fett on 31/7/2011 at 16:38

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You know what helped me a lot (world famous, prolific writer that I am :rolleyes:)? Stephen Fry's How To Write A Damn Good Novel. It's nothing fancy, it just breaks down the elements that make a story work from the first page - no formulas or anything like that, just basic questions to answer for yourself about character and conflict. It's a quick read, and really helped me to focus my story ideas into actual stories. At least my writer's group noticed a huge improvement after I applied some of his suggestions to my stories. Keep writing, it's the only way to get better. You obviously have the necessary guts if you're willing to submit your work to public critique. I sure wouldn't be able to...

Nicker on 31/7/2011 at 18:29

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What you say is true too, Aja. I was trying to head off any defensive maneuvers at the pass.

Doing a meditation on a common dissatisfaction with life requires either a unique angle or superlative wordsmithing skills. There is a conflict inherent in the situation but it lacks a dramatic edge. We either have to care about the character or their conflict (preferably both) or the whole exercise is cut off at the knees.

Yakoob on 31/7/2011 at 21:00

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Whenever I read books about writing, the first two things they want you to ask yourself is: "What is this story about" and "What does the protagonist want?" This can be literal, like an item or a person, or abstract, like forgiveness of his father or escape from his mundane life (in this case). Then, add an obstacle that prevents the character from obtaining said goal and BAM - conflict! You've got yourself a basic premise. Now you can start working on the arch, and introduce more characters which, too, need to have their own "wants" and "desires." The next necessary step to consider is that of change and transformation - each character must change throughout his arch (for better or worse) and even on a micro-level, each "scene" needs to represent a change in something (story/mood/etc.)




Sounds exactly like the kinda book I could use, will check it out, thanks (darn, my library doesnt carry it!). While we're spouting books, my recommendation would be Blake Snyder's Save the Cat. While it deals specifically with film, it nonetheless goes to the roots of good storytelling. What I liked about it is that its brief and to the point - it doesnt spend 30 pages explaining academic theory or citing countless examples; it plainly tells you "this is what works, this is why, go do it, and if you still doubt it, watch movie xyz for more proof."

It also does an interesting thing of breaking down a movie (or a story) into separate four pieces he called beats, each ending roughly 1/4 of the way and always having certain key elements and always ending in a paltable tone/flow change in the narrative. It sounds like some bogus "how to make a $1 million dollar movie" but after reading it and paying attention to the good/successful movies I watch - by god - they all have the four beats and cover the things he mentions. He also gives an effective and flexible plan for brainstorming and outlining a complete story following the beat pattern.

If you guys are interested I can go into more detail on the 4-beat story breakdown and the process of outlining he mentions, I found his stuff so directly applicable I actually took notes (and no, the book was not a school assignment :p)