Every story has elements, certain elements that make that story unique. Crafting a story is a skill. There are also multiple ways to craft a story. Every writer has his or her way to craft the story.
Once you master these elements, writing a great story will be matter of practice then.
Many writers don’t trust their intuition, but personally, I trust my intuition to figure out the story as I go with writing. Other writers prefer to outline the plot before they start writing. Both of these approaches have pros and cons.
I want to talk about elements of story, rather than how you craft the story. Elements of story make the story engaging for readers. Remember, it doesn’t matter how great your writing is, if the story is not engaging, readers won’t read it. They will blame the writer for writing a lousy story.
Conflict –
Most important element of the story is conflict. Without conflict, story will never progress and you will not be able to hook a reader. Conflict can be of various degrees. Story without a conflict is like food without any spices, bland. Many writers start the story with conflict, so readers immediately know what they are getting into it.
The wave shut me off from the world, from the birds in the sky, the children on the beach,
my mother on the shore. There was a moment of green silence. Then the wave gave me
back to the sky, the sand, the children yelling. – The Lake by Ray Bradbury.
In the above opening paragraph, Ray talks about a wave from lake, how it makes an individual separated from all things around for a brief moment. In that moment, we forget all we had and then it brings back all those memories.
Any naive writer can write a good story if the writer adds a conflict in the story. So look at your writing and see if there is a conflict or not.
Characters –
Characters are the heart of the story. You can write a story without characters, but many readers won’t be able to easily relate to the story. Every character you add, reader will be able to find commonalities in that character.
Characters build relationships with readers. Protagonists or antagonists are part of the story. Without those two types of characters, stories will be incomplete.
Setting –
Setting of story will create an aura and resemblance for readers. It brings stories alive. More details about setting you can put in, more realistic you will make the story. There can be different elements of setting. If you are writing about futuristic science fiction, it is utmost important to entail details about where the story is taking place, how is the weather, how is the political climate, what kind of culture it is.
Micro details add strength to your setting in turn making the plot more believable.
Plot –
Plot tells everything about your story. Story which tells what is happening, why is happening, when and how is it happening. Every writer has a way to tell the story through a plot. Plot has sub-elements which give the plot required strength. Master all those elements and you will master the plot.
Resolution –
Just like without a conflict, there is no story, similarly without resolution, story will not be complete. Your readers will either love you or hate you depending if there is resolution. They will definitely not going to read again if there is no resolution.
If conflict is the soul of the story, resolution is a peace to that soul.
Symbolism –
Symbolism is not the most important part of story. But it adds spice to your story. Symbolism dictates how a character is thinking, what the story is revealing. Metaphors of the story are revealed through symbolism. Symbolism is important, it reflects story through a different angle. Also shows the true side of player’s life.
Those are all the important parts of the story. You can vary them in your story as you build it. Writing a great story is hard and it takes immense practice. Practice all these elements and you will be great at writing a story.
References
- How to craft a compelling story – Compelling Story
- Plot of a story – Plot of a story
- Writing Process – Writing Process