Comments on: Story Engineering: Mastering The Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing

By: Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:20:40 +0000

@Alley — good to hear, and thanks for the kind words. I’ll keep going if you will, who knows where this’ll lead us. Thanks again — L.

By: Alley Pat Hauldren

Alley Pat Hauldren — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Hey Larry, love your book & website! Has helped me so much cuz I can’t plot my way out of a paper bag. I drew up a graphical representation of how I see the layout and am using it in my novels and my writing classes. My students go “aha!” when they see it. You’ve nailed it and thank you so much for your insight. Keep it up, I’m still ironing out the details in my novels and learning as I read and reread your book. Thanks so much, Alley.

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:24:54 +0000

I’m going through a phase of reading screenwriting books. Presently reading Kal Bashir’s excellent 2000+ stage Hero’s Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State, which is engrossing. Will read yours afterwards and compare. Like the new website design.

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:52:06 +0000

@Steven — thanks for sharing your experience. It’s one of the best and tightest summaries of the power of story architecture yet. So happy to hear it’s helped. Would you like to write a guest post on this, expanding a bit and sharing your experience with my readers? Lemme know. Thanks again for getting it. Larry

By: Steven M. Roth

Steven M. Roth — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:37:21 +0000

Larry,

Now that I’m working on the sequel to MANDARIN YELLOW, I appreciate how useful and important using a beat sheet is. For the first time I truly have an overview of my book and am able to shift around chapters at will within the context of my view (literally and figuratively) of the whole. This has been immeasurably useful to me.

I also was able to place the Pinch Points and Plot Points/Mid-Point Milestone in their rough, approximate locations before I started writing so I had a framework to work within. This made my life much simpler than before and gave both order and structure to my first draft.

This is probably the most useful tool I have come across yet in my brief career as a writer of mysteries. And it’s all thanks to STORY ENGINEERING.

Thanks!

By: Sandy Faxkler

Sandy Faxkler — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:25:06 +0000

I read King’s book, ON WRITING, but when
I finished I saw it as a really excellent memoir.
It is certainly not a book that can guide any but
The most polished and accomplished novelist.

I started creative writing at 40 and I’m now
71. I sold my first ten submissions of short fiction
and essays but that novel, now at 80,000 words, is
still “in progress” because I don’t know how to
move forward with it.

Your into promises much. Please don’t let me down.
I’m off to buy the book now. If it gets me unstuck,
I’ll send you a copy. Thanks for writing this.

By: Plan your NaNo – Organize Your Plot | Sadie Hart

Plan your NaNo – Organize Your Plot | Sadie Hart — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:47:13 +0000

[...] so you can see how it works. And as visual as I am, that’s a life saver. Larry Brooks’ 6 Core Competencies go beyond the Beat Sheet, and I found it helpful to wrap my mind around the whole story a bit more. [...]

By: Reality Bites - Day 369 | Graham Strong’s Novel Writing Blog

Reality Bites - Day 369 | Graham Strong’s Novel Writing Blog — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:14:42 +0000

[...] follow the Rules of Storytelling. For example, if you are following Larry Brooks’ “Story Engineering” as I am, you know that plot points, pinch points, etc. have to come at certain times in [...]

By: Nancy Barth

Nancy Barth — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:28:06 +0000

Hi, I just downloaded the Kindle version of Story Engineering. My nephew, 21 and autistic, has been telling me a story which I’m typing as he goes. I’ve never written a short story, let alone a book, so it’s kind of the blind leading the blind here. I’ve been talking to him about motivation and the point of his story. He’s created a slew of characters, describing each one in pretty good detail. And he’s got lots of events and situations, some of which move the story along and others that sidetrack it. I hope I will be able to help him discover the underlying story architecture so we can put everything together to make sense!

By: Earlene Luke

Earlene Luke — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:22:52 +0000

Dear Larry
I’m old… be 80 in January and attempting a novel, so read/buy/beg/borrow books that refer to writing of same…and will be getting S/E . In your latest blog re “postoffice rant” you used the word “jonesing” (re “rabid dog”). I know it must be slang, but ole Webster’s tome doesn’t have a definition…so I’m asking. . . definition?

Thanks
mE