As you might suspect, there are no hard and fast rules about how many stories to include, what length they should be or who tells them. A book can include long and short stories, told by you or others. Some authors set up a standardized way their chapters will be structured, and place their stories at regular intervals. Others allow themselves a lot of latitude by using different chapter structures with un-standardized need for stories. We'll take a look at two books that illustrate the difference between these styles:
Take the U Out of Clutter
I will use the book I co-authored with Mark Brunetz, Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on Style Network. Our book was divided into three sections and we used a different structure in each part:
Part One: You Make the Meaning / We used the Developmental Model
Part Two: Stories That Hold Us All Back / We used the Modular Model
Part Three: Clear the Clutter from the Inside Out / We used the Step-by-step Model
Even though the book used different types of book structure, our chapters followed a similar pattern, except for the first and last chapters. In the first chapter, we introduced ourselves and told our own stories about clutter to engage the reader. In the last chapter we briefly summarized the book and invited readers to contact us through our web sites.
For the chapters in between, we selected one story to be used throughout that chapter. Usually the story opened the chapter, but occasionally we made a few points prior to starting the story. Each story was presented in the first person by the main character in that story and a client of Mark's and included details of their interaction. The stories we used were based on real clients that Mark or I had worked with, but the identifying features were changed. Our chapters were short and easy to read with a structure that followed this basic pattern:
* Opening Story
* 2 or more points we presented that were identified by chapter subheads
* Practices to Live Out, Follow, or Apply (Exercises)
* Affirmations
Here is the opening of chapter 7: Sort Your Stories, Not Your Stuff
An airline pilot who has traveled the world many times over, Jorge has collected souvenirs from every place he has flown. When we met him, many of these items were still in their boxes, unopened. In addition to his stash of mementos, Jorge's garage held furniture, boxes of photos, gardening tools, and just plain junk.
Jorge told us:
I know that Mark has worked with a lot of people with clutter problems, but I think even he was surprised at how many things I was able to get into my garage. My wife, Arianna, is so irritated with me. We just bought her a new car and she wants to be able to park it in the garage. She told me if I didn't have it cleaned out by her deadline, she'd call in an expert. I missed the deadline. The next thing I new, Mark was here
Mark said, "Don't worry, Jorge. We'll get this garage in order in no time."
I liked his optimism but I had one question. "Where do we start?"
So, how many stories did Mark and I need for our book? We needed our two stories and then one story for chapters 2 - 15. Due to the fact that our book was highly structured, it was very easy to determine how many stories we needed. We needed 13 stories.
4-Hour Workweek
In contrast, is the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Tim writes with high-powered sales energy from start to finish, with a style all his own. Before his first chapter, he includes three introductory pieces that focused on his personal success story. Due to their unique nature, each piece had its own structure. They are:
FAQ-Doubters Read This
My Story and Why You Need This Book
Chronology of a Pathology
The remainder of his book is divided into four steps. The first letter of the titles of each section spell out the word DEAL. His last chapter is three pages long. It starts with an email, has a few remarks from Tim and then ends with a poem.
After the "last chapter" he includes a reading list and 7 bonus chapters. When you flip to the back of the book to read these bonus chapters, Tim informs you that in order to get them, you'll have to visit his web site. Very clever.
Without following the rules too stringently, most of his chapters are short, usually opening with a quote with two or more subheads. He ends most of his chapters with "Q&A: Questions and Actions" in which he gives assignments, answers FAQ and gives a pep talk to the reader. The stories Ferriss includes, and the way they are presented, are as varied as the rest of his book. Some chapters are devoted to one person's story. Other chapters he uses snippets of he tells in the first or third person.
Here's a short sample:
I once asked my mom how she decided when to have her first child, little ol' me. The answer was simple: "It was something we wanted, and we decided there was no point in putting it off. The timing is never right to have a baby." And so it is.
How many stories did Ferriss need? Since he used so many different approaches throughout his book, it would be very hard to predict all of the stories included. If your book follows in Ferriss's footsteps, a more accurate way of determining the number of stories you will need is to walk through a chapter and make a notation whenever you think one is needed.
The choice is yours to make. Will you use different stories in every chapter? Will you use one story per chapter? Will you use the same stories in all of your chapters? Decide upon a story strategy that aids your reader to better understand and apply your program.
Writing stories is my favorite part of authoring a self-help book. They bring a dimension of real life drama into an otherwise "instructional" narrative.
Take the U Out of Clutter
I will use the book I co-authored with Mark Brunetz, Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on Style Network. Our book was divided into three sections and we used a different structure in each part:
Part One: You Make the Meaning / We used the Developmental Model
Part Two: Stories That Hold Us All Back / We used the Modular Model
Part Three: Clear the Clutter from the Inside Out / We used the Step-by-step Model
Even though the book used different types of book structure, our chapters followed a similar pattern, except for the first and last chapters. In the first chapter, we introduced ourselves and told our own stories about clutter to engage the reader. In the last chapter we briefly summarized the book and invited readers to contact us through our web sites.
For the chapters in between, we selected one story to be used throughout that chapter. Usually the story opened the chapter, but occasionally we made a few points prior to starting the story. Each story was presented in the first person by the main character in that story and a client of Mark's and included details of their interaction. The stories we used were based on real clients that Mark or I had worked with, but the identifying features were changed. Our chapters were short and easy to read with a structure that followed this basic pattern:
* Opening Story
* 2 or more points we presented that were identified by chapter subheads
* Practices to Live Out, Follow, or Apply (Exercises)
* Affirmations
Here is the opening of chapter 7: Sort Your Stories, Not Your Stuff
An airline pilot who has traveled the world many times over, Jorge has collected souvenirs from every place he has flown. When we met him, many of these items were still in their boxes, unopened. In addition to his stash of mementos, Jorge's garage held furniture, boxes of photos, gardening tools, and just plain junk.
Jorge told us:
I know that Mark has worked with a lot of people with clutter problems, but I think even he was surprised at how many things I was able to get into my garage. My wife, Arianna, is so irritated with me. We just bought her a new car and she wants to be able to park it in the garage. She told me if I didn't have it cleaned out by her deadline, she'd call in an expert. I missed the deadline. The next thing I new, Mark was here
Mark said, "Don't worry, Jorge. We'll get this garage in order in no time."
I liked his optimism but I had one question. "Where do we start?"
So, how many stories did Mark and I need for our book? We needed our two stories and then one story for chapters 2 - 15. Due to the fact that our book was highly structured, it was very easy to determine how many stories we needed. We needed 13 stories.
4-Hour Workweek
In contrast, is the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Tim writes with high-powered sales energy from start to finish, with a style all his own. Before his first chapter, he includes three introductory pieces that focused on his personal success story. Due to their unique nature, each piece had its own structure. They are:
FAQ-Doubters Read This
My Story and Why You Need This Book
Chronology of a Pathology
The remainder of his book is divided into four steps. The first letter of the titles of each section spell out the word DEAL. His last chapter is three pages long. It starts with an email, has a few remarks from Tim and then ends with a poem.
After the "last chapter" he includes a reading list and 7 bonus chapters. When you flip to the back of the book to read these bonus chapters, Tim informs you that in order to get them, you'll have to visit his web site. Very clever.
Without following the rules too stringently, most of his chapters are short, usually opening with a quote with two or more subheads. He ends most of his chapters with "Q&A: Questions and Actions" in which he gives assignments, answers FAQ and gives a pep talk to the reader. The stories Ferriss includes, and the way they are presented, are as varied as the rest of his book. Some chapters are devoted to one person's story. Other chapters he uses snippets of he tells in the first or third person.
Here's a short sample:
I once asked my mom how she decided when to have her first child, little ol' me. The answer was simple: "It was something we wanted, and we decided there was no point in putting it off. The timing is never right to have a baby." And so it is.
How many stories did Ferriss need? Since he used so many different approaches throughout his book, it would be very hard to predict all of the stories included. If your book follows in Ferriss's footsteps, a more accurate way of determining the number of stories you will need is to walk through a chapter and make a notation whenever you think one is needed.
The choice is yours to make. Will you use different stories in every chapter? Will you use one story per chapter? Will you use the same stories in all of your chapters? Decide upon a story strategy that aids your reader to better understand and apply your program.
Writing stories is my favorite part of authoring a self-help book. They bring a dimension of real life drama into an otherwise "instructional" narrative.
To learn how to get your book published download my free article, "The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract" at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html
Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.
Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.
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