Don't compare this to Campbell's work... it is not Mythology

books:


	• The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth James N. Frey St. Martin's Griffin, 2002 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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Worth reading, but not worth buying

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.

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Wish I had read this book before I wrote mine.

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

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Don't compare this to Campbell's work... it is not Mythology

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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Don't be misled by the title....

...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.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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.