James Bonnet's Storymaking

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT BONNET'S SEMINAR AND BOOK

"James Bonnet isn't saying the old thing. He's about challenging you to look deeply into your own fascination and attraction; to mine your story for the richness and texture that compels you to write; and to connect you to a noble lineage of story tellers. His tools will jump-start and intrigue you. Your connection to your craft will deepen, and your horizons will  expand."
Raymond Singer, screenwriter Disney's Mulan

“Your seminar was without a doubt the most valuable class I've ever taken on writing.”
Jon Gindik, Cross Harp Press

"This book will certainly be a bible for writers."
Jack Wiener, Producer, FX and FX2

"Anyone who is interested in structuring feeling and thought into words and story will find Stealing Fire stimulating and worthwhile. I recommend it."
Elliott Gould, Actor, Academy Award Nominee

"Challenging and provocativen"
David Rintels, Emmy, Writers Guild and Peabody Award Winning Writer, Producer

“My advice to aspiring writers is simple: Read this book. There are some real pearls here.”
Billy Ray, Screenwriter of Flight Plan, Shattered Glass, Hart’s War

"James Bonnet has drawn on his vast experience as a writer and knowledge of storytelling to create a bold, insightful journey into the creative process with Stealing Fire From the Gods."
William R. Ewing, Producer, Writer, End of the Spear

“Employing psychological theory and his own hard-won insights, James Bonnet demystifies the magic of creative storytelling. Stealing Fire from the Gods is intelligent and fascinating.”
Robert Crais, New York Times Best-Selling Novelist

“Bonnet has tapped into a wellspring of lost knowledge unlocking the natural storyteller that is encoded in each and every one of us."
Bob Camp, Artist, Writer, Director, and Co-creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show

"Bonnet achieves what no one else has in moving beyond formulaic approaches to creating stories. Formulas don't work without the essence of true story which he has been able to depict in Stealing Fire from the Gods."
Michael Elias, Writer, Producer, Director, Actor

“I recommend this book for every screenwriter. I also recommend it for producers, actors and directors with an eye toward Hollywood.”
Pi Ware, FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE

COMPLETE REVIEWS AND QUOTES

"Anyone who has come to love literature, drama and just plain entertainment in their pursuit of enlightenment will love James Bonnet's STEALING FIRE FROM THE GODS. By immersing themselves in Bonnet's intriguing book, writers will learn how to write better and readers can learn how to live better, all the while being vastly entertained."
Don Murray, Award Winning Writer, Actor, Producer of The Hoodlum Priest

"Anyone who is interested in structuring feeling and thought into words and story will find STEALING FIRE stimulating and worthwhile. A lifetime labor of love, it provides the reader with insight, and an overview of the creative process through the history of story. I recommend it and congratulate Mr. Bonnet on his accomplishment." 
 Elliott Gould, Actor, Academy Award Nominee

"Challenging and provocative. Bonnet is a thoughtful and highly intelligent writer whose lifetime of experience and insight have led him to an intriguing theory about how great stories are written. The Golden Paradigm is guaranteed to stimulate lively new debate on the age-old question."
David Rintels, Emmy, Writers Guild and Peabody Award Winning Writer, Producer

"I'm impressed by this book. It certainly will be a bible for writers."
Jack Wiener, Producer, FX and FX2

"Stealing Fire from the Gods is like a rediscovered, ancient remedy for the ailing creative soul. Bonnet has tapped into a wellspring of lost knowledge that goes to the very core of the creative unconscious, unlocking the natural storyteller that is encoded in each and every one of us."
Bob Camp, Artist, Writer, Director, and Co-creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show

"Bonnet is a brilliant man. He has drawn from the work of C.G. Jung and Joseph Campbell then has accomplished his own alchemy. The result is a personal transformation the reader can share. Everyone should read it."
Darryl M. Diamond M.D., Ph.D.

"Page Turner. Stealing Fire from the Gods is billed as "a dynamic new story model for writers and filmmakers." Like many other books, it covers the meaning and purpose of storytelling (i.e., myths and legends) through the ages and how understanding them leads to an understanding of self. But then Stealing Fire from the Gods branches off into a different direction. Rather than concentrate on all the commonalties and similarities that connect stories, Bonnet's model for storytelling is created by focusing on the differences. It's an intriguing analysis that brings a unique look and insight to the creative process. And anything that does that is worth exploring."
CREATIVE SCREENWRITING

"Stealing Fire offers screenwriters a specific structure of storytelling called ‘The Golden Paradigm.' The book asserts that this structure --reaped from depth psychology and myth analysis – is not only a structure that describes proper storytelling, but, like the DNA code, describes structures in all parts of living. In other words a good story is actually a good metaphor for living; the struggles of life (be they internal and external) occur in the same proportion and kind as those conflicts found in myths, fairy tales and popular movies. Which is why this book is worth reading, especially if you're a writer. "His theories on how success leads to corruption are some of the most intriguing parts of Stealing Fire from the Gods. I recommend this book for every screenwriter. I also recommend it for producers, actors and directors with an eye toward Hollywood. And finally I recommend it for anyone who really went apeshit over Star Wars."
Pi Ware, FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE
 

Dear Jim,

Your Golden Paradigm seminar was without a doubt the most valuable class I've ever taken on writing.
Your approach is inclusive of all human experience, the seen and the unseen, the contemporary and the ancient, as well as all the disciplines of creativity and human life: psychology, sociology, art theory, philosophy, religion, and spirituality. It touches the very essence of the drive to write stories and provides an understanding of what this drive is about and how it can be obeyed, transformed and honed to create a commercial product with timeless appeal. Most important, I realize now that story is structure and I believe I have the tools to create wonderful tales of people and events and forces in transition. These tools pertain not only to writing, but to the totality of one's life as an artist. While blueprint is probably the wrong word, I sure have something I didn't have before. I find I am now thinking about my projects differently, and the story I am trying to tell has infinitely more meaning, both to myself and, hopefully, to my editors and readers as well.                                         
Jon Gindik, Cross Harp Press

"Not much time to talk, I'm in the middle of reading Stealing Fire from the Gods by James Bonnet. The first few chapters alone are enough to get your creative unconsciousness working at full speed. I have been so engrossed in the book that I skipped dinner and allowed the phone to ring off the hook unanswered. It's a book that goes beyond simply explaining how to be a good writer, it goes into detail about how to get our consciousness and unconsciousness to work together, to find the lost potential within ourselves.
"I will be forever changed by this book."
 Matt M. Patterson, The Amateur Writers Guild Message Board

EMAIL FROM READERS

"A sincere thank-you for your outstanding book and all the work you put into it. I found it so jam-packed with new insight that I'm going to have to read it again, just so everything will stay with me as I write. Thanks to the knowledge you imparted to me, I feel confident and ready to take aim at revealing the truths of the universe.

"I felt that I needed to email you immediately and tell you that you have inspired me, and I am very grateful."
                      Brian O

 "I worried twenty-six dollars was too much to pay for such a thin paper back. When I reached the end, I turned around and began rereading. This was a Quantum jump of a learning experience."   
                     Joseph B

"I would like to take my hat off to you for writing a brilliant work. It definitely delivers!!! The time and effort you put into it is incredible. It's jam-packed. There's just so much that was squeezed into those 200 pages.

"You showed me how structure is emotional, not just logistic. And how structure truly is character. I realize now that if the passages are in place, it FEELS right.

"This is the only book, and I mean this sincerely, that teaches you to work from an emotional center, your subconscious, where your wealth of original story material resides.

"Every day I wake up, expecting the new knowledge I've gained from your book to fade. It hasn't. I feel born-again. Your book just brings it alive. Now when people ask me the best book on screenwriting there's no more contemplating. Stealing Fire from the Gods. Hands down!"                                                 
                     Jim Mills, Film Maker

"I just finished reading your helpful, generous, inspiring book. No exaggeration--I couldn't put it down. Thanks for distilling the wisdom of story into such an accessible manual. A current project that I am working on will benefit greatly from your discoveries. I also gained profound insight into my own life path that I hadn't considered before. Thanks for the spiritual gift."  
                       Brian B

"I chair the Screenwriting Area in the Department of Film and Video at one of Canada's leading University film schools, and I'm writing to express my enthusiasm for "Stealing Fire from the Gods". I read at least one screenwriting book a month, am invariably unimpressed, and had pretty much despaired of anyone articulating a useful approach to myth for the screenwriter.

"I've now read your book several times, chewing over its insights, and I've found it stimulating, useful, and thought-provoking in what it says about both art and life. For me what you had to say about the "sugar coating" was especially useful.

"I also look forward to experimenting with the book in my classroom in the future."                                                    
                     Amnon B

"A thousand thanks for writing such an amazingly important book. Your special insights into the real power hidden within truly great stories is nothing short of an epiphany to me. Your book is probably the single most important piece of information I have ever read, on not only the subject of writing, but living as well."
                         David Z

"I have just finished devouring this excellent book!! This is truly the "marvelous element" that we needed to make our new television series a huge success!

"Although I am a much produced playwright, creating a TV series out of whole cloth is quite daunting. We needed a way to organize our thinking and our musings, and especially to focus. As one might suspect, the subject matter and the complexity of the heroes has created a crisis of abundance. Needless to say, there have been feelings of desperation linked to working this out. But then something wonderful happened. Like a gift from the gods someone told me about this book... just the day after we received notes from the producers containing questions that we couldn't readily answer.

"I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THIS ELEGANT, INSIGHTFUL AND INCREDIBLY USEFUL GUIDE!!! We are all feeling enormously blessed thanks to James Bonnet!! I believe he is
right about the desperate need for story in our world, and I wept reading the last page. It's all I ever wanted was to enlighten and to entertain. Now, with these insights, we have a shot at creating transcendent television. Imagine that!!"                            
                           Susan P