Even before J Burton became a Story Grid Certified Editor or graduated with an MFA in fiction (2009) or a BA in English Literature (2005), she was an absolute story nerd. She first learned to read at age three and hopes to never stop. She reads a book a week, mostly horror, thriller, and worldview novels and memoirs by writers who identify in some way as outsiders, underdogs, or idealists.
She believes in the power and potential of the Story Grid because she spent so many years searching for it – in classrooms, in workshops, in bookstores – without quite knowing what “it” was.
She sees the Story Grid (as Shawn Coyne describes it in The Hero’s Journey 2.0) as being as simple and as *combinatory* as DNA, which makes it immensely powerful and immensely generative! Just like DNA is capable of generating all the life on Earth, the Story Grid, in the hands of dedicated craftspeople like you and me, is capable of generating an infinity of stories.
And she wholeheartedly agrees with Shawn when he says we need more and more diverse stories to help the human species – and other species – survive the truly global challenges facing us today. To say that the world needs your story now more than ever before is no exaggeration. And to say that the Story Grid can help you tell it is a fact.
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