The Story Equation

How to Plot and Write a Brilliant Story with One Powerful Question, Brilliant Writer Series

By: Susan May Warren

Narrated by: James L. Rubart

Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover The Story Equation!

One question can unlock your entire story! Are you struggling to build a riveting plot? Layered characters? How about fortify that saggy middle? Create that powerful ending? You can build an entire book by asking one powerful question and then plugging it into an “equation” that makes your plot and characters come to life.

You’ll learn how to build the external and internal journey of your characters, create a theme, build story and scene tension, create the character change journey, and even pitch and market your story. All with one amazing question.

Learn:

• The amazing trick to creating unforgettable, compelling characters that epic movies use
• How to create riveting tension to keep the story driving from chapter to chapter
• The easy solution to plotting the middle of your novel
• The one element every story needs to keep a listener up all night
• How to craft an ending that makes your reader say to their friends, “Oh, you have to read this book!”

©2016 Susan May Warren (P)2019 Susan May Warren

Glad it came out in audio format

i've owned this book in paper format for awhile and i'm glad it came out in audible format.

it's one of my more useful writing books that skips the fluff

Excellent for New or Seasoned Writers

I really wish this book had been around twenty years ago - it would have saved me 2 decades of hard work and millions of worthless words. Thank you SO much for sharing your Story Equation with the writing community. Susan May Warren, you are my hero!

GLAD I BOUGHT IT, but several flaws...

LOVE the book, but its execution as an AUDIOBOOK has several critical flaws:
1. MALE reader for a FEMALE author is a DIS-SERVICE to the author - WHY DID SHE DO THIS??
2. USELESS CHAPTER NAMES like "Chapter1" etc are SO AGGRAVATING! There is SO much knowledge in this book which must continually re-visited, you need REAL, SELF-DESCRIBING TITLES - FIX THIS!!

Start from darkness

I love the method to start with the most difficult moment of your hero, and to build everything else from that.

Good information, annoying plugs to purchase...

... the writer's other products.

This does a good job covering the basics of storytelling. It doesn't offer anything new. I have no problem having this information hardwired into my brain, so I won't hold lack of originality against this. What did bother me, though, as mentioned in the headline, were the plugs. Only two of them, I think. But they were jarring.

Also, the writer makes it known she's a Christian. There's no proselytizing, but I don't recall other authors of writing books mentioning their faith.

The girl's in the basement love

thisc book. I learned new story telling gems each time. I have pa per and digital. audible version caught oedition of this book.
Highly recommend

Great tool for my clients!

This is a tough book to have as an audible, but it seriously helpful when you need to hear the ideas in full context.
As a book editor, I find this book helpful and a great tool to help my clients see how to map their stories while creating unforgettable characters. I plan to make this a mandatory read for each of my authors.
Overall a great tool.
The reason for my 4 stars is because of the way performance is somewhat jagged in his delivery. I imagine that it is largely due to the subheads and sections. It's not really a make or break deal for me. I still got what I wanted from the book.

if there's one question from this book ?

it sounds like it's going to have one question that's going to help then it spends more time on an introduction then when he gets to anything that could be useful he starts going too quick without even using a comma or breath so you can't think about what he's saying cuz he's already on to the next thing it's one of the worst audio books I've ever heard.
just terrible like seriously I'm not going to return it cuz I only spent a couple bucks during a sale but if they're trying to tell me there's one main question and then babble babble babble babble babble without breathing yeah I hate this book I'm hate listening to it now and I will never buy anything involved with anybody in this again have a nice life

Basic Information, Poorly Delivered

This is some of the most basic storytelling information available. If you've read a single other book on the craft, then this will be 100% rehashed information you already know. If you haven't read a book about story, then there are far better introductions. I don't really know who this book is meant for.

What makes it worse is the production. The narrator's voice is grating, and the whole thing was amateurishly slapped together. For example, one of the chapters ends with thirty seconds of the narrator making countless attempts to say a specific passage, trying different ways to pronounce a specific word. That clearly should have been edited out. Did no one actually listen to this audio book before it was put on sale? Shocking.

A good start if you're writing Happily Ever After

If you're writing YA pulp romance, or aspiring to, this is a good primer for analyzing your main character and fleshing out a few important beats.

If you're writing anything else I think you'll find the SEQ hard to adapt. It is strongly skewed for a single MC, so if you're writing an ensemble piece you'll have to add your own bits of the eqation to the extent you won't be using what Susie May has written.

Some beginning writers will fine this very helpful. More advanced writers should not waste their money.