A Story is a Promise offers a clear, concise look into the mechanics of how to tell a story and how a story engages and rewards the attention of an audience. Examples are used from popular books, movies, and plays, including a scene by scene breakdown of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and reviews of The Usual Suspects and the novel The Lovely Bones, which includes a story diagram to help new authors to understand how to plot a story.

The Spirit of Storytelling focuses on how writers can give their story character fully realized internal lives. This new section includes reviews of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse and Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler.

The book is a great resource to help new writers understand the process of telling a story, how to make good choices for describing characters, and how to set up a plot that makes a story compelling.

Learn how to write a great play, screenplay, or novel through understanding successful writers. Learn from the masters!