An expedition is portrayed in a story. In a story, we have a character or group of characters who pursue something while encountering challenges. Every day, we tell stories, largely to ourselves. We make points, create potential futures, recall ourselves, correct ourselves, and provide solace for ourselves by telling ourselves stories. Each one of us has a sophisticated narrative system that is alive, filled with knowledge, and, in my opinion, vitally necessary to our health and well-being.
We are all storytellers. We’re all a part of a network of stories. It is impossible to overstate the ability of storytelling to bring people together. The history of our period is braided with tales and crucial elements. Let’s review the fundamentals of story writing. The skill of story writing has been used for ages to amuse, instruct, and inform people. It is a technique to communicate thoughts, feelings, and experiences while educating others about various cultures and lifestyles. Essentially, a story is a narration of actual or hypothetical events involving actual or hypothetical characters. A story must inevitably be expressed in words. A tale can be told using photos or moving pictures (movies). Usually, the purpose of a narrative is to entertain the audience or to convey a message. Whether it is a novel, novella, short tale, etc., the format will determine how long the piece is. A story’s quality is unaffected by how long it is. Consider the well-known author Ernest Hemingway as an example. A challenge to compose a tale in only six words was once made to him. However, the way he told the tale was “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.” And also, folktales, legends, myths, fairy tales, short stories, epics, historical fiction, fantasy novels, science fiction books, criminal fiction novels, and memoirs are just a few examples of the many diverse kinds of stories that exist. Different subgenres, or stories with distinctive qualities or characteristics, might occasionally be used to tell the same type of story.
Format of Story Writing
Now let us comprehend what the elements or format of story writing are.
Setting
Where and when the incident occurred are specified by the setting. It identifies the place, the era (past, present, or future), and the cultural and social context in which the character is situated. The five senses—sight, smell, taste, feel, and sound—are considered while writing a suitable setting. The author should be able to transfer the reader right away to the location they are aiming to take them. The setting is the story’s opening or introduction and is crucially important. The reader’s attention can be grabbed and piqued at this point. You’ve probably encountered several common openings for stories, such as “Once upon a time” or “A long time ago.” You might, however, be more imaginative and start your story out with curiosity.
The setting is one of the most crucial aspects of the story’s writing style since it affects everything that the other aspects do. A frequent backdrop for that type of horror story is a cemetery; while it will make for a wonderful plot, it could also be predictable. Setting a horror story in a busy street or shopping mall will deviate from what the reader anticipates. Following that, the characters are forced to behave differently as they learn how to respond to circumstances that shouldn’t logically be occurring in this situation.
Have you read “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson? The entire story is set up in a maze which makes it much more interesting to read.
Character
Any story’s characters are its heart and soul. Characters in a story can be any person, animal, or thing that can be personified. Depending on the author, there might be one or multiple primary characters. The story is seen by the reader from the perspective of the characters. Every tale has a primary character, which is a simple step in the story’s writing structure. Determine yours as you prepare to compose a story for content. Write down any unique qualities or flaws that the character possesses that are crucial to the plot. (And in circumstances where discretion is required, give your character a codename; list the character’s real name next to the code name in your notes.)
A good character description makes it real. You can feel and relate to it if it is deftly etched. So when you write the character description of someone, visualize it and make sure you cover each and every important detail required to bring the character to life.
Plot
Here is where the story’s narration will really take place. The plot will contain the details of the circumstance or the actions that take place. A conflict, which is the centre of every story, must always be present in a plot. An organized pattern or series of events that go into creating a story is called a plot. It serves as the backbone of the narrative and underpins all of the character-driven actions.
A plot has five components:
- Exposition
Characters, the setting, and the conflict (or problem) are introduced in the exposition.
- Rising Action
Events that result from the primary conflict are known as rising action.
- Climax
The story’s climax is where the tension and drama are at their maximum.
- Falling Actions
At this point, the character begins to address the problem, and the conflict lessens.
- Resolutions
This is the point at which the disagreement is settled, and all unfinished business is wrapped up.
- Conflict
Conflict occurs when two opposing sides in a story struggle against one another. The plot revolves around a task or dilemma like this. The plot’s primary structure is formed by conflict. Conflict can occur within or outside. Any outside influence can cause external conflict, whereas internal conflict originates within the character’s psyche. The issue could be external, such as what preparations the protagonist needs to make for their first day of work. The issue could also be internal. The same new worker has crippling anxiety about being late. What issue, dispute, crisis, challenge, problem, difficulty, situation, or predicament does your character encounter? The struggle may be huge, insignificant, or somewhere in between. Perhaps there are too many split ends. It is your responsibility to frame the situation appropriately for your article, blog post, letter, or book chapter.
- Conclusion
And it is at this point where the plot logically ends. This is where you will reveal story twists if there are any. Always put an unexpected twist on the ending. Additionally, you are not required to give your story a conclusive ending. Another successful strategy is a cliffhanger. The story’s theme is the main message that the author wants to get through to the reader. The theme is the takeaway the reader has from the story.
Sometimes readers have to work hard to understand the basic purpose that the article is trying to convey by describing the characters’ deeds or modes of thought, so the story should be concluded precisely and nicely.
If you are writing a thriller-mystery book or chapter, then make sure you unfold all the secrets at the end in a logical but enthralling manner. Also, you can leave some questions unanswered if you want to write another book or chapter and leave your audience pondering.
| Read more: What Is Creative Writing and Its Types? |
Writing a Good Story: Some Valuable Advice
- Where does your storyline take place?
A story should always take listeners somewhere else. It is important where you set your story. It will create a huge difference. For example, A mountainside from which a volcanologist is trying to flee because the volcano he’s been studying has suddenly roared to life is one example of when the details may be used mostly for mood or a bookstore where two individuals meet and start a whirlwind romance.
- Your character need not be flawless.
There are no perfect individuals, and if there were, they would be boring to no end. Also, most people do not like perfect characters because they won’t be able to relate. As the crisis intensifies, give your character flaws that will both help us identify with her as a person and heighten the suspense in the story.
- Your protagonist must experience some discomfort.
Your protagonist or the main character must face some obstacles. He is relatable because of his difficulties. Throw the antithesis of anything he is good at. Make his attitude the reason for an accident that permanently damages his hand, especially if he is a haughty rock guitarist with a soaring career trajectory. What will he do? Will he alter in any way? Your tale has the solution.
- Finish the project you’re working on
Get a first idea written down. You can only start the process of revising and editing after you have finished writing from start to finish.
Story Writing is an art. Writers see the world differently. Every voice we hear, every face we see, and every hand we touch could be a Story Fabric. I hope this will help you with your upcoming story.
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