13 Elements of a Good Story

Many elements go into making a book  lovable and memorable. The reason we like  some books and  dislike  others  is not just because  of the writing style or the story, but for several other reasons.  I have read many not so great books only because I found the characters worthy of following. Unfortunately these characters were caught in a not so great story. Many other books  I  have read because I liked the way  the plot  twists  kept me on tenterhooks, though I disliked the language and  the writing style was ordinary.

For a book to make the cut, many elements must fall into place. The ones that instantly come to mind, I have listed below.

1.      A  Strong  Protagonist: who beckons the reader into his/her story and  makes them follow him/her page after page. The protagonist has to be likeable and has to have a few redeeming qualities which would make a reader chase him /her through the story. 

2.      A Powerful Antagonist:  who evokes  immense dislike from the readers. An antagonist so vile that to see the antagonist fall readers will stay awake the entire night to turn the pages.    

      

3.      A Unique, Original, and Amazing Setting that makes the readers take an amazing journey into a previously unchartered territory. Settings take time to create, but they are well worth the effort.

4.      An Engrossing Conflict that sucks the readers in its grip.

5.      Unexpected Twists and Turns of the Story: keeps the readers engrossed.

6.      A  Generous Sprinkling of  Romance: brings a smile on the readers’ faces and makes their hearts flutter.

7.      Heart Tugging Emotions: very  crucial for the emotional connection with the readers.

8.      Rounded, Peripheral Characters : they help in  pushing the story forward.

9.      Atleast two Strong  Subplots that Intersect the Main Plot:  this can involve the peripheral characters and  is extremely crucial to break the monotony if the main plot slackens.

10.  A Gripping  Plot: packed with racy scenes that add tension and make it a page    turner.

11.  Awesome Writing Style: full of vivid and unusual descriptions that tease the senses.

12.  Wonderful Dialogues or as I prefer to call them Conversation Pieces that are remembered long after the book has been put down.

13.  A Great Resolution ; preferably a Happily Ever After or a resolution that leaves the readers satisfied with the way the story has ended.

Do you think there are other elements that I have overlooked? Is there any other element that is crucial?  Please share with us. Not only are we keen to hear about it, we can also add it into our next manuscript and perhaps get close to writing an awesome book.

P.S. I suddenly realized that Friday had crept up on me and I had not written a post. So, I cheated by reposting an older post with a few changes. Hope cheating is allowed once in a while. 

Plot Structures that Capture the Essence of the Story

Every story has these  basic plot  points which my friend Lia Keyes shared with me. I have added my two cents to it.

  

Inciting Incident. Every story has this event. The Inciting Event  is responsible for throwing the protagonist headlong into the path of trouble/conflict or problem.

 Plan. It’s what the Main Characters decides to do, to thwart the obstacle, to bypass the roadblocks and overcome the Antagonist. This is a course of action the MC decides upon to tackle the problem at hand.

Game. Every conflict is like a game where there is only one winner; either the protagonist or the antagonist. The result depends on who plays smartly and aggressively. The game and its rules come into play here. Who has the odds stacked against them? Who is the Dark Horse?

Changing  Obstacles. These  obstacles  in the story keep changing, very often they grow not only in size, but also change their direction and shape. The introductory of  sub - plots comes into focus here. This change of direction can get the protagonist into more trouble and make the antagonist more powerful.

Plot Twist. These curves in the path of the plot help to set the pace. Many times plot twists happen when new  characters arrive or the old ones wave a goodbye.

Sometimes even the unexpected actions of few trusted characters bring about a twist in the plot.

Dark Moment. This is the moment when the Main Character is left completely alone. He or she has to now trek the route to victory only on the sheer strength of  his or her  own efforts. External help may or may not come. But the war started has to be waged and the battle fought.

Epiphany. The moment of Epiphany  brings about an illumination. It’s the moment when things fall in place and the path ahead is clear as though someone has showed the Protagonist a roadmap complete with detailed directions. A light bulb literally lights up.

New Plan. With the moment of Epiphany a new course of action is charted, new plans made. Once again there is a change of speed.

Cliffhanger. The Cliffhanger sees the execution of  the  new plan/s. Will they bear fruit? Will the protagonist fall flat? Will the antagonist win because of the protagonist’s foolishness. It’s the moment that adds  tension.

Climax. The final battle is fought. The protagonist is all set to do or die, while the antagonist is all ready to kill or be killed.

Ending. Where perfect resolutions find their true place and the loose ends are tied together. 

These are the plot points I  loosely base my stories on. They are like a rough map that help me chart the course of action the protagonist takes and the plans he or she makes. What about you all. How do you plot your stories? We all would love to get familiar with your individual processes, as I am sure we can learn a lot from it

13 Elements of a Good Story

 Many elements go into making a book  lovable and memorable. The reason we like  some books and  dislike  others  is not just because  of the writing style or the story, but for several other reasons.

I have read many not so great books only because I found the characters worthy of following. Unfortunately these characters were caught in a not so great story. Many other books  I  have read because I liked the way  the plot  twists  kept me on tenterhooks, though I disliked the language and  the writing style was ordinary.

 For a book to make the cut, many elements must fall into place. The ones that instantly come to mind, I have listed below.

1.      A  Strong  Protagonist: who beckons the reader into his/her story and  makes them follow him/her page after page. A protagonist who becomes a literary friend, one we are eager to know more about.   

2.      A Powerful Antagonist: who evokes  immense dislike from the readers. To see the antagonist fall and lose,  readers root for the protagonist's victory and get glued to the pages.        

                  

3.      A Unique, Original, and Amazing Setting that has the readers eager to know more. Settings take time to create, but they are well worth the effort.

4.      An Engrossing Conflict that  sucks  the readers in its grip.

5.      Unexpected Twists and Turns of the Story: keeps the readers engrossed.

6.      A  Generous Sprinkling of  Romance: brings a smile on the readers’ faces and makes their hearts flutter.

7.      Heart Tugging Emotions: very  crucial for the emotional connect with the readers.

8.      Rounded, Peripheral Characters : they help in   pushing the story forward.

9.      Atleast two Strong  Subplots that Intersect the Main Plot:  this can involve the peripheral characters and  is extremely crucial to break the monotony if the main plot slackens.

10.   A Gripping  Plot: packed with racy scenes that add tension and make it a page   turner.

11.   Awesome Writing Style: full of vivid and unusual descriptions.

12.   Wonderful Dialogues or as I  prefer to call them Conversation  Pieces that are remembered long   after the book has been put down.

13.   A Great Resolution ; preferably a Happily Ever After.

Do you think there are other elements that I have overlooked? Is there any other element that  is crucial?  Please tell us, not only are we  keen to hear about it, we can also add it into our next manuscript.

Surprise, Shock and Spook

Lets discuss books from the point of readers and not writers today. Readers are an important part of the process of writing. Books are written only for them. We were readers: die hard readers, long before we plunged into the world of writing.

I have noticed that readers love the 3 S’s. They loved to be Surprised. They love to be Shocked. And, they love to be Spooked.

Sudden surprises that makes them shake their heads in amazement.

Swift shocks that renders them into a state of momentary silence.

Steady spooks that turn them into a mass of quivering jelly.

Pleasant surprises are welcomed by everyone in their day to day life. And, readers are no different. The element of surprise works wonders for the readership of books. The strange twists and turns the plot takes keeps the readers glued to the book. New revelations of the main character, new entrants that propel the plot forward, the unceremonious exits of old characters, stubborn obstacles that crop up, hook the readers big time. By constantly surprising readers in every chapter the book starts to become a page turner. Lets flash back to Harry Potter. Mrs Figg turning out to be a squib was just one of the many pleasant surprises the readers enjoyed! Frequent surprises sweep away the boredom that tends to creep in. It brings a certain freshness, like the opening of a window that dissipates the musty air.

Though in our personal lives there is no room for shock: we actually detest it, but when we read, shock appeals. We love it when our favourite authors shock us, when dirty character secrets are revealed slowly, chapter by chapter. Book by book. When skeletons tumble out thick and fast from locked cupboards. When the underbelly of a character is exposed. A case being J.K.Rowling. Every Potter book had plenty of the 3 S’s thrown in. I could never have guessed that Snape had been secretly in love with Lily ( Harry Potter’s mother). I am sure that none of us actually imagined Snape being in love with anyone! Albus Dumbledore’s tumultuous past too was a bolt from the blue. For me he was a paragon of virtue. And that he could have a chink in his armour was a major shock.

Another emotion we love in our books is being Spooked. This works more in favour of thrillers, suspense and murder mysteries. The spook factor intensifies the movement of the plot, increases the pace, heart beats accelerate, nails are chewed as we enter into the thicket of fear. Harry’s connection with Voldemort because of the scar on his head was a tad spooky. Anything that raises our anxiety, heightens our tension has us hooked emotionally to that object. What will happen next? Will the main character escape, will he/she be saved?? Who will emerge victorious? Will the world be saved? Questions that peck at our mind with the persistence of a woodpecker need their answers, which only the turn of a page will provide.

When the three S’s join together in a book, that has oodles of style, as well as a strong storyline, the reader is frantically racing over the lines. It’s getting quite alliterative: surprise, shock, spook, style and story.

Which element appeals to you the most? As a reader.