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[*NB:* Between now and the end of March, if you buy a copy of Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling, you’ll also get a free copy of Larry Brooks’s eBook 101 Slightly Unpredictable Tips for Novelists and Screenwriters. Just purchase Story Engineering, then send an email to storyfixer [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line “Suzannah sent me.”]

Best-selling author Larry Brooks of Storyfix.com always manages to make learning about the craft of writing fresh and fun.

That’s why I’m a long-term subscriber to his brilliant blog, and why I once named two of his eBooks as my favourite writing resources.

Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling

There’s more to writing a novel than just writing great characters or just having a compelling premise.

While some resources provide good advice on just one slice of the novel-writing process, Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling, (recently released by Writer’s Digest Books) gives us a well-rounded view of all the essential elements of story architecture.

If you love Brooks’s no-nonsense approach to teaching writing, you’ll love Story Engineering.

The Contents

Here’s what you’ll find inside this volume:

• Part One: What Are The Six Core Competencies, and Why Should I Care?
• Part Two: The First Core Competency: Concept
• Part Three: The Second Core Competency: Character
• Part Four: The Third Core Competency: Theme
• Part Five: The Fourth Core Competency: Story Structure
• Part Six: The Fifth Core Competency: Scene Execution
• Part Seven: The Sixth Core Competency: Writing Voice
• Part Eight: The Story Development Process

Click here to preview the first pages of Story Engineering, or to see the full table of contents.

Who’s Reading This Book?

Ever heard of Randy Ingermanson (a.k.a. The Snowflake Guy)? He wrote a little book you might have heard of: Fiction Writing for Dummies.

Ingermanson has posted an interview with Larry Brooks on his blog. He says:

In my opinion, STORY ENGINEERING is going to be the standard reference on story architecture from now on.

Head over there now to learn more about the free (limited time offer) gift waiting for you when you purchase your copy of Story Engineering.

A Final Word

There’s only one caveat I can find to this book:

If you already happen to own Brooks’s eBooks Story Structure Demystified and The Three Dimensions of Character, you should know that the content from those eBooks makes up a substantial portion of Story Engineering. However, at just $10.64 on Amazon, you can afford to pick up a print copy of this book, too.

Of course, if you don’t already own the eBooks, you’ll be getting the content of both in one handy resource, plus a lot of other great advice.

Pick up your copy of Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling today.