Once Upon A Time Writer's Handbook

by Kelly Olmstead

Practice Makes Perfect! This timeless adage is true of everything from bike riding to speaking a language. It's also true for writing. The most consistent piece of advice from professional writers is Write every day. It doesn't matter what you write, just write. Great. Write what? Welcome to the Once Upon A Time Writer's Handbook , where you'll learn how to turn the cards from the award-winning Once Upon A Time storytelling card game into the perfect framework for your own written stories. Written by Kelly Olmstead, with an Afterward by Andrew Rilstone and James Wallis.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2013

Reviews

[Paul Groos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem.
I came upon this book through the (very enjoyable) card game, which interested me as a professional storyteller. I've read a lot on stories, storytelling and writing, but this concise guidebook has a great information-by-page ratio. Useful exercises (owning the game is not necessary, but it helps) and a positive and encouraging tone as well as an extended example of the process of writing and revising make this a complete manual that can rival many bigger ones.
Recommended for writers, readers, role playing gamers and storytellers.

[Lisa Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't quite what I was hoping for, which made me glad I got the ebook instead of the pricier hard copy. I was hoping for a guide to present more options for solitary playthroughs of the Once Upon a Time card game and learn some fun new ways to use it to create stories (which I was already doing before I read this book). Instead, I got a pretty typical book about writing and story structure and all the things I've already studied and read about countless times. I did learn one new thing from it, which is Vladimir Propp's elements of the folktale, but I could have just as easily googled that without reading the rest of the book, which was rather dry. There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, and it could be useful to someone who has never taken a writing course or published a novel before. It just didn't provide much value for me personally.

[Kimberly McCollum · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son has gotten into story-telling games lately. He has been using them as a basis for writing his own stories. I got this book with him in mind, but I think he’ll have to be older to get anything out of it. In the meantime, it might inspire me to play with writing a story.

[Klyne O'Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to get ideas flowing. I especially like the part about revision where there is an example short story and how the author revises it.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read plenty of creative writing books in my time, and I really just picked up this one because I've had the card game sitting on my shelf since the late 90s, gathering dust. I always meant to use the cards as writing prompts, but never quite gave it a serious shot...until I bought this book.

This book is a quick, to-the-point, breakdown of building a well-told story. It gives a step-by-step guide on using the cards as a jumping-off point. It leans heavily towards fairy tale/fantasy stories (obviously) because of the nature of the cards, but could probably be used for other genres as well.

I was skeptical at first, but was able to build a nice little tale over only a couple days, on my second try. Which, as a person who gets stuck easily, surprised even me.

This guide is far from comprehensive, but it is a good place to start if you want a way out of writer's block, or simply need some way the get some practice. Also, it's damn good fun.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up thinking it only as a potential enhancement tool to the card games I own. It has turned out to be one of the best, most compact yet informative writing style handbook I've had the joy to read. It has re-kindled the muse, and I feel, with glances back through this book, I can start to finally hash out a story or two that's been lingering on the fringes of my imagination for some time. It's geared towards folk tales, fairy tales, or the epic quest; but, the guidelines proposed can apply to any type of fictional writing.
Because of its concise writing, and heavy ladened examples, it's a fast read. Before you know it you'll either be off and enjoying many rounds of the game or beginning your own quest to write a story!