Benjamin Clayborne
Auror
The Storytelling Trumps Writing thread got me thinking: Why do we spend so much time and energy discussing the minutiae of writing prose, when the much more difficult part of writing is the storytelling? Constructing a narrative; pacing, tone, characterization. This is the hard stuff.
The obvious answer is that it's easy to discuss the easy stuff: how to use commas, whether to use dialogue tags or italics. Storytelling is hard and there are no easy answers.
But that doesn't mean it can't be treated as a craft. TV writers churn out dependable entertainment on a regular basis. A lot of TV shows follow a formula, and they keep people tuning in week after week. So clearly it's possible to do this.
What are some ways that we can break down a story into simple component parts that follow a relatively straightforward structure, that helps us achieve the end result of writing a solid (if perhaps unspectacular) story?
The obvious answer is that it's easy to discuss the easy stuff: how to use commas, whether to use dialogue tags or italics. Storytelling is hard and there are no easy answers.
But that doesn't mean it can't be treated as a craft. TV writers churn out dependable entertainment on a regular basis. A lot of TV shows follow a formula, and they keep people tuning in week after week. So clearly it's possible to do this.
What are some ways that we can break down a story into simple component parts that follow a relatively straightforward structure, that helps us achieve the end result of writing a solid (if perhaps unspectacular) story?