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A review by donasbooks
Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks
5.0
Instagram Review: http://www.instagram.com/p/CFdaA6pAGbr/
Larry Brooks's Story Engineering was one of the first writing books I read that delved into the technicalities of writing, the how-to-edness of the craft. I loved to write when I started, but I don't think I possessed a great deal of instinct for narrative or structure and it frustrated me when I tried to write certain kinds of stories. This book opened a lot of doors for me because it taught me a lot about writing without getting me thinking too hard about what I was doing. It also got my considering form, the shape of my story and the purpose of that shape. It's still one of my favorite books on structure, even though it favors one of the more basic narrative forms.
Larry Brooks's formula is very straight forward and easy to understand, essentially breaking the popular novel down into a narrative formula. You could look at it as a glorified narrative outline that doesn't give you brain wasps and inoculates your concept against plot holes.
Brooks uses a slew of common popular novels to illustrate his principles which helps to bring the formula to life. He appears to really love [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399396714p2/630.jpg], but he uses everyone from [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] to [a:Alice Sebold|316|Alice Sebold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1262477562p2/316.jpg]. Speaking of variety, Brooks relates a huge number of subtopics to his discussion about narrative structure, from subtext to subplot to structure as plot to character as structure. Trust me -- this text is fascinating.
This level of regiment can feel comfortable to the beginning writer, and those starting out are the writers to whom I would recommend this book the most. However, no matter what your experience level, if you want to strengthen your understanding of narrative structure and all it can impact in your story, this is a great book. In fact, I went ahead and bought [b:Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling|15894358|Story Physics Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling|Larry Brooks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366555069l/15894358._SY75_.jpg|21645134] also; I haven't read it yet, but I'll be sure to tell you all when I do!
Stay safe out there, my fellow creatives!
Larry Brooks's Story Engineering was one of the first writing books I read that delved into the technicalities of writing, the how-to-edness of the craft. I loved to write when I started, but I don't think I possessed a great deal of instinct for narrative or structure and it frustrated me when I tried to write certain kinds of stories. This book opened a lot of doors for me because it taught me a lot about writing without getting me thinking too hard about what I was doing. It also got my considering form, the shape of my story and the purpose of that shape. It's still one of my favorite books on structure, even though it favors one of the more basic narrative forms.
Larry Brooks's formula is very straight forward and easy to understand, essentially breaking the popular novel down into a narrative formula. You could look at it as a glorified narrative outline that doesn't give you brain wasps and inoculates your concept against plot holes.
Brooks uses a slew of common popular novels to illustrate his principles which helps to bring the formula to life. He appears to really love [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399396714p2/630.jpg], but he uses everyone from [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] to [a:Alice Sebold|316|Alice Sebold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1262477562p2/316.jpg]. Speaking of variety, Brooks relates a huge number of subtopics to his discussion about narrative structure, from subtext to subplot to structure as plot to character as structure. Trust me -- this text is fascinating.
This level of regiment can feel comfortable to the beginning writer, and those starting out are the writers to whom I would recommend this book the most. However, no matter what your experience level, if you want to strengthen your understanding of narrative structure and all it can impact in your story, this is a great book. In fact, I went ahead and bought [b:Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling|15894358|Story Physics Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling|Larry Brooks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366555069l/15894358._SY75_.jpg|21645134] also; I haven't read it yet, but I'll be sure to tell you all when I do!
Stay safe out there, my fellow creatives!