I would have to suppose there are specific rules somewhere, but I don't know them. I haven't had to think about it too much, but general observations are as follows:
The primitive on the left is pretty much always the one that gets the most squashed horizontally, as it's kindof the grounding primitive. The right primitive tends to dominate. Of the primitives on the right, they typically divide the vertical space pretty evenly. Exceptions abound, I guess, but usually with specific primitives (like the flower primitive), and it's all kindof on the order of 'whatever makes for the best aesthetics,' so it's kindof common sense rules.
The stroke order doesn't typically need to be memorized on a kanji by kanji basis. They all follow the same rules, with minor quirks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_order#Basic_rules
You get a feel for it pretty quick if you keep your eyes open for it. I believe the book also explains the basic ideas somewhere.

Last edited by QuackingShoe (2008 July 15, 10:50 pm)

Thanks a lot for your quick help everybody