I am now going to give you a second definition of a story that, I hope, will from now on, forever after, make it easier for you to write stories that don’t just start but that go on through exciting, intensifying middles and reach satisfying, unpredictable ends. The second definition doesn’t undermine or contradict the […]
You may have heard that I’ve written a novel called Patience, and that I started it over twelve and a half years ago – you may know this because, recently, I’ve been doing my social media dance to alert as many readers as possible to the fact it exists. Today, it exists. I realise that […]
A story is about a person or a thing that is in the wrong place. Personally, because this story definition of mine is so basic, I can’t come up with any exceptions to it. (Maybe you can. If so, let me know.) However, I find it quite easy to think how it applies to both […]
Welcome back. You have now – from inside you somewhere – dug out the three elements of a story. It should be one that you wouldn’t have considered writing, before starting this guide. Why? Because with each exercise, in each case, I have nudged you toward doing more than one thing at once. NEVER DO […]
Aside: I am careful to say a person rather than a character. To refer to someone as a character already semi-fictionalizes them in a way that a thing and a place aren’t semi-fictionalized. And I want all our three plus one basic elements to exist on the same super primitive level. Mr But: What about […]
We now have two of our three things – we have an object, or something, we have a place, or somewhere, and I’m sure you will already have guessed that we also need… a person, or someone. We need a being of some sort – a person – who has a reason for moving the […]
We’re moving straight on. A story – any story – needs a thing, something. But things don’t exist in the void. And if you want an event to happen, then the thing needs to move around from one location to another. So a story also also needs a place for its thing. Mr But: Again, it’s possible to imagine a story that […]
Right, the first thing that a story needs is a thing – a material object of some sort that can be picked up or otherwise moved around. Mr But (we’re going to hear a bit from him – unless I cut him entirely as being too annoying) says: It is quite easy to imagine an […]
Okay. Often what you will have written for the first sentence is something like: ‘A story is… a personal journey of growth and discovery involving struggle and eventual triumph or defeat’ or: ‘..is about a character who faces a dilemma that forces them to define more clearly who they are through their choices.’ All these […]
