Story Engineering by Larry Brooks
The five major elements of story physics are: 1. conceptual power (the compelling essence of the Big Idea)… 2. dramatic tension (conflict)… 3. pacing… 4. hero empathy (resulting in our rooting for something)… and 5. vicarious experience (often a function of setting and concept, as is the case in The Hunger Games). Those last two combine to become at catch-all that speaks to the need for the reader to be emotionally involved. - Larry Brooks
I met Larry Brooks at the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, OR. He spoke each of the three mornings on the concepts he calls Story Physics and Story Engineering. Larry looks at writing from both a structured and intuitive approach. In the end he concludes (and I would agree) that both methods are doing the same thing. The structured approach does the design before writing and the intuitive continues to write until the design works. Both end up conforming to the natural laws of story. Unlike other books on story structure,
clearly explains the interaction of the plot points, plot twists, and milestones. The only chapter I found weak was concerning the Act Three - Resolution. He will have a new book titled The Search for Story coming out later this year to delve deeper into Story Physics, a prequel to Story Engineering. Combined together they are a worthwhile read.
