--You
should be able to break down every story you write into one sentence:
This is a story about ______________ who wants ____________________________
but ____________________________________.
--It
also helps to pare your story down to the “bare bones” by stating it in
three short sentences. For example:
1.
boy wants pet (what the hero wants)
2.
boy’s sister is allergic to pet fur (the major obstacle)
3.
boy gets iguana (how it ends)
--Your
main character needs to be clear from the very beginning. Readers must believe he/she is the kind of person who would
actually do the things he/she needs to do in your story
--Start
your story in the middle of the action, preferably the moment when everything
begins to change for your hero. Don’t
start with him waking up in the morning. Start
with him getting caught shoplifting, catching an intruder in his home, losing
his clarinet – something should be happening
--Begin
with a problem the hero must solve. A
PROBLEM THAT MATTERS! Having liver
and onions for dinner may be a problem, but it’s not a problem that matters.
Unless your main character’s father is allergic to liver and onions.
And the person who’s serving it knows that Dad is allergic to it…
That COULD lead to an interesting story…
--One
thing should lead logically to the next (i.e. something happens because
something else happened). Don’t
just string a series of events together randomly.
--Things
in your story should get worse and worse for your main character until the
“black moment,” when everything seems hopeless and it appears your character
won’t triumph.
--Keep
it interesting. Keep the story
moving forward. Keep readers
guessing what’s going to happen next.
--Everything
in your story should either develop the main character or move the plot forward,
otherwise it shouldn’t be in your story (even if it’s the most clever scene
you’ve ever written in your life)
--Remember
the “rule of three.” In many
stories, a character makes three attempts to solve the problem before he/she
succeeds
--Make sure your character solves his/her problem
him/herself.
