I was fortunate enough to attend Michael Hauge's workshop on story structure at the Romantic Times conference this year (2011). My head spun when I walked away from that seminar. I was so impressed by Michael's clarity and succinctness -- and of course, by the story principles he offered -- that I couldn't wait to put them into practice. I picked up his book immediately at the conference, and devoured it on the plane.

Even though I don't write screenplays, I used Michael's approach to developing characters and outlining the story's structure to sketch the main points of my new novel. I'm amazed by the results. I can now "see" the story in my head like never before. It's taken on a clarity I hadn't expected, and I'm excited to start writing it to see what develops.

Michael's ability to provide a straightforward blueprint for crafting a great story is admirable. It's already changed the way I plan, structure, and think about my work. Highly recommended. ( )

One of my recommended writing books. I've read the book twice now. ( )