Book cover of Story Engineering

Book description

What makes a good story or a screenplay great?

The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding where to begin. Some labor their entire lives without ever learning that successful stories are as dependent upon good engineering as they are artistry. But the truth…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Story Engineering as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’ve been recommending Larry’s book for decades! This book got me hooked on plotting and helped me to see clearly how novels have specific scenes in specific places. It’s all part of expected, time-tested storytelling.

I love how Larry uses architecture and engineering phraseology because that’s what fiction writers are doing: constructing a story. And that story needs to be solid, on a well-built foundation. If you don’t learn and master the six core competencies (you’ll have to check out the book to learn what these are), your novel won’t hold together. 

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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