Story Engineering

Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing

By: Larry Brooks

Narrated by: Chris Sorensen

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding of 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 is, unless you are master of the form, function, and criteria of successful storytelling, sitting down and pounding out a first draft without planning is an ineffective way to begin.

Story Engineering starts with the criteria and the architecture of storytelling, the engineering and design of a story - and uses it as the basis for narrative. The greatest potential of any story is found in the way six specific aspects of storytelling combine and empower each other on the page. When rendered artfully, they become a sum in excess of their parts.

You'll learn to wrap your head around the big pictures of storytelling at a professional level through a new approach that shows how to combine these six core competencies, which include four elemental competencies of concept, character, theme, and story structure (plot) and two executional competencies of scene construction and writing voice. The true magic of storytelling happens when these six core competencies work together in perfect harmony. And the best part? Anyone can do it!

©2011 Larry Brooks (P)2020 Tantor

dislike narrator voice/intonation, didnt get far

unfortunately I disliked the narrators intonations and voice so much that I didnt get very far content wise to judge the actual book.

Great book, awful narration!

One of the greatest how-to writing books ever conceived, mated to the worst narration job I have ever heard. How could this possibly happen?

The book and its content is worth the purchase price several times over. I recommend the book itself wholeheartedly. Any would-be story writer would be benefited greatly by receiving this content.

Now, about the narration. Imagine Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Now imagine Sheldon's irritating, whiny voice being put through a Microsoft Sam filter. I can already see you cringing, and yes it does sound just as bad as you imagine. It's so bad that I have to turn it off after listening for only 15 to 20 minutes, even though I really want to listen to it. I don't see how I could ever make this into a repeated listening experience, even though that's why I bought it.

Larry Brooks, if you ever see this review I would strongly encourage that you hire a new narrator and have this book reworked. It deserves so much better.

Narrator ruins great book

This book has been recommended to me by literally dozens of writers. I have been told it is "required reading" and 'essential" and "something you need to read" if you are going to be a writer. It is a standard and required reference work. Both teacher and working writers agree on this.

Sadly reading is the only way a sentient being will be able to experience this book, as the narrator is simply horrible. What the narrator does to this text probably qualifies as a war crime under the Hauge Conventions. Chris Sorenson's performance is irritatingly nasal, emotionally flat, and has the sort of rhythm you normally associate with fat, bespectacled, middle aged, white guys trying to dance at their daughter's wedding. I'm pretty sure that if the FBI played Mr. Sorenson's performance in interrogation rooms even the most hardened criminals would break, and rat out their coconspirators. Unfortunately it is beyond any doubt that doing so would result in the FBI Agents being sent to jail for torture, and inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

I wanted, really wanted, to like this book. I was excited to see it on Audible, as I can listen to books during work but have a hard time finding time to read. Sadly, the narration literally makes this unendurable. The narration makes you want to claw your ears off, just to make the pain stop... it is THAT bad.

Excellent book, cringe narrator

The book itself is a must read for anyone sick of the regular noise in the "how to write" world. The lessons are practical, though long winded to make it's points. Would have preferred more examples of applied lessons rather than the fluff hyping up the point he is about the make. Still worth getting through to get at those lessons.

The narrator makes it very difficult, though. He sounds like the nasally lawyer from the Simpsons with a few obnoxious inflections at the ends of sentences.

Great for understanding story format

great book with lots of super helpful information. I would definitely recommend if you're writing fiction

This review is all you need, seriously.

Content is 95% filler, but the -real- killer is the narration. Draws out every single word in a ridiculous nasally mockery of the human language. Competes with the likes of the morning alarm clock for least pleasant sound known to man.

Grit my teeth and suffered through for as long as I could, but in the end threw in the towel for a refund.

Great concepts, HORRIBLE narrator

If I was a person that had time to sit down and read a book, I would have done it for this book. The concepts are great and the writer tells things in a frank, but fun way. The narrator, however, is hands-down the worst I've heard. His tonality was a mix of the announcer from the beginning of UP and Mayor Humdinger from Paw Patrol. At 1.8 speed I was finally able to stomach it enough to finish. However, I highly recommend the physical copy if you can find the time to sit and read.