I don't usually read writing books, but I thought I'd give STORY ENGINEERING a try. And I'm glad I did.

Author Larry Brooks has packed this book with interesting and pertinent information that every writer will benefit from knowing. Story Engineering is, as the title suggests, a blueprint for writing. The book predominately covers the fiction "blueprint", but the author suggests that the tools described can help writers with some forms of non-fiction as well.

Being a "seat of the pants" writer as described in Brooks's book, I found it quite interesting to read about the "six core competencies of successful writing" and how they apply to my "organic" writing style. These core competencies, Brooks insists, are mandatory if a writer is trying to get published, and he provides a good argument for each.

Brooks has crafted an amazingly informative book in Story Engineering that I think every writer - other than the A-listers of course - will benefit from reading. I know that I certainly found several nuggets of information that I'll be using in future novels!