Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies

Review Story Engineering Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing

Apologies, this post ended up being a bit of a meander as opposed to the short, snappy review I had intended it to be. But bear with me I'm sure there's a point or two in here somewhere!

Today I'd like to talk about a present my friend and writer Sam Adamson bought me recently. The gift in question is a textbook entitled 'Story Engineering Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing' by Larry Brooks. According to the blurb in the back of the book, Mr Brooks, is the author of six psychological thrillers, a freelance writer, has run writing workshops for a number of years, the creator and editor of storyfix.com, (Haven't checked the site out yet. Watch this space I'll review it at some point in the future, I'm sure.) and, for fans of fantasy novels, the brother of writer Terry Brooks. (If memory serves Terry Brooks wrote the Shannara books, Sword of, Elfstones of etc. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.)

If you check out various websites, blogs, forums and reviews about 'Story Engineering' people seem to break down into roughly two groups. Group (a) Rave about it and have become true believers. Group (b) seem to think its a personal attack on their style of writing.

Over the years I've read a lot of books on writing. I yearn to get to the point where writing pays my bills and every year I get to do book tours in the USA. In general those books wax lyrical on the 'art' of writing, without any concrete information on the 'craft' of writing. These types of books play to the budding writers ego. Be honest you know they do. When we pick up a pen or sit in front of our keyboards we are, as budding writers, secretly hoping to create the next great novel or screenplay. And we hope that whichever textbook we've chosen to help us will unlock the perceived mystique behind writing. They never do.

For me it's been various family members getting me to write stuff for them. Most of the time I've succeeded to the level required. The exceptions being, last year my mother asked me to write a song celebrating the city we live in. It never got done. Songs, like other forms of writing, have particular formats. And I'm still developing a zombie film with my brother. (Sorry Steve, I haven't forgotten about it, honest) But I've written and either published or recorded, (A lot of my film reviews were for a local radio station), film, book, TV and pc game reviews. I also for a while wrote a weekly, humorous, topical column for a website. (I stopped after writing a piece about Northern Ireland that got threats from both sides of the divide. That I didn't find humorous). Did any of those 'arty' books help me write any of those pieces? Nope. They did however, teach me the 'art' of procrastination!

So, for the last few years I put writing on a back burner. Restricting it to character and dialogue development for avatars in online role playing games and the odd diatribe on faceache as Sam calls Facebook.

What got me writing again? Well, in the first instance, Sam giving me a proverbial kick up the backside. Without his encouragement I may never have starting writing properly again. In the second instance, the wonderful gift he gave me with 'Story Engineering'.

Now before all you organic writers out there start booing and hissing at me, hear me out and I'll eventually explain why.

This post and all of the other ones to date have been written organically and post 'Story Engineering'. By organically I mean, I sit, usually in Starbucks, with a bucket of cappuccino, a biro and a notepad. I know what I want to talk about and I dive straight in. That's the way I've always done it. The only difference between now and back in the day is, we used to be able to smoke in coffee shops, but we're no longer allowed to. (After a five year break I've started poisoning myself with nicotine again. No I'm not happy about it, but I've had a very rough couple of months) But my writing process hasn't really evolved much throughout the time I've been slinging words together. The problem with that approach is, as I'm sure other organic wordsmiths will agree, you can end up writing yourself into a literary cul-de-sac with no way out, at which point the project can get scrapped or you get sucked into the wearying world of the dreaded re-write. If you write relatively short pieces, (Like the pieces I mentioned earlier, or say Friday Flash for example.), re-writes are not too much of a problem, (they do waste time that you could be using to write something else though), but what if you're say, twenty chapters into your novel and you don't realise where your story is going? That's right, new draft time. I have seen/read interviews where published authors have been almost boasting about the amount of drafts a given work of theirs took too complete. In one instance, a fairly well known author, (who shall remain nameless), was waxing poetic about how their latest literary gift to us muggles (no its not JK Rowling. I just like the word muggles), took seven draughts to complete. What's good about not getting it right six times?

Ok, I've set out my stall and hopefully you get where I'm coming from and are still reading.

And so to 'Story Engineering'. Writing stories is both an art and a craft. It's an art because writers somehow pull, characters, places, dialogue etc. out of the aether and transfer to the page for the rest of us to either read or watch and digest (I'm a voracious reader. In fact on the odd occasion I'm stuck without something to read I get just a little ansty. Drives my future divorce and kids nuts!). But it's also a craft. Whatever society or culture your writing in there are set norms to the art of storytelling. You can push the boundaries, (It's still an art, after all), however, if you want to get published, it needs to conform to a set (Though not carved in stone) format.

'Story Engineering Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing' explains that format. To paraphrase from an old UK TV advertising campaign for diy products “It does exactly what it says on the tin.” It explains clearly what the core competencies are and gives you the framework for building your story. It doesn't tell you what to write. You're the artist, you decide what goes on the page.

I think what puts people off is that it's very strident (Mr Brooks KNOWS what he's talking about), and a little preachy. I get the impression though, that that's because Mr. Brooks is genuinely exasperated by organic writers he's come across in his writing workshops who refuse to accept there is more than one way to write. And by the arty books that don't impart solid information to the writer, beginner or otherwise.

Here's a tip. You don't need to re-invent the storytelling wheel every time you write something. I know it's corny but 'If it ain't broke don't try to fix it.'

Slight aside here. A lot of us out in the blogosphere have no filter. We write, we spell check (I use a UK English dictionary. Just in case your overseas and wondering), and we publish. If we get generally positive responses we assume we're a 'good' writer. In the main though, as much as I have a hard time coping with other people, (Bipolar, depression, other totally boring health related issues), most people aren't horrible. At least not in relation to posting comments on blogs. Yes, of course, there are trolls out there who can ruin things for the rest of us, we can edit comments on our work and delete them, where we must. So in general you end up with either no comments or just, broadly speaking, positive ones. No bad thing unless you start believing your own press. I'll be happy if I'm getting positive comments and ones offering constructive criticism.

I'm lucky. I have a filter. Sam reads and edits my posts before I post them. I trust his judgement (We've been friends for over twenty years), and I know he will tell me what is wrong with a piece, honestly and with candour. Oh yes, I will at that - Sam. :D

Roughly half way through 'Story Engineering' its tone does mellow and explains how art and craft should just walk off hand in hand into the sunset and just because you're using this story telling model doesn't mean your creative writing skills need to be comprised in any way.

Minor niggles I have with it are, USA-centric examples, which to be fair can't really be helped and relentless gender swapping when discussing the reader and the writer. For me this was a little jarring and I would have preferred gender neutral tags, you, they etc.

In summary. Although I'm still writing in an organically (off the top of my head so to speak), the 6 core competencies are now firmly implanted in the back of my mind and I hope, worming their way into my writing process. I'm currently re-reading the whole thing, something I normally never do with a textbook (usually I do a complete read then dip back into them as and when needed). Why? Because I want to get published professionally and regularly.

The way I feel about it this. I've dipped my toe into the writing pool, in a limited way, on and off for at least thirty years, I'm that old. (My profile is fairly recent. New Years Eve 2012 to be exact but I look better in black and white!). My dream of becoming a published author (books), has always seemed just out of reach. 'Story Engineering' has given me a blueprint that, if applied right, will let me pull that dream into reach. I shall be Tantalus no more.

Buy it (Sam got it from the Book Depository, which is nowhere near the grassy knoll. I believe you can get it on Amazon, and probably other book selling websites too, though you may have to order it). Read it all the way through with an open mind (as I know all to well it's very easy to entrench yourself in your usual writing process), and hopefully you'll see it for the valuable tool that it is.

That is all....