I've heard Matt Dicks on a podcast, and since I'm always trying to improve my storytelling craft I dove into his books as well. 

 

What to Expect 

Expect a very easy to read book, filled with stories and anecdotes that helps explain Dicks' take on storytelling. Dicks takes you through recognising moments in your life that could make a good story (and indeed, what makes for a good story), and then how to polish it and deliver it. 

 

What I liked 

I loved the tone of the book, very conversational and approachable. Dicks clearly has a gift for teaching through storytelling, and uses it expertly to demonstrate the concepts and points he's making. The advice itself isn't earth-shattering new (as Dicks himself points out), but his take on it makes it much more understandable and usable. 

 

What to be aware of 

Dicks focuses on telling real stories, anecdotes out of his own life that help illustrate the point. The reality and personal angle are important to generate authenticity and empathy in the listeners (and thus deliver the message to an engaged audience). While he uses these stories in both storytelling competitions and in the classroom, you'll need to take a critical eye and extrapolate some of the advice when writing fiction. Also, as Dicks insists the stories must be real to be authentic and engaging, this type of storytelling requires intense vulnerability and willingness to share. The main technique that Dicks recommends in finding such story-worthy anecdotes to turn into full story is a form of journalling, and much goes about this and the openness in telling being almost a form of therapy. This may work for you, but for others like me (intensely private people), this may be daunting. 

 

Felix's and Jack's Reviews 

Rather than let Felix and/or Jack read the book, I used some of Dicks insights to analyse my own stories. For example, what is the 5-second moment when a character's life changes by a fundamental insight? Or have I started as close as I could to the action, while setting enough background to make emotional moments more impactful to the reader? I think I have managed pretty well. On my blog, I'll go into a deeper analysis. But in general, my approach to this type of writing craft literature is to absorb (by reading and playing with the concepts in my mind), and let it percolate at the back while writing. Much of the magic of stories, just like the shine of diamonds, come with the polish of editing rather than the initial raw drafting. In those instances, the insights in this book can be tremendously helpful to a fiction novellist. 

 

Summary 

It's a great book to read, and I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to improve their storytelling skills (which, considering how important communications are in life, should be almost anyone). There is certainly value if you want to follow his advice on journalling, self-examination, and vulnerability to engage audiences (whether at the dinner table or at work), but even if you don't there is still a lot of good, practical advice about understanding stories and crafting them. Whether you apply it moderately to selected incidents and private audiences or in your craft as an author, it's a great resource and good skills to have in life. Highly recommended. 

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Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck are those Felix and Jack fellows? Glad you asked! Felix is the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome, and Jack is the police detective running the Unusual Crimes Squad, dealing in occult crimes in modern-day Australia. 

 

Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.