Books : The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 808
EAN: 9780312300524
ISBN: 0312300522
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: August 03, 2002
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Sales Rank: 238588
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Myths, says James N. Frey, are the basis of all storytelling, and their structures and motifs are as powerful for contemporary writers as they were for Homer.
In The Key, novelist and fiction-writing coach Frey applies his popular "Damn Good" approach to Joseph Campbell's insights into the universal structure of myths, providing a practical guide for fiction writers and screenwriters who want to shape their ideas into a powerful mythic story.
Amazon.com Review:
"You don't begin with meaning," according to fiction writer Rick DeMarinis, "you end with it." A critic approaching a story from a mythological standpoint might find a mythological theme, but "there are as many themes in a story as there are critical theories." Hogwash, says James N. Frey. "Mythic structures, forms, motifs, and characters ... are 'The Key' to writing more-powerful fiction," and it is a fiction writer's job to imbue his or her work with them. In The Key, Frey describes each of the mythic qualities (ascribed to the mythic hero, the "Evil One," the "Call to Adventure," and the other elements of the mythic journey) and offers examples of how to use them in one's writing. Don't get the wrong idea. Frey is not interested in academic or overly intellectual writing. Sure, he invents a Proust-reading Nevada cowboy to illustrate the concept of "The Hero's Lover," but there are more references here to James Bond than to Homer. Frey advises using first-person journal writing to get to know one's characters. He emphasizes fiction's need for conflict at every turn. And he recommends working from a premise, as it helps one know what to leave out (everything in the story must work to further the premise). Frey defines every possible mythic character or situation, then insists one not feel confined by them all. "The mythic pattern is not a straitjacket," he says, "it's Play-Doh. Have fun with it." --Jane Steinberg
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
As both a author and reader of fiction I was impressed with The Key. I guess that I just like books that can hold my interest and make me think at the same time. I recommend this book. Time keeps me from writing a longer review but I wanted to get something posted.
Tommy Taylor
Rating: -
...this is not a book on writing Myths. Rather, it is a book explaining how humans have for millenia crafted great stories using mythic structure, stories that appeal to countless generations, even into modern times. Did you know that "Columbo" can be explained via mythic structure? Or that "The Godfather" is also a mythic-based tale? Frey explains the use of the traditional element of mythic structure in modern writing, and shows the writer how to craft modern stories based on it, stories that can be as compelling and exciting as any ancient tale that has lasted through the centuries.
As a professional writer and teacher of writing, I have found this to be the best of Frey's four books on writing, and recommend that if you are serious about crafting damn good fiction, that you get a copy of this book and read it.
Rating:  -
This book is about an approach to writing based on Joseph Campbell's book, "The Hero with 1000 Faces" which is well known and considered a useful guide to writing because George Lucas famously based his script for Star Wars firmly on its principles. Better and more detailed books about the theory of using myth for writing are out there, such as Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey."
What Frey tells you about in this book is not wrong. I personally find the elements of the monomyth more helpful for composing a story with a begining middle and end than the well known devices of outlining or considering conflict, the buildup of tension and the resolution. It gives you something concrete to go on. Frey's way of explaining it though seems to have a bit more air and vagueness than the subject requires. You're getting the information second-hand when you're getting it from him, and my judgment of the sections of his own writing that he includes as an example leads me to say you're getting it from a mediocre writer here as well.
This book also has all the earmarks of the kind of how-to product that is more marketing campaign than substance. Frey has a catch-phrase that he works into the title of several books, he gives you vague advice while implying that he knows his subject very deeply, and that his method works very well for him. Frey seems to be drawing the reader on with his "Damn Good" brand much like Kiyosaki does with his "Rich Dad" brand, giving advice so ... Read More
Rating:  -
Frey takes the deep and universal themes explored by Joseph Campbell and reduces them to a simple template for writers of fiction to follow. This can be handy for aspiring writers, but the danger is that you'll end up with very shallow characters and stories unless you explore this subject much more extensively. And although the summaries of particular themes are helpful, you would probably be better off going straight to the source and reading Campbell yourself. Otherwise you run the risk of spitting out a cookie cutter story that has all the technical ingredients of myth-based fiction but nevertheless fails to capture the reader because the story itself isn't compelling. If, as I did, you can find this book at your local library, it is probably worth your time to read it. However, I certainly wouldn't pay much money for it.
Rating:  -
I have read many of Joseph Campbell's books. I have not read any of Frey's other works (but I'm ordering "How to Write a Damn Good Novel" today), but I have read "The Key" - and I felt it was a good book.
I thought this book very entertaining and quite useful. I have seen other reviews that claim this book is "The Readers Digest version" of Campbell's work, and other such statements. In Frey's defense, Campbell's work doesn't teach you about writing, it teaches you about Mythology. Those reviews don't make good comparisons; so, instead I will compare "The Key" to a similar work I have read: Steven King's "On Writing".
King's "On Writing" is wonderful, inspirational, and entertaining. I would say the same for Frey's "The Key". Where King's "On Writing" is more about how he writes, with suggestions towards your writing, Frey's "The Key" is more "step by step". "The Key" seems more for beginners, but I could see a more advanced writer gleaning some good ideas from it, or coming to realizations they had not thought of before.
"The Key" is a bit repetitious, much as a basic text book might repeat key ideas; however, I find this useful and not overdone. I also appreciated the many examples given, and the example story. This is something that is often missed in any sort of "How to" book. I tend to learn better from examples, so I really appreciated that effort.
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