Writing Engineers by Joylene M Bailey

 

Image by Hulki Okan Tabak from Pixabay

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I have three brothers. One is a civil engineer, one graduated in engineering physics, and one is a high school math and physics teacher. They are structure and architecture, calculation and precision. Is it any wonder they look at me in bewilderment when I start gabbing on about artistry and intuition?

I'm an intuitive writer (what some people call a pantser - never been a fan of that censorious term). Yet, there is an aspect of engineering involved in writing, even for intuitives like me. There is structure in story, architecture in character arc, precision in plot. And I don't have to use math to get there, thank the heavens above!!

When I look at the architecture of Westminster Abbey, gloriously on show this past weekend for the coronation of King Charles III, I'm dumbfounded by the precision and skill it took several architects, over hundreds of years, to complete. That's Engineering with a capital E.

I don't know of a book, other than the Bible, that took hundreds of years to complete, but I am aware that it took Pulitzer Prize winning author Anthony Doerr 10 years to finish his novel, All the Light We Cannot See. And it's a pretty magnificent read. Imagine the attention to detail it took to erect such an edifice.

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Image by Lars Nissen from Pixabay

I'm not really going for the Westminster Abbey version of engineering in my writing. I'd be happy with a carefully crafted little structure that stands the test of time; somewhere readers can come to be encouraged and seen. The intuitive writer in me wants to get it all down, let the story tell itself, which is great. But I need to remind myself that a good story - the best story - also has a solid foundation, a framework and design that won't cave in. It needs good engineering.

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A book that inspired this intuitive writer to consider becoming an engineer is Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. My copy is completely marked up and corner-folded, which tells you something because I seldom mark up a book. I also have his companion book, Story Physics, which I haven't yet finished.

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Joy is thankful to be (almost) recovered from the dreaded virus, which stole the entire month of April. How wonderful to be writing again, and enjoying her country home, where she lives with The Cowboy, Chara the dog, and Rhubarb the cat. Find more of her Joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy.