Leonardo
02-19-2004, 07:14 AM
The following are, I think, the most important details in writing a good story. I only found one to be a big problem in this forum, but I'm still posting all three, in hopes none will ever exist.
1. Character Strength
Unless you are writing a tragedy, your protagonist should not be overly powerful. You can give him/her a slight boost, such as Harry Potter's magical abilities, or Spiderman's super powers, but the antagonist should seem extremely powerful in contrast to the protagonist.
In the case of a tragedy, the protagonist is the one who fails. In this case, make the protagonist powerful, and the antagonist weak.
2. Problem
All stories need a problem. The problem is the essence of the story. The trick is to make it a problem that cannot be solved easily. If your protagonist is special in some way, do something to hinder those qualities, or attack his biggest weakness head on. The bigger the problem, and harder to solve, the better the story.
The problem can be the antagonists actions, an unfulfilled dream, or anything that is hard to solve.
Even in tragedies, the problems are large, and eventually solved.
3. Getting to the Point
You can fulfill the first two points completely, and still have people pooh-pooh your story. If that happens, you've probably been going on about pointless details. Every word you write must contribute in some way to the final story. You shouldn't go on about things like the sounds something makes while eating, unless they somehow contribute to the turn of events. Those kinds of things bore your readers.
Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect; no one is. Heck, I've made these same mistakes more times than I can count. However, armed with the knowlege of these common faults to stories, you can be on the lookout. Now get out there, and write something good!
1. Character Strength
Unless you are writing a tragedy, your protagonist should not be overly powerful. You can give him/her a slight boost, such as Harry Potter's magical abilities, or Spiderman's super powers, but the antagonist should seem extremely powerful in contrast to the protagonist.
In the case of a tragedy, the protagonist is the one who fails. In this case, make the protagonist powerful, and the antagonist weak.
2. Problem
All stories need a problem. The problem is the essence of the story. The trick is to make it a problem that cannot be solved easily. If your protagonist is special in some way, do something to hinder those qualities, or attack his biggest weakness head on. The bigger the problem, and harder to solve, the better the story.
The problem can be the antagonists actions, an unfulfilled dream, or anything that is hard to solve.
Even in tragedies, the problems are large, and eventually solved.
3. Getting to the Point
You can fulfill the first two points completely, and still have people pooh-pooh your story. If that happens, you've probably been going on about pointless details. Every word you write must contribute in some way to the final story. You shouldn't go on about things like the sounds something makes while eating, unless they somehow contribute to the turn of events. Those kinds of things bore your readers.
Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect; no one is. Heck, I've made these same mistakes more times than I can count. However, armed with the knowlege of these common faults to stories, you can be on the lookout. Now get out there, and write something good!