Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks

Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing
by Larry Brooks

The six core competencies of successful writing, according to Larry Brooks, are: concept, theme, character, structure, scenes, and voice. The first four are elemental components; the last two relate to execution.
And that was the summary this book needed. Honestly, I read this book and I had to search for a place in the book where the main point of it could be easily discovered. There are two helpful pages tucked at the end of the book (218-219). Otherwise? Good luck. This book does not seem heavily edited.
But first, the positives: Brooks has been immensely helpful in providing writers with an alternative model of story-writing other than "pantsing," as he calls it. Since Stephen King's memoir "On Writing," I've had this image of the writing process in my mind where you just feel your way forward, write the whole thing about three times, and hopefully discover a story along the way. That's pantsing: flying by the seat of your pants.
Brooks offers an alternative. In short, plan ahead. Sketch the story, all of it, from characters to scenes, ahead of time. That was phenomenally helpful. King and others give the impression that anything other than pantsing it is not true art. Brooks knocks that idea flat. It's about the story first; art second. It has to be a story before it can be art. Tell a good story; make good art.
Brooks' six competencies may also be helpful. I'll have to go back and think about it because they were drowned in a deluge of analogies and lists. Oh! the metaphors. Oh! the lists. What I'm about to say may sound like an exaggeration, but it is not: This book contained thousands of analogies/illustrations/examples/metaphors. I estimate an average of a dozen a page. Seriously. And lists. Lists sprouting all over the place! We start with six items, but each item grows a half dozen more items, which each grow sub-lists that appear to be in pairs or triplets and may even have list-offspring of their own! Lists and comparisons, in other words, drown out the genuine help Brook offers.
He says it is a presentation of a course he offers. It feels that way. I only wish it had been a distillation of that course as well.

*I received a copy of this book for review.

"Redistributing...chocolate bars and ice cream cones."

Hilarious quote. Something truly profound lurking here:

"This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth," said Bryn Phillips, a 28-year-old self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from a store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

UK PM recalls Parliament for London riot crisis - Yahoo! News

Your joy

"Every joy is deeply opposed."

from: "Know Your Deepest Opposition."

(who knew John Eldridge and John Piper had so much in common?)

They Did Not Give Up

"They Did Not Give Up."

This collection of anecdotes and quotes captures a bit of the vision behind my "normal Christianity." That is, it's a commitment to following Jesus that embraces, as He does, our failures and sinfulness as opportunities. Opportunities to embrace His love afresh, to glorify His sacrifice, to receive the Spirit, to enter God's life, to etc. ad infinitum
There is a natural resilience in the human spirit, placed there by God no-doubt. But it pales in comparison to the supernatural resilience of the Faithful Spirit of God.

Art Project, powered by Google

This is flat out one of the coolest things the internet has ever provided: Art Project by Google.

Winnie-the-Pooh quotes by A.A. Milne

Some serious, seriously awesome, and funny quotes
from a bear Of Little Brains.
Winnie-the-Pooh quotes.

Favorites:
"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."
"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called."

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Photo, Iceland Wallpaper – National Geographic Ph... - StumbleUpon

Wow. Glory. at NatGeo.com.

review of: Max on Life, by Max Lucado

In Max on Life, best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado addresses 172 questions from seven different areas of life. He writes with wit, graciousness, and clarity. And most important, he addresses each question with biblical wisdom. The message of Max on Life is that the Bible matters for life, for every area of our lives, for every question. From hard things to regular things, God's Word can help.
Max Lucado is an extremely gifted writer. He gets right to the point. He hones in on the heart issue. He does not flinch. And he does it all with sensitivity and humor.
Max knows his Bible. I am a pastor. I know my Bible. But Max...Max knows his Bible. And he answers the questions as only someone who knows their Bible can answer a question. If the Bible is not clear about something, Max does not make it clearer. If the Bible is clear about something, Max does not equivocate. Where the Bible offers differing perspectives, Max gives us its latitude.
Which highlights the fact that on every page, Max is writing to hearts. He hears hearts in the questions and writes to hearts with his answers. He is sensitive and careful. He writes with love. Again, as a pastor, I found each answer extremely helpful. I can only hope that the Spirit of God will help me answer these difficult questions with something like the humility, graciousness, and confidence that Max answers them.
Which brings up the final point of applause: Each answer is shorter than a page and a half. Most are less than a page. In other words, Max answers these questions--some quite difficult--with all the knowledge, all the finesse, all the pastoral wisdom described above, all in about one page.
When the biblical writers talk about the Spirit giving gifts, I do not think that they mean that the Spirit gives people gifts as much as the Spirit gives gifts through people. This book is a gift. Receive it and be glad.

*I received a copy of this book for review from 'booksneeze.com.'

Is this true of us? It's not that we're lazy: we're working harder than ever. But like the hamster on his spinning wheel, we're not going anywhere.
What good are you? Be of good.

update: I'd love to be blogging more these days. But alas, my writing time is swallowed up in other enterprises. However, I am reading a great deal. If you're looking for the best of the-web-that-doesn't-suck, subscribe to my GoogleReader Shared Items feed.
TTFN