Story Engineering Quotes

“Instinct is the elusive magic that happens when art collides with hard-won craft.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“The bar is high. But now you have a ladder.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Because, if you haven’t wrapped your head around this principle, chances are you’ll never sell a story.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“THE SEVEN KEY CHARACTERIZATION VARIABLES Think of these as realms, as areas of potential character illumination. Here they are, in no particular order: Surface affectations and personality—What the world sees and perceives about a character, including quirks, ticks, habits, and visual presentation. Backstory—All that happened in the character’s life before the story begins that conspires to make him who he is now. Character arc—How the character learns lessons and grows (changes) over the course of the story, how she evolves and conquers her most confounding issues. Inner demons and conflicts—The nature of the issues that hold a character back and define his outlook, beliefs, decisions, and actions. Fear of meeting new people, for example, is a demon that definitely compromises one’s life experience. Worldview—An adopted belief system and moral compass; the manifested outcome of backstory and inner demons. Goals and motivations—What drives a character’s decisions and actions, and the belief that the benefits of those decisions and actions outweigh any costs or compromises. Decisions, actions, and behaviors—The ultimate decisions and actions that are the sum of all of the above. Everything about your characters depends on this final variable, and the degree to which the character’s decisions, actions, and behaviors have meaning and impact depends on how well you’ve manipulated the first six variables before, during, and after the moment of decision or action.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“The genesis of the story, the very first spark of thought that leads to another thought that ends up being a story, always emerges from one of the four elemental core competencies—concept, character, theme, or, less often, structure. It doesn’t matter which, because the other three elements must be added to the mix—and, just like the original idea, developed—before the story can work.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“writing voice get in the way. Less is more. Sparingly clever or sparsely eloquent is even better.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Here then, at the most introductory level of definition, and in no particular order, are the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling: CONCEPT—The idea or seed that evolves into a platform for a story. Best and most empowering when expressed as a “what if?” question. The answer leads to further “what if?” questions in a branching and descending hierarchy, and the collective whole of those choices and answers becomes your story. CHARACTER—Don’t leave home without one. Every story needs a hero. We don’t need to like him (contrary to what your high school composition teacher told you), but we do need to root for him. THEME —Yes, it’s like putting smoke into a bottle, but it can be done. Not to be confused with concept, theme is what your story is illuminating about real life. STRUCTURE—What comes first, what comes next, and so forth … and why. And no, you can’t just make it up for yourself. There are expectations and standards here. Knowing what they are is the first step toward getting published. SCENE EXECUTION—You can know the game, but if you can’t play it well you can’t win. A story is a series of scenes with some connective tissue in place. And there are principles and guidelines to make them work. WRITING VOICE—The coat of paint, or if you prefer, the suit of clothes, that delivers the story to the reader. The biggest risk here is letting your writing voice get in the way. Less is more. Sparingly clever or sparsely eloquent is even better.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Theme and plot relate to character arc. As does structure. Concept relates to theme in that concept sets the stage for the theme to announce itself. And so on, again. The value in separating the core competencies into separate buckets is that we can then clearly understand the definition and criteria for each, which are unique and therefore demanding of fully differentiated understanding, as well as how each relates to the others.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Genre is a subset of concept. Setting is a subset of scene execution. Backstory is a subset of character. Subplot is a subset of structure, and unfolds in context to concept. And so on.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“WHICH CORE COMPETENCY COMES FIRST? To answer that one, you need to understand that the Six Core Competencies break down into two categories: the four basic elements of the story, the two narrative skills required to effectively implement them.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“There are many ways to define story. Story is character. Story is conflict. Story is narrative tension. Story is thematic resonance. Story is plot. Trouble is, all of these are partially correct, while none of them, when viewed as isolated definitions, are completely correct. Even if you combine a few of them, they still fall short of expressing the essence of a great story. Without that essence, what you have is a kitchen table full of ingredients waiting for a recipe that allows them to become a delicious sum in excess of their individual parts. That turns your story into a literary feast.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Writers are scribes of the human experience. To write about life we must see it and feel it, and in a way that eludes most … we are alive in a way that others are not. We are all about meaning. About subtext. We notice what others don’t. If the purpose of the human experience is to immerse ourselves in growth and enlightenment, moving closer and closer to whatever spiritual truth you seek - hopefully have a few laughs and a few tears along the way - wearing the nametag of a writer makes that experience more vivid. We’re hands-on with life, and in the process of committing our observations to the page we add value to it for others.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“The First Plot Point of your story is when the story’s primary tension—its antagonistic force—makes its initial full frontal appearance in a form that imparts meaning and consequence to the story’s hero, and in context to stakes you have already established”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“The mission of Part 1 is to set up the plot by creating stakes, backstory, and character empathy, while perhaps foreshadowing the forthcoming conflict.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“If you use your drafts as exploratory vehicles for that purpose, you condemn them to a major rewrite. Because every milestone requires a setup, and many require foreshadowing, neither of which is possible until you know where you’re headed.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Storytelling is all about conflict. Some would tell you it’s all about character, but that’s not accurate. Because character depends on conflict to illuminate itself. Every story has conflict, or it’s not a story at all. Conflict is what stands in the way of what the hero needs or wants in the story.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“A non-story example: An idea is to travel to Florida. A concept is to travel by car and stop at all the national parks along the way. A premise is to take your estranged father with you and mend fences while on the road.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“A concept is an idea that has been evolved to the point where a story becomes possible. A concept becomes a platform, a stage, upon which a story may unfold. A concept, it could be said—and it should be viewed this way—is something that asks a question. The answer to the question is your story.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“As a writer, you are that architect.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Writing is a two-party democracy. To the left are those who write stories from their heart, or according to the other side of the aisle, from the seat of their pants. On the right are those who write stories from a meticulously constructed outline.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“We all select our fates based on the paths we choose.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“[on scene execution] Interesting isn't the point...storytelling momentum and relevance is.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“A clever trick does not a concept make.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“If you're playing God, you need to get it right.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Love your scenes, and they’ll love you in return.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Doing a lot of reading is not the prerequisite to writing.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“Remember—write this down, it’s critical—nothing fuels a story quite like hope.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“even when we stop typing and leave the house, we remain writers.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“What if that child survived, and the lineage continues to this day, meaning the ancestors of Christ are walking among us?”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering

“The Six Core Competencies do not define or offer a formula. Rather, they define structure driven by criteria for the elements that comprise it.”
― Larry Brooks, Story Engineering