What makes a story tick? Part1 page1

Hello!

I recently attended this literary workshop. It was an enriching experience, as a writer, and I cannot tell you how much valuable all the advice was.

So, I have decided to do this series, wherein- all the qualities the publishers (who had graced the occasion) had said a good story must contain will be discussed one by one.

I ask you to take out two minutes from your valuable time, and contribute to this discussion. You will have done me, and other amateur writer's a great service.

Please remember that this is a healthy discussion, and I'd appreciate if everybody sticks to the point.

Thank you.

-V

1

To have a story to tell

Irrelevant though this may seem, the publishers present there had told us that they had rejected various manuscripts, wherein the use of language was absolutely beautiful, because they had no story to tell. Having a story to tell is the first step towards writing a story. It can be a story about how you lost your teddy bear. It can also be about how you had to rescue somebody who had to be kidnapped. But, you need to have it, in order to tell it. In order to have a story to tell, you need to keep your mind open to all sorts of ideas, and need to venture out to gain new experiences.

Venturing out to gain new experiences doesn't mean that you have to go and start your training for rock climbing. (Though rock climbing is very awesome... but I digress). It means, keep yourself open for new ideas... and new experiences. Even something as simple as travelling via trains can become an adventure. You just need to have that mind frame.

However, we were told about writing about things we have experienced. That was where they had raised their voices excitedly... and had started to wave there hands about. They said, when you write about things you haven't experienced, you tend to sound somewhat fake, and then your readers can't connect to your character, and put your story away, never to read again. As opposed to go international, they advised us to go local... because only then could we appropriately describe the setting, without sounding all weird.

So, at the proverbial tip of the tail... a writer should keep his/her mind open for new ideas and experiences... and should write about things he/she has experienced.

Well, there it is. Part#1 of the series. What do you think? Please do share your views about what, according to you makes a story tick?

Happy dicussing!

A completely valid point!!

You need to have a solid story to tell……or else the readers are just going to be wondering when the story is going to actually start, and can often result in the loss of interest from the reader's side too.

Also, I don't know how the author will continue a story if he/she doesn't actually have a story to tell? What does the author write then?

So yeah….a proper story line is what makes the readers stick and the authors tick!!!! 😆

About experiencing the incidents you incorporate into your story…..I guess it is necessary to a certain level so that you don't spout rubbish while narrating…but again….if you have a story in mind already…you just need your creativity and imagination to actually carry it forward successfully more than your actually experiencing it….though the experience may help you relate to the plot more..I guess... I really hope this comment makes sense!!😆