There are many books written about writing books. Some years ago, I bought one, called “How to write damn good fiction.” It wasn’t bad, as books go, but over the years I have added some of my own thoughts to this. While I could write a lengthy dissertation on the subject – I am a writer, after all – these thoughts can be summarised in a short blog piece like this, so I decided to share it.
Here are the elements of a great story, as I see it:
- originality. Ever noticed how many movies are out there, rehashing the old ground? Ever wondered why? It’s because they know the story works and they are hoping to capitalise on it yet again. But in my opinion, if you are a true artist and a writer, you will not go down this road. You will think of a new story, a fresh angle, and most importantly – a good, strong premise and a message to impart, that reflects your values. Which brings me to my next point.
- thought-provoking material. So, here I am talking about stories that make you think. It can be almost anything, but it has to be current. One of the great things that we artists can do, is to record our day and age for all time. Even in a piece of fiction, our work is a reflection of the things we believe in, things that are important to us, and usually there will be other people out there with similar thoughts and ideas. An example is sexuality, one of the reasons I love writing erotica. It allows me to explore the whole question of love and relationships, and how it intersects with lust, desire, passion. Broaden the scope of this, for instance by writing a sci-fi erotica, and you can have aliens making commentary on our modern world, how families work (or don’t), what we can do better etc.
- characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. This is an obvious one, but often overlooked, if you ask me. The best stories have a whole range of wonderful, deep, interesting characters. The crap ones have characters that are predictable, shallow, two-dimensional and boring. Which story would you rather read? One where the characters show loyalty, love and integrity, or one where they are all at each other’s throats or stabbing each other in the back? Also, note that a character does not have to be ‘evil’ to play the role of an adversary. Anyone can be a pain to anyone else, purely through having slightly different motives.
- plot with twists and turns. Any good story has these, even a seemingly straightforward one like “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernst Hemingway. Remember how he goes out to sea, further out than any other boat? Seems pretty obvious that he would come to mischief, but how? Through some storm, perhaps? Then he hooks the big fish and you think to yourself, thank goodness, he made it. And then come the trials and tribulations, with all the bits where you keep thinking he will win, he will win. Which he does in the end, but not in the way we expect. Those are subtle twists in the plot that work very well. In my stories, I like to have bigger twists and turns, if possible. But I always strive not to do it at the expense of my characters. Making someone who is a friend, suddenly turn against the lead character, is an obvious and oft used way to create a plot turn. I don’t like doing that. Twists and turns should be believable, and in order for them to believable, they must make sense from each character’s point of view. So, if you want someone to suddenly betray someone else, you better come up with a damn good reason “why”.
- style. Narrator’s style, your writing style, is the final ingredient in a great story. Make it too verbose and complex, and you’ll ruin a potentially great plot. Make it easy to read and engaging, and you can lift a pretty average plot to the level of a masterpiece. So, while I have placed this at the bottom of my list, it is actually of equal importance as all of the above. To discover a style that works for you, make sure to read a lot of books. Try to pause your writing periodically, to read some more and refresh what is in your head. And if you get to a point where you’ve written more than one book (congratulations!) then make sure to go back and read your own books, from time to time. Seems obvious, but I know plenty of authors don’t bother. I went and re-read all of my (then 5) erotica books in the last 12 months, and it made me realise I had certain common elements in all, as well as words and phrases that I like to use. I immediately decided on a departure from the norm, because I wanted to grow as a writer and to challenge myself. Take care with the style you use. It’s one of your most important tools.