The Whole “Story Engineering” Enchilada Overview, via 20 PowerPoint Slides

Trying to teach the full enchilada comprehensive overview of the Story Engineering writing mindset in one hour – 50 minutes, to be more accurate –  is like trying to equip a teenager for college, marriage and a corporate career during a quick lunch at Applebees. As if one could actually keep the attention of a […]

How to “Write Like Rowling”

A Deconstruction of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I don’t think of myself as a name dropper, but I do love to show how famous authors and bestselling books adhere to the principles of story structure.  Especially when those authors are still breathing… I get nay sayers who like to cite Shakespeare and Cervantes […]

A Case Study in Concept: A Story on the Brink

One of my favorite story coaching clients is a guy named Kalvin.  He’s prolific, he’s brought me a half dozen story ideas at various stages of development, each offering something tasty with significant upside. In each case, the process has given him an expanded and illuminated platform to continue to grow his story.  That’s why […]

The Power of a Storytelling Model

(The following is an excerpt — it’s Chapter 1 — from “Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing” – Writers Digest Books, 2011) by Larry Brooks  You can go your whole career as a writer without someone asking you to define the essence of story.  What it means.  What it is.  What […]

“Your structure is off…” — What Does That Even ‘Mean’?

You may have heard that.  In fact, you may have heard that from me, either by virtue of having me evaluate your story, or through your own interpretation of the story architecture principles I espouse here. It may confuse you.  It may even piss you off. Not everyone understands the difference between a principle and […]

Story Architecture: A Clinic With Popcorn

Lessons from The Source Code Imagine an aspiring doctor or med student who, upon being invited to sit in on a lung replacement operation, declines because they’re planning on going into podiatry and, besides, they have a conflicting tee time. Only on Grey’s Anatomy. Which is my way of introducing you to a movie I’m […]

Six Core Analogies for the Six Core Competencies

We get stuff stuck in our heads.  One way to get the wrong stuff unstuck and the right stuff successfully installed is to experience the learning – the truth – in different ways. Some refer to these different ways as learning styles.  Cognitive.  Kinesthetic.  Active.  Inactive.  Two-by-four to the skull. It’s all good if it […]

A Whole Truckload of Reasons You Should See “The Adjustment Bureau”

Even if you’ve seen the preview and decided this isn’t your cup of tea.  It’s a high concept story that has traces of, well, some creative and contemporary blending of fantasy, science fiction and The Twilight Zone.  Why should you see this movie?  Because you’re a writer.  That should be reason enough. Because, like a […]

Day Zero: The Morning Your Book Hits the Street

Allow me to be completely honest and transparent here.  I’ve been looking for a way to notify my 4000 or so Storyfix friends when my new book, “Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing” finally launches. So let me go straight at this: It’s out. Actually, the fabled “publication date” is a […]

The Writing World According to American Idol

I tend to view the world through the lens of a writer.  Which means I’m constantly assigning meaning to things while scanning for hooks and nuances and story opportunities. What some people mistake as a dumb blank stare and others as stand-offishness is really me trying to read between the lines. I view the writing […]