I recently had the privilege, actually that’s an understatement, it was a true honor, to read Larry Brooks’ new Writer’s Digest publication of Story Engineering. My review at Amazon.com is still pending at the time of this blog post, but I wanted to share it here anyway.

My review: Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

This is not a how to book on the mechanics of writing. Larry doesn’t tell you when or where to use adverbs and adjectives or why you should or shouldn’t. This book covers what the title says..story engineering. He tells you exactly what elements you need for a publishable story, where it goes and why it goes where it does. If you want to learn about writing dialogue or how to choose the best descriptive words in your writing, this is not the book. This book goes much deeper into the structure of a great story. This book is the blueprint of building that great story. You can have great characters, great scenes, a great plot, and all the other components of a great story, but if you don’t have all of those elements where they belong–you have something that will need a ton of edits until those elements are in the right place. Save yourself and your editor a lot of time by studying this book and getting it down right the first time.
Many people believe their creativity is hampered by using structure. I can tell you it’s not. I started using Larry’s “timeline” of events awhile back. I lay out the big things that need to happen in my story, where they should happen and then write from point A to point B to point C. Everything in between those points is still creative freedom. You know where your character is and where he needs to go–you can be as free as you want in getting him there, but you have to get him there and get him in the right place at the right time.
I have books on writing dialogue, writing great plots, writing the setting of your story and all those things that go into a great story, Larry’s book pulls it all together and explains the when, and more importantly, the why of all these elements. He shows you how to put the puzzle pieces together.
I’ve had the priviledge of communicating with Larry privately over the past two years. He is warm and charming but when it comes to story structure he’s a no-fluff kind of guy. He doesn’t do the hand holding or candy coating thing.
Story Engineering contains a ton of stuff. If you want to dabble in writing, this is probably not the book for you. It’s a mouth full, very in-depth and Larry doesn’t hold back, he is not here to motivate you and tell you how easy it is to craft a great story. But if you take writing seriously, get this book and study it religiously. You won’t be disappointed.

Grab your copy today! By ordering through the link below you can get a free copy of Larry’s book, “101 Slightly Unpredictable Tips for Novelists and Screenwriters.”

Simply place your order, then send an email to Larry (storyfixer at gmail.com) and tell him, “Patti sent me.” He will send you a copy of his ebook. And yes, it is very good. I have a copy of it myself. :)
Order Story Engineering

You can also check out his website: Story Fix.

Excerpt from Fear of Writing:

Mission statement:

The purpose of a 10K Day is to try to write 10,000 words. The spirit of a 10K Day is to liberate myself and celebrate my creativity.

THIS DAY IS for you, so do what works for you. But these are the rules that have proven to produce the best results:

Be sure to visit and RSVP if you plan to attend each months’ 10K Day for Writers!

by guest blogger James Adams

When an individual decides to start a business from scratch without borrowing money from a bank or finding investors, that person is said to be a bootstrapper. Each one has an idea for a business that will make money and create at least one job in the economy. While miracles do happen, writing a business plan is probably a better strategy to ensure guided success through the challenging waters of life in business. Write out specific information concerning these ten areas to create a business plan that is a true roadmap.

1. Reason for starting the business – Some entrepreneurs set out to change the face of an entire industry and end up becoming a brand like Ford, Gates, or Perot. Others simply want to replace the family income and be free from the expectations of an employer. Whatever the reason for starting your company, take out a notebook and write down your reason for creating a business.

2. Long-term goal – Becoming a multi-million dollar enterprise is entirely possible with a strong work ethic and a great service or product that the market is seeking. Another admirable goal is to never be out of work again and make twice the money you ever did working for someone else. On a new piece of paper in your notebook, write out the long-term goal. If you are in your twenties trying to support a young family, how long do you see yourself running this company?

3. Starting point – Look around at the current situation. If you are working out an office in your home, write out every aspect of the starting position of the company. The status of the company vehicle is important because you need to claim the business expenses associated with using that automobile. Whatever assets you have committed to the business must be documented. Maybe you are working alone with some assistance from your spouse. Write down every detail of the beginning of the business.

4. Incremental goals – On another sheet of paper write down the basic goals for business income, number of employees, service offerings, and business facilities for 5, 10, and 15 years from now. Dream big and spend some time writing down your vision for the growth of the company. Some companies just exploded onto the scene in a given industry and made so much money that plans were made with a full bank account. Most business owners live in the real world and must make the money ahead of implementing the plan. Consider the life of your family when making these goals.

5. Annual goals – Again, turn to a new page within the notebook and write out where the business must be one year from today. Making money is the reason that every business is in existence. How much revenue must the business generate to support your family and sustain business operations? Just as a family must operate on a budget to restrain expenses, all profitable businesses operate on a written budget. Write down every expense and how the business will generate revenue twelve months from now.

6. Milestones – On a new page, start writing the months of the year that lies ahead. Write what must be accomplished in the next thirty, sixty, and ninety days. Getting the message about your company out into the public is important, but what means will yield the best results? How will you find the information you need to grow the business and work efficiently at the same time? Who must you contact to enlist as an advisor?

7. Review plan – Find a calendar that you will use to track your schedule and write down monthly reviews of the notes you have made in the notebook. Those notes have just become your business plan. Review the plan and assess the current situation against the milestones you wrote down on the sixth page.

8. Update strategy – Sometimes the plan must be changed to sustain business operations because of economic conditions and changes in the market. Plans must be assessed and changed without completely starting over whenever a bump in the road appears. Write down a few thoughts for the indicators that will require a complete reassessment of the business goals.

9. Course correction requirements – Have some professional connections for the times that you need someone to look at your business and make recommendations. Be willing to listen and make the changes to save the life of your business. Participate in networking organisations that share your goals and values so you have some help when necessary. Engage the help of a reputable accountant and financial advisor before either one is needed.

10. Never finish the plan – Losing track of the original plan might mean that your business must involve into something else and a new plan must be written. Most professionals warn that finishing the business plan means the end of business operations. Edit the plan and continue to add more thoughts to the pages that started as simple notes.

Elaborate business plans with leather covers are for the businesses that need to find financing and gain the approval of some entity. As your business grows and the business plan becomes an integral part of your plans, you can have it professionally typed, but make sure that you have a copy where you can write revisions. This document is for your benefit and is not sacred. You own the document and will use it as the rudder to guide your business through calm and rough waters. Have a new copy made at the beginning of each fiscal year and set a goal to write all over every page before the new copy is made next year.

James Adams works for Cartridge Save, rated by Hitwise as one of the UK’s biggest online suppliers of cheap ink cartridges.

Planning for prosperity and success is a sure fire way to have them. Planning isn’t about a complicated and detailed step-by-step blueprint. It’s the way you relate and ‘be’ that attracts abundance.

Most people are attacking their prosperity issues in a way that actually keeps pushing the income and success they crave out of their reach. Would you like to know how my two zippy colleagues, Jeanna Gabellini and Eva Gregory, have been consistently creating over six-figure incomes for the last decade?

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This blog is about passion, not how great we are as writers. Being great comes with age—there has to be passion before there can be greatness. With that being said, there are people, who I consider top notch and leaders in their field of writing, tell me I’m a great writer; published writers even.

I don’t see it but everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. Being great is not on top of my list. I have no desire to attain the status of a Hemingway or a Stephen King. Why? Because, {drumroll} I simply love to write. I’d write even if I totally sucked at it—and looking at some of my early writings, I pretty much did suck at it—but I kept writing. I had to. Not writing is like holding back flood waters; sand bags only work to a point. I’ve walked away on occasion, but the passion to write simply wouldn’t die.

So, if I don’t think I’m that great of a writer, how do I have the self-confidence to keep doing it? Well, a lot of the self-confidence comes from the fact that most things are like fine wine and improve with age. I keep writing so I will improve my skills and style. I have self-confidence because a few people actually enjoy my style of writing—and who am I to deprive them of that? Okay, that was a wee bit of self-gloat there. My apologies.

I write because I’m an information hog and I honestly enjoy sharing information. I have self-confidence because I don’t care what other people think of my writing. Oh, that sounds cocky doesn’t it? It’s not really. I have thick skin and can take constructive criticism—but in the end, what I think is more important than what anyone else thinks. People have the option to not read my writing. It’s their choice. My choice is to write—and write I will.

As a Course Presenter for Fear of Writing, I come in contact with many writers who are simply afraid to take that stand and let the words flow. Some don’t feel that their writing is worthy of being read or shared. Some fear criticism because that’s all they’ve experienced.

I believe that anyone who has an unwavering passion to write has the ability to become great. They key is to write—write every day—write, write, write. No one is great coming out of the gate (see? I could be a poet too). It takes practice, persistence and passion—we could call it the 3P’s to greatness.

So how do they get the self-confidence to write? They write. The only way to get over fear or self-doubt is to write. It’s not an easy task, but it is a must-do task.

My point is you don’t have to be great to write—just write. The self-confidence will build itself every time you write. It helps to have a support group too. I run a small writer’s support group where we check in daily, share in our passion and support one another. It’s not about how great our work is; it’s about encouraging each other to write.

Image courtesy: http://www.maion.com/photography/finland/winter_outdoors_p32.html

Dancing With the Muse – An Introduction to the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling

We are inundated with writing wisdom. It cascades around us like political fallout, right and left, plotter and pantser, light and dark, first person and third, commercial and literary, nuanced and smack in your face.

How to unblock. How to craft compelling characters (an alliterative gem in its own right). How to write scenes. How to write genre fiction. How to not make your English teacher turn over in her grave. How to get it published.

And how to keep from going insane trying to make sense of it all.

It’s like newsstand health and fashion magazines – different cover model, same old rehashed shit, issue after issue. It’s all just recycled conventional wisdom, and – here’s the really confusing part – none of it is inherently wrong.

The New Language of Writing Advice

And yet, nobody has been able to define what it means, what it really takes, to write a successful – as in, publishable – novel. For the most part it’s all theory and rhetoric, a fluid mass of tumbling ideas, tips and techniques, none of which covers the cradle-to-grave process of it all.

That is, perhaps until now.

The problem is this: we have been trying to stuff the conventional wisdom of writing fiction into a bottle using right-brained, soft-edged literary jargon. When in fact, it all becomes much clearer, much more doable, when we step back for a moment to regard the craft of writing stories from a cold-blooded engineering perspective.

The underlying proposition, or if you prefer, supposition, is that the sum of what goes into a successful novel, screenplay or short story, can be categorized and poured into six separate and highly definable buckets.

Regarded separately, each bucket comes with a user’s manual that delivers standards and criteria for excellence. Fall short of the criteria within any one category and your story suffers for it.

Nail them all, times six, and your story gets a dust jacket and a review in Publishers Weekly.

An Engineering-Oriented Approach

Of course, every engineer knows that the key to success goes beyond functionality to embrace the nuance of aesthetic elegance. Which is why a writer can indeed nail all six of the requisite core competencies and still create a story that ultimately tanks.

It’s like an athlete with all the tools, but lacks the spirit and heart of a champion.

It’s like a musician with a God-given ear who lacks the love of music itself.

It begins with an understanding of a set of core competencies. It flourishes with the artful and inspired combination of them into something, an organic whole, that exceeds the sum of those parts.

That’s the art of it. That’s why, even through this engineering lens, there is still no way to fully convey what it takes to write a successful story. The writer needs to arrive at that place of their own volition, and in their own time.

But first, they need the tools to put it all together. And the tools arrive in six buckets of writing elements and executional processes.

Trouble is, most of us are stuck at square one. From the moment we enter a creative writing classroom, and then in writing workshops, critique groups and in every how-to book ever written, we hear the siren song of character and sub-text, of organic storytelling that relies on nothing other than the writer’s inherent sensibilities.

All without ever really understanding where to start, what comes next, what follows what, and what elements glue it all together.

That’s What the Six Core Competencies Do

There is really nothing about writing a successful story that resides outside of these six basics, other than the source and inspiration for the story itself. From that point on, these six buckets define both the process and the product.

Because at the end of the writing day, all six have to be there. Come up short on any one of them, and the story won’t work as well as it could.

What are they? What are these six magic buckets of brilliance? Be prepared to be under-whelmed. Because you know this already. Just like you know that that all it takes to fly is a set of wings, sufficient forward motion and a weight-to-life ratio that defies gravity.

And yet, flight eludes you.

Within the simplicity of these six core competencies resides a key that unlocks the much more complex essence of storytelling. And that is the balance, pacing, power, emotional resonance, dramatic tension, compelling allure, vicarious experience and the electric thrill of resolution that a successful story delivers.

If you write your story knowing what they are, what the target and its criteria are, then you’ll get there all the quicker.

The six core competencies include:

1. CONCEPT… a stage upon which a compelling and richly layered dramatic narrative may unfold, an irresistible “what if?” proposition.
2. CHARACTER… a multi-dimensional protagonist that demands the reader’s vicarious interest and allegiance as a silent partner in their quest.
3. THEME… the real-life emotional relevance and resonance the story evokes within the reader.
4. STRUCTURE… a four-part sequential context that defines what scenes go where, resulting in optimal pacing and character arc across an unfolding series of expositional revelations.
5. SCENE EXECUTION… the building blocks of narrative exposition that artfully unleash the story, moment by moment, with the delivery of both information and character shadings.
6. WRITING VOICE… the writer’s unique way of crafting words, phrases and sentences that, when combined, evoke an experiential essence that adds value, power and intimacy to the story.

There is nothing else in the storytelling universe, other than the initial determination of genre and the intention to publish it when it’s completed.

Unless you have honored all six of these, that moment has not yet arrived.

Larry Brooks is a bestselling author and writing instructor, and the creator of Storyfix.com, an instructional resource for novelists and screenwriters. He is the author of Story Structure – Demystified, an ebook available through his site. His groundbreaking new book, The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling, will be available in early 2011 from Writers Digest Books.

Each Wednesday a small group of writers devote the day to writing. It’s not a massive spree like the 10K Day, this is just about setting time aside each week to devote to your craft.