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I read something interesting in a book titled “Techniques of the Selling Writer,” by Dwight V. Swain. In Chapter 6 (at least in my edition), “Beginning, Middle End,” Swain begins the first paragraph with this bold statement:
“All stories are ‘about’ the same thing: desire versus danger. Each concerns a focal character’s attempt to attain or retain something in the face of trouble.”
Huh. That is quite interesting to contemplate, isn’t it? Are all stories essentially variations on that theme? I suppose, upon reflection, I have to agree with him. Every story we write must move at least one character through a challenge of some kind - whether it is something desired or something that character wishes to not lose. I will add that there are countless variations on that simplistic notion. A character could desire to be out of pain, for example. So, we could say that he desires painlessness, but in truth his desire is to be rid of something, more than to attain something. I digress.
The fact is, every story does need to have a beginning, a middle and an end, and all along the way, we must be drawn in by the character’s quest, whatever that may be, and the obstacles that are presented along the way. Let’s say you are writing a story about a woman who is in an abusive relationship. She may not even realize that what she really wants is to have a happy, pain-free life, and to be loved. We want that for her, though, as a kind of universal concept that being loved and appreciated is good and that being yelled at or hit is bad. Somehow the story must take us through the process of getting her past the obstacles (e.g. an obsessive husband like the one in Sleeping with the Enemy) to a resolution.
The process of doing that is a bit like weaving. You have tools to work with - your imagination, your writing skill, and your ideas for how to make this story unique. Like a piece of woven material, the piece must have a beginning, a middle and an end. It will be like no other woven piece, because the skill you bring to it, the threads you choose to include, and how you finish it at the end will all be unique.
One more thing on the weaving analogy: like a piece of woven fabric, your fiction piece will not look good at first. You won’t be able to fully imagine the finished piece until it is complete. So don’t judge its merits when you are only halfway there.
When you start a piece of fiction, think about these things:
- What is the character’s desire or quest?
- What are the obstacles that are in the way of achieving it?
- How will you weave in the setting, the minor characters, an antagonist, and interesting action and dialog?
- How will you build tension and suspense along the way?
- How will you resolve the primary conflict, and bring the story to a close?
Thinking about it this way hopefully takes out some of the mystery behind the craft of storytelling. It’s about creating a story that we (readers) want to read because we are riveted by that character’s problem and we simply must find out how it will all be resolved.
Happy writing!
@jayna, writer and moderator at The Ink Well.
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I have this technique where I write the bones (make the loom) and then go and add details (the threads, the colour), continuously passing back and forth until I have something that resembles a story. Great post and great analogy. xx
I'm glad you took the analogy and ran with it, @riverflows! That's really a great strategy to "write down the bones" as Natalie Goldberg famously wrote. It's too easy, otherwise, to spend all your time perfecting the first few paragraphs and never move forward.
They sure are a lot of do's and don't when it comes to story writing but some times we do prefer to ignore this things and go with the flow because it is always easier that way.. I hope this isn't being lazy cause I'm guilty of it. 😂😂
I think all writers are lazy sometimes, @prayzz. And certainly the "do's and don'ts" are not for everyone. But serious writers who have a desire for success must study the craft. Not everyone is a serious writer, and that's okay.
Indeed. It is easier to ignore the rules... pain in the arse I know!
But every writer who has ever improved has had to learn rules and craft.
It is kind of like saying; there are sure a lot of do and don't being doctor... it's always easier to rip out a spleen. After all who needs the spleen... it just filters blood. Who needs blood anyway!
Writing is like everything in this world. I you don't learn, if you don't research.... if you don't take the time to discover the unique voice that reflects your life... you will write mediocre stories at best. At worst, something that no one wants to read. It all depends how far you want to take it, and how committed you are 😉
It really is up to you!
😂😂😂 That was funny. But I got your point though, thanks.
Well said! Now, when it comes to surgeons, I like mine well-studied. No online learning or mail order doctors for me! I really insist that they have a full medical degree from an accredited institution! Ha ha.
The craft of writing is not easy. And it all depends on your goals as to how far you want to do with it. I always use baking and cooking as analogies. One can become a fair cook by following recipes. But to create something truly sublime that makes people's eyes roll back in their heads, you must pursue, learn, try, persist, study the masters, try again, learn more, and keep going.
Sorry, I commented on this post and saw then it's two years old. But, I thought I'd throw a comment in here too.
Rules are there to be broken and learning and going by the rules is how you know how to break them properly and for a reason. Rather than doing it by accident. I guess it's the difference between being an amature or proffesional. To a certain extent.
For example, in film there is something called the 180° rule, it's common and most people have heard of it. In camera set up your camera should stay to one side of the actors, to follow their eyelines. As it allows everyone to know that character A is to the left of screen and character B is on the right. The rule is broken if you flip the camera to the other side of the actors. Amature mistake, unless there's a reason.
Like for example a characrer changing there mind, or learning something that sickens them. It's known to disorientate an audiance. So there has to be significance for doing it.
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This is a really good post, sometimes I find that I have to re-affirm these kinds of points and make a concious effort not to forget them.
I think another thing that is important is consequences for actions, for example. Using the idea of the character who wants to not be in pain, in their quest for painlessness, maybe they take pain killers. Which, they get addicted too, after there pain is gone, then their addiction manifests in a pain, that keeps them taking the pain killers.
Or maybe, the character who wants painlessness dies at the end. Their final thought could be. It's warm and cold. There's no happy or sad, it's just peaceful. No pain or worries. Then everything goes dark. - It's like they got what they were looking for, but it wasn't how they expected it.
I remember my scriptwriting tutor always said that, try and wrap things up at the end of a script by giving the character what they wanted, but, maybe not how the expected. Unless it's a certain genre of film.
It's so interesting, I think flaws for characters is really important too. I love nothing more than someone who's hopeless, but, especially if they don't even realise that they have a flaw.