User Profile

Mr Ingermanson takes us through his Snowflake Method of storytelling using the vehicle of a charming Goldilocks and the Three Bears fanfiction. The story is cute, even if the Snowflake Method doesn't work for you.

This writer has my respect. Normally, I'd give a writing methodology book three stars before trying it out, but The Snowflake Method earned another star from me because the author makes it very clear that writing methodologies that work for some writers won't work for others - something that books, like Save The Cat, don't acknowledge.

I will update this review once I have tried out the Snowflake Method.

For the first half, I felt like I was reading a collection of disjointed stories, wondering where the plot was, and I almost DNF.
I stuck with it because Prentice's life is so much like mine during my coming of age - easily influenced by intelligent adults around me, my crisis of faith as a teenager and the return of a close-knit Scottish town to find everyone changed. So I kept reading out of curiosity: How much is Prentice like me?
On the one hand, I'm glad I stuck with it because those disjointed stories were like the chain lift in a log flume. 75% in, clunk, there was the plot, and along with it, suspense and dread for the protagonist, jacked up to 100, and woah, that's a cracking steep drop!
I can't recommend this to someone struggling with a short attention span unless, as I did, those …

A dry and thankfully short read.

The protagonist does little more than roll around in bed complaining about his pain and the unfairness of his situation despite it being self-inflicted. As a housebound, barely-mobile sufferer of chronic pain myself, I find it hard to feel sympathy for Ilych, who makes his pain and self-inflicted depression everyone else's problem despite having the privilege of a generous opium supply - a strong painkiller and a controlled substance in the modern age, even for the terminally ill.

The reason why I did not give this novel one star is because Ilych's complaining and the interactions of those who knew and lived with him came with a few interesting insights on the themes of domestic abuse, death, depression and success vs wealth. I intend to re-read it mindfully and with a highlighter to pick those insights out and any more I might have missed …

If you can, I recommend listening to the audiobook. The stories make more sense when you can hear the voice telling them. 
When I made this purchase, I did not know that "How to Tell a Story" is aimed at prospective Moth participants who tell only real personal stories. It's like stand-up comedy, but instead of just making your audience laugh, you make them experience one of your core memories. If that sounds powerful, you understand why I gave this five stars.
I did not know that The Moth existed, and due to the limitations of my disability I may never attend one, but this book will stay with me for the rest of my career. I have found the advice in it essential as a fiction storyteller. It has helped me understand what makes a story impactful.

This was one of my favourite books as a child, and it was a no-brainer to give it five stars, a rating I now reserve for the books I consider "life-changing." However, as an adult, I now have to drop a star. Let me explain.

This book changed my life because it taught me that I could beat the bad grown-ups in my life by becoming smarter than all of them and reading lots of books. This is a good thing to teach children.

It also taught me that when a teacher (or any other adult) discovers how intelligent and special you are, they will rescue you from your terrible life. This is not a good thing to teach children. It makes them very, very vulnerable for reasons that I will not make explicit.

I would still not deny any child the joy of reading this wonderful classic story, but …