtime reading lamp.

THE WAY OF STORY: THE CRAFT AND SOUL OF WRITING
by Catherine Ann Jones
At last! A writer who inspires writers to write while at the same time sharing her insights into and experience of the actual writing business. Spice is added to the mix with anecdotes sprinkled throughout about the many famous creative people she has known and met.
'To be an artist of any kind in a time in history that does not value the creative fields provides a continuing tension in relation to the art of survival. Still, you have the advantage of living your dream,' says Jones. After relating an incident where a wealthy NY doctor told her he had always wanted to be a writer but hadn't because his father who had been a doctor expected him to
be one too, she notes that he probably earns a lot more money than she does, then quotes sculptor Louise Nevelson, who said, 'You pay a price for what you do, and you pay a price for what you don't do.' Jones comments
that 'the plain truth is you must choose which price to pay'. She believes that those who do not do as they want to do pay the greater price, and says, 'The challenge is to hold the tension and let it work within you in a
creative, constructive manner...This inner tension aids in creating complex characters strong enough to hold the chaos.'
Yes but HOW does a writer create such characters? In a chapter entitled 'Creating Character-Driven Stories', Jones offers pointers to what she calls the 'solid craft' of writing, plus some additional advice to ease the pain of being an unknown, underpaid or forgotten writer, and inspiration to carry on despite all odds set against one, quoting people like Goethe, who observed in 1771: 'Where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest.'
She even offers a whole chapter called 'Transcending Writer's Block', considering what it is and how one may counteract the depression that often accompanies it. 'Creative people are committed to risk,' she nobly says, which somehow clarifies the situation and calms the upset the artist feels when everything is seeming to go badly wrong on the material level.
But even success, as she has found, can cause an emptiness to grow in the soul. This led her to escape her success on a coastal walk in Cornwall where she experienced an epiphany upon hearing a small thrush
singing 'for the sheer, natural joy of singing, not for agents or critics'.
Then she relates how a publisher rejected Emily Dickinson's poems in 1866, offering to teach her grammar. Dickinson's poems were found only after her death 'wrapped in a carefully sewn parcel, hidden under the carpet'.
As Catherine Ann Jones says, sometimes time and space are required to 'prepare the ground' for writing, as is courage to 'risk everything for the moment' while remaining 'open to change'. Finally she reveals her secret: that writing arises from meditation on something greater than herself, that it is her way of expressing her connection with that greater something.
Aside from the invaluable exercises and tips on what she calls the writer's 'craft', this is a deeply personal and honest account of what it means to be a writer, and of how to use writing as a meditation practice so that your intuition may be freed enough that it will just possibly lead you to the door of greatness.
- Amy Corzine, Author of THE SECRET LIFE OF THE UNIVERSE: THE QUEST FOR THE SOUL OF SCIENCE (Watkins, UK, 2008); a graphic novel adaptation of JANE EYRE (Classical Comics, UK, 2008); and TAKE THE KIDS: IRELAND (Cadogan Guides, UK, 2nd ed. 2006)

I found The Way of Story one of the most helpful books I've read for a long time. It's detailed approach of the subject, the wonderful and personal insight of the writer and the excercises she presents helped and inspired me tremendously.

Each time I read The Way of Story, something leaps off the page, pulls me by the hair and inspires me to pick up my pen and WRITE! I say to aspiring writers everywhere, if you want to write, read this book! Cathrine Ann Jones is a master mentor. Her fully integrated, holistic approach combines the insights gleaned fom her professional career as an award-winning playwright and screenwriter with the great wisdom gained from her personal life and inner discoveries. This book gives me the solid writing skills I need to craft the stories I want to tell... and the freedom to express myself with total abandon!

Visit the web site of Cathrine Ann Jones at www.wayofstory.com

Namaste, Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50, Yoga and The Wisdom of Menopause and stories that will soon see the light of day!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's not like other writing books, full of tecniques and formulas. What I liked about the book is it mainly focused on trusting your heart and point of view as a writer. You have to dig deep in yourself to understand why you write and when you can umderstand why you write you'll inderstand character and dialogue, etc.
This book is great for the beginner who has no experience in writing, especially if you are into mythology and writing. It's a good primer to books like The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Story and Anatomy of Story. For the pro you might no find a lot of this new but it really does uplift the writers spirits.
I had my problems with the book. I think about 20% was repetitive. I found myself skimming in some places. First half she name dropped so many times and often repeated the same names and how she knew them over and over. Thankfully she stopped doing that after a while. The best part about the book for me is the quotes from pheromone writers she used.

The Way of Story enables the reader to understand the practical format of good story telling and also how to go deep and bring a sacredness and profundity to the narrative. We all tell our own stories - understanding the deeper meanings for ourselves adds profundity to our own lives. A beautiful book!

I'm in love. In love with story -- on the page, on the stage, on the screen, and in everyday life. And if not in love, I at least have a crush on this book and its author.

In The Way of Story, Catherine Ann Jones has crafted a great book on craft. Not just the craft of story, but the craft of living -- because she understands that stories are 'equipment for living.'

We live stories and solve problems through stories. The writer's job is to not only create great stories but to create ones that help us understand our own.

In this book, Catherine shows us how to do that. And so much more.

Yes, I'm in love with story. Read this book and have a love affair too.

Derek Rydall
There's No Business Like Soul Business: A Spiritual Path to Enlightened Screenwriting, Filmmaking, and the Performing ArtsI Could've Written a Better Movie Than That! : How to Make Six Figures as a Script Consultant Even If You're Not a Screenwriter