I'm not going to go into great detail here -- why would I, when recently I've been receiving fewer than a pageview a day on this fledgling blog? -- but I will state unequivocally that Maass is my perfect teacher, and that his two Breakout books have taught me more about writing -- in the pragmatic, truly applicable sense -- than all other writing books and courses combined. It's insane the way reading or rereading his stuff helps me to shine a bright light on my own manuscripts, identifying in stark clarity problems of character and story, from stakes to pacing, from character motives to theme.
I've spent the last two days with the Workbook, holding up my protagonist to the grueling gauntlet of character questions offered by Maass... and I'm overjoyed to be finding my weaknesses on display. Fixing these issues prior to writing the real outline will allow me to activate my protagonist in the best of ways, so that his choices and actions determine the movement of the plot, thereby avoiding the old trap of having your protagonist react to the plot.
I've blabbed too much. If you're a writer who hasn't read these books, do yourself, your stories, and your audience a favor and read the Breakout books.
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