Learn how the greatest stories, in all media, were crafted.

Photo credits

“Read – and then re-read – this elegant exploration of storytelling.”

Tracy Letts

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

“This is the straight dope – all the tools you need to craft a hell of a great story.”

Paul Giamatti

Emmy Award-winning actor

Book cover: 27 Essential Principles of Story

“Read – and then re-read – this elegant exploration of storytelling.”

Tracy Letts

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

“All the tools you need to craft a great story.”

Paul Giamatti

Emmy Award-winning actor

Opening spread of Chapter 1, Drop the hammer.

Free chapter

Read “Drop the Hammer” free

Get a full chapter of 27 Essential Principles of Story, plus instant access to the Resources Library: cheat sheets, checklists and guides for writers. And be the first to hear about new courses and content.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Consent(Required)

Purchase your copy of 27 Principles…

Why put in this work?

1

Tell the story that’s been stuck in your gut like a bullet.

2

Earn real confidence by mastering the fundamentals.

3

Face the blank page with a whole different mind-set.

4

No slick jargon, no academic blather.

5

Skip the $$200,000 degree.

6

Fix weak dialogue and vapid characters.

7

Feel the rush when the principles feed off each other.

8

No one knows how great your story could be, not even you.

9

Kill writer’s block.

10

Write your story. You’re not building a bookcase from Ikea.

The book open to Part Three: Essential Principles of Setting, Dialogue, and Theme

Rave Reviews

“Get this book immediately!”

J. Quinton Johnson

Actor (Hamilton) 

“Dan is a master of narrative craft and his book will help you become one too.”

Adam Davidson

Peabody Award-winning writer/producer (This American Life)

“Daniel Joshua Rubin is the Sensei of Story!”

Andrew Smith

former Head Writer, Saturday Night Live

“I usually hate books like this. But I keep this one on my desk and refer to it often. Dan gets into the nuts and bolts of how Story really works in the most practically valuable way. Strong rec!”

Dana Olsen

Screenwriter, The Burbs, George of the Jungle

“So often people ask me if there’s a book on story I can recommend. This is the one.”

Alexa Junge

Emmy-award winning writer (Friends, Sex and the City)

“It’s my business to find and read books on story structure. This is one of the best I’ve ever read.”

Clark Peterson

Oscar-winning producer, (Monster)

MORE REVIEWS

Buy 27 Essential Principles of Story

hand holding book open

About Daniel Joshua Rubin

Daniel Joshua Rubin has written for television (NBC, the WB); new media (The Motley Fool, National Lampoon); and theater (with plays produced at Steppenwolf in Chicago, and off-Broadway in NYC). He has taught dramatic writing at Loyola University, Chicago, and at the University of California, San Diego. Throughout his career he has worked with some of the most successful writers and artists, including Emmy Award-winners, Marta Kaufman (Executive Producer, Friends) Bill Prady (Executive Producer, Big Bang Theory), and Tony Award-winner, Anna D. Shapiro (Director, August: Osage County).

Rubin is a dedicated story scholar with a deep interest the role narrative plays in not only fiction, but business, investing, politics, relationships, personal development and the culture at large. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rubin now lives in Evanston after a decade in Los Angeles. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, where he graduated with honors and a BS in Drama Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase.

Representation: Lisa DiMona, Writers House