Growing up, one of my (Ryan’s) biggest dreams was to write a story. I found it easy to come up with characters and engaging scenarios to put them in. However, where I found difficulty was giving readers a reason to care. If readers had no reason to care about a story, why would they bother with reading it?
As a student, you’ve most likely found yourself in a position where you need to write a story for an assignment. Try to remember your experience with writing said story. Was it interesting? Was it easy to follow? Although you may have passed that assignment, that story you wrote could most likely still use some work. What it could use is better structure, more creativity, better intrigue.
An essential part of writing a story is keeping its structure stable. A technique writers use for easy organization (and one you may have learned already) is called the “Freytag Pyramid.” The Freytag pyramid is an organizational structure that places story events into five parts.
The first part is exposition, where the characters, settings, conflict, and background information is explained for readers. Next is the rising action, which aims to invest the reader by placing the protagonist in situations where they have to overcome different obstacles. The third stage of the pyramid is the climax, or the most pivotal part of the story. The climax is meant to determine how the story will conclude. The second to last stage of the pyramid is the falling action, where the story starts to “calm down.” The results of the climax are realized in the falling action. Finally, there is the resolution; the story has reached its conclusion, and the reader is given closure on the story’s meaning.
Although organization is important for a good story, the story will go nowhere without well written characters. When writing characters, you have to ask yourself: “What is their goal?” What are their reasons?” Why do they act the way they do?” In an interview with Elin Hilderbrand, author of the book Winter Storms, she states that writing characters in a casual manner helps make them more engaging. “If you, the reader, don’t relate to the characters, you won’t care about them” stated Hilderbrand.
Compelling characters are typically grounded in some sort of reality, and without any realism, those characters will fail to draw in an audience. But how are relatable characters written? “Writing characters that feel real takes courage. It means being honest. Being open. Letting yourself feel everything your character feels: the joy, the grief, the doubt.” states T. A Barron, author of the series Merlin. To write relatable characters, the author needs to be vulnerable. Making a character that can be linked to a reader’s life makes them more memorable.
Have you watched Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho?” Spoiler alert for the film, but 40 minutes in, he kills off the protagonist. This divergence from narrative tradition creates an interesting scenario, where Hitchcock “highlights emotional structure in narrative”. But what are narrative traditions? A narrative tradition can be defined as something you could expect out of a story. This includes (but is not limited to) the antagonists’ defeat in the climax, the story ending with a “happily ever after,” the redemption of the protagonist, and so on.
What can we do to break away from these traditions? Really, you could do just about anything. Having a villain win, giving the story a sadder ending, and so forth. These are all methods of breaking away from tradition, in turn making a story more interesting. You have to be careful about this though, as improper care while breaking away from tradition can cause a story to fall apart, making it feel almost “messy.”
So why is this important? Why is it so important to know how to write an interesting story? In an interview with our school’s Ms. Fall, we explore why.
“Why did you start teaching creative writing?” Asked George.“Its a beautiful creative outlet for expression. Not only does it help people express themselves but it also helps process emotions. Especially in a day in age where people rely on technology, it is good to exercise the creative part of the brain.” Answered Ms. Fall.
“How would you say creative writing can benefit students?”
“Exercise the creative part of the brain. There are less opportunities for kids to be creative. With constant entertainment available at all times, it is important for students to have a place for intentional creativity. It is also important to have a place to receive feedback.
“What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to get more into story telling?”
“Just practice, practice, practice. There are many students who are perfectionists who suffer from it. It causes them to either write nothing or write something only to erase it. It is important to keep stuff from the past so you can see your growth. Students should write about something they enjoy, such as journaling, fanfiction. Fanfiction is a great form of expression as it uses already established characters, allowing students to practice creative writing without the overwhelming aspect of starting from scratch.”
In summary, good stories are written by authors who understand proper structure. Keeping a story easy to follow makes it more likely to be beloved by audiences. An audience also adores relatable characters. Should the characters in a story have no realism to them, audiences are less likely to care about them. Authors follow these rules, and in turn, produce many world renowned stories.
