The Secret Weapon of Successful Novelists… is Also the Most Obvious
by Larry Brooks Life and art are funny this way. Sometimes the most powerful truths are right there in front of us all along. And yet, when we encounter them along the path, we step right over that stone instead of peeking beneath to harvest its value. Comedic genius Steve Martin (if that’s a new […]
Training Videos for Craft-Hungry Writers… Prices SLASHED for June
June 30, 2018 by Larry Brooks I mean slashed… as in, demolished. Last year I released five training videos, which I distribute through Vimeo.com. Since I’m in the process of creating the next wave of videos, I thought I’d stir things up for these existing titles by discounting them, and in a big way. Like, pricing […]
Context for your Writing Apprenticeship
(I am posting this here in the main thread – it already existed as a back-end page – at the suggestion of a reader. It was offered via link in my last post, which was an important one for newer writers especially – and frustrated ones in particular – as literally a prologue to the […]
Is Your Concept Really More Scene Than Story?
March 10, 2018 by Larry Brooks I hear feedback that writers want to learn about the advanced nuances of storytelling. The implication being that they’ve absorbed the basics and are ready to move on. This is hardly ever true, by the way. You can add nuance to a painting of, say, cow droppings on the […]
And So We Hand The Microphone Over… to You
January 2, 2018 by Larry Brooks Writing is very much a momentum business. You know this, I’m sure… you begin a project, you may at first struggle to find the heart of the story, or your voice… you keep at it… it just doesn’t feel right… and then, as you go deeper, it begins to […]
Navigating These Four Writing Dichotomies Will Dramatically Increase Your Effectiveness and Efficiency as a Writer of Fiction
by Larry Brooks A four-part primer on how to compete at the highest levels of the writing game. The word dichotomy isn’t one you hear all that much in the writing conversation. At a glance it sounds more apropos to a discussion about insects or surgery – “I’m having a dichotomy next week but my […]
A Free 3-Minute Video Workshop… On Turning Your Story “Idea” into a Viable Story “Premise
I just found this on Youtube. Didn’t know it was there. It was shot by my friend Mindy Halleck at the 2013 Willamette Writers Conference. (Check out her award-winning novel, Return to Sender, here.) I offer it today for three reasons. First… this is Storyfix, the entire mission here being to deliver tools and wisdom […]
Writing In A Corset
To be clear, I never said or did that – the corset thing – nor would I. But I would quote it – am doing that now – from an unhappy review for my book, “Story Engineering.” I’m not in the habit of quoting bad reviews, but this one tees up today’s rant, which focuses […]
Art Holcomb on Writer’s Block
A quick overview from your Storyfix host, and then, an opportunity to listen in via teleseminar as Art delivers an effective and perspective and an empowering solution to writer’s block. Art’s teleseminars are career-changing events, by the way. Life changing, even. This will his fifth so far, all of them worth every cent and every minute […]
Conquering the “Wisdom Gap”
Knowledge is understanding that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad. Maybe you’ve been at this a while. You’ve read all the books and blogs, you know… … the difference between a concept and a premise… … you know that good […]