
Storytelling is the art of relating a story in a way that will hold the reader’s or the listener’s attention. However, writing a story and telling a story require very different techniques and skills.
What is a story? A story is a narrative description of a character struggling to solve a problem. Nothing more than that. And nothing less. Ben Bova The Craft of Writing Science Fiction.
Motivation is one of most important elements in a story., If the reader perceives the characters are just going through the motions, the story will be a failure. How much motivation do the characters require? That is function of the story’s plot problem. If the character has to risk her life to solve the problem, then the motivation must be strong, very strong. If the plot problem is to find a Mother’s Day card at 11:00 on night before, then the motivation can be a lot less intense and can in fact be humorous. Whether strong or humorous, the characters must be motivated.
Reader experience: Do you ever stop to think about this question while writing your story? You should. After all, you’re writing the story for the reader. Therefore, what the reader is experiencing is a vital concern. It’s called the Dominant Reader Emotion or DRE. Your character’s DRE can be sympathy, pleasing, amusing etc. if the character is the protagonist . It can be anger. disgust etc if the character is the villain. The DRE determines how you write about the character in a scene. Your writing must be in agreement with the chosen DRE.
Conflict produces tension and conflict and tension produce emotions.and they are mandatory requirements for any story. No conflict? No tension? No emotions? No story!
Character arcs: a story without a character arc isn't a story because nothing has happened. Everything after the story ends is the same as before the story started. A character arc can’t be an on-off switch. You have to show the character slowly changing over the course of the story. In effect, the character arc can be a mini-story embedded into the main story.
Scenes are the building blocks of a story. Not word, not paragraphs, not chapters: scenes! Don't write xx number of words a day. Write scenes. Every scene must have a goal. It just can’t be a number of paragraphs bunched together for the writer’s convenience.
Emotional arc is a vital element in the story-telling. Readers want to follow the character’s emotional journey. In every scene, there must be an emotional change for the main character in the scene. This scene main character doesn’t have to be the story’s main character. The character’s emotions at the end of the scene must be changed from the character’s emotion at the start of the scene.
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