Universal Grammar of Story: An Author’s Guide to Writing for the Soul of the World

The Universal Grammar of Story: An Author’s Guide to Writing for the Soul of the World takes readers on a transformative journey into the profound structure underlying all narrative forms. Hazel Denhart’s many years as an educational researcher and master writing teacher bring practical steps for unlocking creativity by revealing the universal principles and patterns that make stories captivating and meaningful across cultures and throughout history.

This is no ordinary writing guide, but like Fritjof Capra’s Uncommon Wisdom, The Universal Grammar of Story transcends boundaries by weaving seemingly incompatible fields into spellbinding unison. Humanities, psychology, logic, medicine, physics, and mythopoetic philosophy combine as if they have always belonged together in this most comprehensive resource for the writing craft.

Drawing from the wellspring of our collective unconscious, Denhart explains primal story structure found in archetypal storytelling techniques. Authors gain leverage over and through writer’s block with methods to advance their emotional and intuitive intelligence in harmony with logic. The Universal Grammar of Story is an essential resource for writers, filmmakers, and anyone interested in the art and science of storytelling. It makes a timeless gift that writers will use again and again throughout their careers for guidance and inspiration.

In this masterpiece of storytelling psychology, Denhart offers writers clarity and direction amid the chaos and confusion of your story’s messy initial arrival. Writers will also find momentum for that inevitable moment when a story goes on strike and refuses to cooperate in the telling but insistently demands to be finished.

Denhart brings this fascinating theory down to earth with entertaining, humorous, and dramatic moments from her most unusual life. The book is packed with examples that bring complex theory to life and clarify them in vignettes from the life of her students as well as entertaining examples from plays, films, classic literature, philosophy, and history.

CONTENT

The Universal Grammar of Story is divided into four parts covering:

1. The “CALL TO WRITE”: how we hear and respond to the personal and collective unconscious with logical, emotional, and intuitive forms of intelligence.
2. The POWER OF LANGUAGE including simple changes writers can make in their everyday speech to supercharge their creative work.
3. The CORE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE of all stories, and
4. How to recognize and shape the POWER OF MYTHOLOGY AND MYSTICAL PHILOSOPHY that naturally materialize in stories.

This edition is the 5th printing of The Universal Grammar of Story includes a revised table of contents, a new introduction, and an updated index. A companion workbook and game of the same name are available to give writers a playful means for learning the key elements and techniques of the philosophy and method.

The Universal Grammar of Story: An Author’s Guide to Writing for the Soul of the World is a philosophical and technical wonder that will leave a lasting impact on anyone who ventures into its pages.