5 books that'll make you a better storyteller
I believe storytelling is a million dollar skill.
No, I don’t mean you’ll make a million dollars by writing a book. There’s only a a 1–2% chance of landing a book deal without a pre-existing audience.
But if you want to:
Differentiate yourself online
Attract a like-minded audience
Build an online business
Storytelling is the underrated skill you need.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours studying storytelling—much of it dedicated to reading books on the craft.
Each of these books focuses on storytelling in fiction. But the best businesses and marketers use the fundamentals of good storytelling because it helps them communicate their message.
Here are five of my favorite books about storytelling.
1. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
Christopher Vogler is a Hollywood screenwriter and story consultant who worked with Disney during their 90s renaissance.
His book, The Writer’s Journey, came from an internal memo he wrote while at Disney, explaining Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and how to apply it to screenwriting.
I’m a big fan of Campbell’s work, but I admit The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a tough read. That’s why The Writer’s Journey is such a helpful resource — it simplifies the Hero’s Journey and makes it accessible.
In it, Vogler breaks down Campbell’s insight into story structure and character archetypes.
The beauty of the Hero’s Journey is that it helps storytellers give their readers a psychological payoff. By the end of the story, readers feel like they’ve gone on a transformative journey with the hero, even if the character didn’t physically change locations.
It’s about psychological growth and change, something all readers crave in a story.
2. The Bestseller Code
In his master’s thesis, author Kurt Vonnegut purposed all stories follow one of eight basic plot shapes.
Although his idea wasn’t well-received by the literary community, it turns out he was right.
In The Bestseller Code, authors Jodie Archer and Matthew Jockers spent years creating an algorithm and feeding it bestselling books. They discovered that stories actually do have shapes.
They also learned that bestselling books like The Da Vinci Code or Fifty Shades of Gray have a regular rhythmic “beat.” This beat comes from the main character experiencing regular good fortune and misfortune over and over until the end. Solve one problem, and another appears.
The book is insightful, but there’s more.
The algorithm Archer and Jockers created is now available to the public. On the website, Authors.ai, you can analyze your novel draft.
You’ll get a report that covers your story shape, character traits, and story beats. Members also get access to reports from a library of bestselling fiction, so you can compare your work to some of the most popular books of all time.
Of course, they don’t guarantee you’ll write a bestseller, but it’s a useful tool.
3. Save the Cat Writes a Novel
The original Save the Cat is a screenwriting book Blake Snyder. It’s both loved and reviled in storytelling circles, depending on who you ask.
In Save the Cat Writes a Novel, author Jessica Brody uses Snyder’s framework and concepts from his original book. I used this method to write a novel a couple of years ago.
The Save the Cat Method focuses on fifteen story beats. If a writer hits each of these beats in their story, they have a shot at spinning an interesting yarn. You also get to see famous books broken down into beats using this method so you can understand how it works.
Brody also gives helpful advice on creating characters that readers will care about. Character creation is an art, and she breaks down a method for creating characters readers will love.
Finally, the book takes a deep dive into genres and how they help you understand reader expectations about the story you’re writing.
Whether you like the Save the Cat Method of writing or not, it’s worth understanding.
4. The Writer’s Guide to Harry Potter
This one may not interest some of you Muggles, but it’s magic for us Potterheads.
In The Writer’s Guide to Harry Potter, S.P. Sipal asks the questions every children’s an YA author wants to know. What makes the Harry Potter series so good?
Sipal dives into the entire series and discusses elements from the books like:
Character development:
How will Harry finally defeat Voldemort?
Crafting a mystery:
What really happened that night in Godric’s Hollow?
Reader payoff:
Whose side is Snape on in the end?
World building:
Who wants to try a chocolate frog?
She dives into the elements J. K. Rowling used in writing Harry Potter and breaks down skills that any writer can learn that will help you sprinkle some magic into your storytelling.
While this will be of most interest to writers who love Harry Potter, it’s insightful even if you’re only minimally acquainted with the books.
5. Million Dollar Outlines
Most people have never heard of David Farland, but we’ve all been influenced by him.
Farland worked for Scholastic in the 90s when they purchased the rights to the Harry Potter books. Even though the books were popular in the UK, Scholastic still feared they were too long for a children’s book.
Farland read the first book and loved it. At his insistence, Scholastic made Harry Potter their lead title when it was published, meaning the publisher gave it a special push that year. And, well… you know the rest.
But Farland also taught a fiction writing class at BYU, where he mentored a young Stephanie Meyer when she was writing Twilight. He also mentored Brandon Sanderson, who’s written many bestselling fantasy and sci-fi books.
His book, Million Dollar Outlines, is nothing less than a masterclass in storytelling. It compiles his years of experience as a writer and teacher and is a goldmine of wisdom, especially for sci-fi and fantasy writers.
This comprehensive guide covers everything from story theory, right down to a plotting process that will help you avoid writer’s block.
He may become your favorite writing coach.
Storytelling is a Skill
Lots of people say they’d like to write a novel, and some even start. But few take the time to learn about storytelling as a craft.
If you want to improve your storytelling skills, I recommend starting with these books. Whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay, or even a video game, you can benefit from the lessons here.
Happy writing!