Beyond the Textbook

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Beyond the Textbook

Laurie Lupold

The Bare Essentials

Who: Deciding characters for your story is not an easy task. You want characters that will be believable and add to the color and vigor of your story. You want to also express them well in each scene. What I mean by this is using description and detail to express to the reader what the character might be feeling at the moment or what he or she is going through. For example, you wouldn't want a traumatic episode expressed with laughter. Who each character is offers life to the story. The quality of a story is not taken by the number of characters but more by how valuable they are.

When: How you dress your characters helps determine the era in which your story is taking place. In the Victorian Era we certainly would not find our characters casually dressed in jeans and tee shirts. The scenery also describes to the reader when the story is taking place. Are there vehicles or is this during the times of horse and buggy? What does one spend at the grocer? Many such things can tell you when your story exists and you can express it just by being creative.

Where: Deciding location can be very important to a story. If the author expresses a time designed for skyscrapers then the reader could more than likely imagine that the story was taking place in a big city. On the other hand if the author wanted to describe a dusty pale ridden town one might think the story setting is back in the day of horse and buggy, saloons and corrals. You might even expect to see a gunfight. So you see location can really do a lot for your story.

What: The basis of the story is probably the largest part to be worked out. It comes in three particular sections. The first is the beginning. Introducing characters, setting, and era are all done at this time. Though some of these things may be expanded on later in the reading. Here we start to introduce conflict. Why is the story being told? What's it about? The second is the climax. This is when the story sees the most conflict. The plot is built. Tensions rise. Here reality takes hold. Even in stories of horror and fantasy they are given a somehow lifelike quality. The final section of this part is the conclusion. What is the end result? Did they live happily ever after or simply fade away?

These are just some of my opinions of the secrets to writing. They are not necessarily the true essentials by text but certainly important ones.