Your book, your story, your baby, is as much about how you
tell (Write) the story as it is about the elements of the story itself. Let me explain.
First and foremost is the story elements – But Rarely do you
come across that tremendous story that must be told and almost everybody would
enjoy some aspect of hearing (Reading) it.
Secondly, since most stories are not tremendous masterpieces
in themselves, it is just as important in how you tell a story as to how
interesting it comes across. There are
many good stories which could easily be slid over to the great category just in
revising how it is presented, written or told.
The truly great story is one that is so intense, so
disturbing and upsetting that you have to put the book down and stop reading,
but the only way to find out what happens next or how it ends is to pick it
back up and continue reading.
Elements of the Great Story
1. Incredible Plot – good planning and execution from beginning
to end with all loose ends tied up by the ending.
2. Mini climaxes timed to coincide with the breaks in the
story, right at the end of chapters so you don't want to stop at the end of the
chapter but have to keep reading until it settles down.
3. Do not over explain it, over describe it, or lay it in
the readers lap. The Readers are not
idiots; they are intelligent and can figure things out on their own. Give them just enough information as needed
and roll on. Sprinkle the bread crumbs
and let them find their own way through your story.
4. Generally the stories that leave the greatest impact on
me are the ones that sneak something in on you. Either a surprise ending, an understanding of
a puzzling development that as you read the end of the story allows all the
dominoes to fall and pieces to fit together. It reveals the picture of the puzzle you have
been endeavoring to solve. There should
be little discoveries throughout the book but the end piece should make you go
WOW.
5. Books that take me somewhere I have never been before,
show some new piece of technology, some new vehicle, some foreign country,
exotic place, or something entirely new.
One of my favorite authors once said you should go to a book
store and then write the book that you can't find sitting on the shelf. Write about the things you cannot find there.
The following are books this author feels fall into the
Great category. Obviously just like with
music, there are so many titles to choice from in so many different Genres that
you could do top 100 to top 500 in many different lists and go on forever. These are just randomly off the top of my
head as favorite great reads by very talented authors who know how to tell a
story properly.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Catching Fire (Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
Flight of Eagles by Jack Higgins
Sandstorm by James Rollins
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
I am not including any of my work as I only have two of my
four books published and the second one of those in the middle of the third or
fourth major editing and to be re-released soon. I am purposely saving my best stories for a
while until I honed my skills more and get them to the level the stories deserve
so that my later books will make many of the top ten lists.
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