This week we came across this article, “Writing Success: How To Engineer Your Novel For It” by Larry Brooks of Storyfix.com, a novelist and nonfiction writer. Larry first addresses whether storytelling is an art or science. The answer, of course, is both. He briefly discusses how work, the crafting of them and then spends some time talking about the two major processes of writing, affectionately known as “plotting” or “panting.”
Following the discussion of process is a few paragraphs on an “objective assessment of how well the process works from the reader’s perspective.” Larry cautions us not to confuse our process with our craft—an important distinction.
“A seductive trap awaits the new writer here. Because when you hear a famous keynote speaker at a conference say something like “I can’t wait to get to my office every morning to see what my characters will do today,” it’s easy to think you’ve just heard the Holy Grail of storytelling, the golden key to your own optimal process.”
A great point! You do not have to write like another writer—not even your favorite writer. Instead, Larry writes that, “Whatever gets you there is the best process, because that’s your best shot at optimizing the requisite engineering of a story.”
The rest of the post is the meat of article, and addresses what he means by ‘engineering’ your story for success by discussing the four parts of any story.
- Setup
- Response
- Attack
- Resolution
Each of the four parts corresponds to what Larry believes are four segments that a story should have, relating to the length and contextual mission of the work.
This is an excellent and thought-provoking piece. The practicality of it will depend on how you incorporate the information into your own process and craft.
Read the Article >
