Into The Woods (2014) By John Yorke

"All tales, then, are at some level a journey into the woods to find the missing part of us, to retrieve it and make ourselves whole."

Every now and then, I will indulge in a book on writing, as an exercise in learning and exploring writing, in the hoped of improving my own. I am, however, wary of the books I choose, as I do not wish to be pigeon-holed into one way of thinking, or indeed writing. I found a lot of use in Stephen King's 'On Writing', and Yorke's book on storytelling was next on the list for me to get through.

"A character’s want is a superficial conscious desire for the thing they think they need in order to present themselves to the world..."

Yorke takes his readers through a journey of storytelling structure, context and explanation, often postualting and theorising in a rather metaphorical, and occasionally poetic, manner. His reasoning all feels rather succinct, although, perhaps, it could be argued that he overwrites, and therefore over-explains, some chapters.

"The conflict between how we wish to be perceived and what we really feel is at the root of all character."

The style and form of the writing is easy and approachable, which certainly made it a more appetising read. I found myself enjoying the story he was sweeping me up into, as he attempted to traverse the nature of storytelling and characterisation. I will say this, however; I found him incredibly repetitive at times, which irritated me somewhat.

"...the midpoint of each film is the moment when each protagonist embraces for the first time the quality they will need to become complete and finish their story. It's when they discover a truth about themselves."

The actual content - the information he was divulging - was all rather useful, rather intriguing and well-conceived. Yorke quotes, references and utilises a great many names and works to deliver his points, and, very usefully, features extracts and even graphs, to further illustrate them.

"Theme is a writer’s interpretation of life. As anyone who’s observed the judicial process will tell you, the stronger both sides argue, the more riveting the trial. If a writer is going to make an argument about life, then they really should test it to destruction."

Overall, I won't say I found this book particularly revolutionary, at least on a personal level, but I did find certain aspects of it helpful and enlightening. While I do believe that, for example, the aforementioned Stephen King book; 'On Writing' was better and more universal, I will not take away from the very positive aspects of Yorke's book. It has plenty of constructive information, especially for less experienced writers.

"Yes, of course the audience has to relate to your characters, but they don’t need to approve of them."