.png)
I hate spending my day in a conference facility. Low lighting, cold room and a spruced up hotel banquet facility make my skin itch. Unless I am attending a writing workshop. I pack my coat, a few snacks and my notebook and shimmy into those with no complaining.
This weekend I was fortunate enough to spend Saturday in a writing workshop with Larry Brooks, the author of Story Fix. Larry was engaging and insightful. Most of all he was upfront in stating that his process worked but if it wasn't for you then that was fine.
His main arguments are not groundbreaking. The importance of plotting, that you can write a great book using the story fix, but if it is a mediocre idea, the best you will get is a mediocre book that is structurally fantastic.
The day revolved around discussing ideas, addressing what is structure and how to effectively use it to engage your reader, keeping them invested in the characters and story through the end.
While I am well aware of story structure, thanks to a few elective college course, this was a great refresher. Larry also pointed out that desiring to be a professional author meant that we were no longer the most important thing to the story. Instead, it was the customer or reader that needed to be our focus.
I have heard repeatedly, "write the book you want to read." I think there is some truth to that but if you are the only one who wants to read it then it likely won't sell. You can still write it, but have realistic expectations regarding the story's likelihood for mass publication. I have a story idea that I love but it has been on the back-burner for years because I don't think it is marketable (unless I gain a large following that reads my stuff due to my name alone #goals). This reinforced that decision.
If you are interested in Larry's story process, his blog can be found at http://storyfix.com.
Happy Writing!