Tuesday, April 3, 2012

C is for Currently Reading


It's a challenge within a challenge!


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event from the blog Should Be Reading where bloggers (or even just readers) share two random sentences from their current read.

The book: Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks

I absolutely love the cover of this book. I think I might buy it just because it would look so good on my shelf.

My random teaser sentences: (page 52)

If you can't come up with a succinct "what if?" question that defines your concept, consider that your story is not yet ready to write. It may be too complex, too vague and undefined, or at the other end of the spectrum, it may be lacking in dramatic potential.

I think I need to work on this. Right now my novel is taking more than two sentences to describe, so I've been trying to find the root and theme of the story. It's not helping that my main character is being boring and refusing to cooperate.

So far, Story Engineering is proving to be a really good book that's given me inspiration and insight into what I'm doing wrong.

I'm reading it slowly and taking lots of notes to make sure I don't miss anything - partly because it's a good book, and partly because the copy I have right now is a library book, and I have to give it back in about a week.

Have you read Story Engineering? If not, does this teaser make you want to read more?

What are you currently reading?

If you'd like to see (or enter) more of Should Be Reading's weekly events, click here.

10 comments:

  1. Nope - never read this one, nor have I heard of it! =)

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  2. I haven't read it. I'm inbetween books right now. Too busy with A to Z Challenge. :)

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  3. This post just caused me to make a few notes in my writing journal. The What If factor is Huge! And a great way to get to the meat of the plot - which I personally have had issues with.

    another book that helped me was Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. It was pubbed in 2000 so all the references are to works in the 1990s or older, but the advice is pretty solid. One thing that was a Zing! moment for me was that the pacing of a novel is already slow, cut out transition scenes like a character driving somewhere, reflecting on a scene that just happened, or he says, the dreaded "making tea." Apparently anytime a character makes tea either an info-dump of plot is coming, or a rehash of plot by the character. he suggests to work in those contemplative moments within action or using dialogue.

    anyway, thanks for the tips!

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  4. Thank you for the tips as well from both of you. Another, what does the character have in his/her pocket? Sometimes just thinking about it stirs up the subconscious for more ideas.

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  5. @Rissi - I hadn't heard of it, either, until I came across it in the new books section of the library. The cover is what made me pick it up, actually. :)

    @Jessica - I know what you mean about being busy with the challenge. I'm trying to visit 5 new blogs a day, plus the ones I've already followed.

    @Stephanie - I'm glad the tips were helpful. The entire book has been tremendously helpful for me in rethinking my story. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll have to add that to my to-read list!

    @loverofwords - that's a good tip. I hadn't thought of that... off to write some more notes! Thanks for stopping by (and following!)

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  6. Story Engineering sounds intriguing. I love craft books. Right now I'm reading Beautiful Chaos. Loving it.

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  7. I hadn't heard of this book, or the idea to write two random sentences each week. What a great idea! When I'm shopping for new books, I always open the book randomly and read a few lines. I think you get a better feel for the book that way :)

    Nikki – inspire nordic

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  8. @Leslie Rose - yes, I love craft books too. As you can probably tell from my "books on writing" page I've read a lot of writing books, and this is one of the best. :) I think I've heard of Beautiful Chaos before. I'm glad you're enjoying it - it's always nice to find books that you love. :)

    @Nikki - that's a good way to find out a little more about a book! I tend to judge a book from the first few pages and the premise, but sometimes I will read random pages as well (unless it's a mystery book - then I don't want to spoil it!)

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  9. Oh, oh! ~waves hand above head~ I've read Story Engineering! I liked it a lot. It appealed to my structure-oriented brain. :)

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    Replies
    1. It appeals to mine as well. :)

      I was talking about it to a friend (who is an engineer) and even he thought it sounded interesting.

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Thoughts?

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