Timeless Principles on Storytelling from Aristotle | Doug Vigliotti

If you’re like me, you probably have a shelf full of books on the craft of writing and storytelling. Yes, I admit it, I’m a junkie for books that dissect and analyze how to tell better stories.

Whether you write blog posts, books, material for clients, and of course, novels, you can always learn to become a better storyteller. Today we’re going all the way back to one of the most important sources for learning how to tell stories better: the original teacher of story, Aristotle himself.

My guest is Doug Vigliotti, author of Aristotle for Novelists: 14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story. He the author of three additional books, including Tom Collins: A ‘Slightly Crooked’ Novel, which is available to listen to on, Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well, a podcast that also features his raw and unorthodox poem collection mini heartbreaks (or, little poems about life). Doug is also the host of Books for Men, a weekly podcast to inspire more men to read. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Aristotle for Novelists is, of course, based on Aristotle’s classic work, Poetics, which lays out the timeless rules of drama. Doug has done every writer a huge favor by distilling these principles down into an easy-to-understand format for every storyteller.

In our conversation, we talk about how these principles apply to nonfiction writers, the six components of story, the three big questions a writer must answer in order to write their story, and much more.

This was a fun conversation filled with creative tips for every kind of writer. Make sure to check out Doug’s books, podcasts, and more at https://douglasvigliotti.com/.

Doug has generously agreed to give away a copy of Aristotle for Novelists. You can enter the drawing by visiting https://douglasvigliotti.com/kent.