Regardless of what you may have heard, there is no one formula for writing a good story. Some writers are able to churn out best-selling novels using nothing more than their own intuition, while others plan and plot every step of their journey before ever putting pen to paper. The key is finding the process that works best for you and following it faithfully. With a few simple tips, however, you can give yourself the best chance of success. So sit down, get comfortable, and let’s get started!
What are parts of a story?
There are several key components of a story: the setting, the characters and the conflict. Setting is pretty self-explanatory and can be just about anything you want it to be. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing where your tale will take place! You must also decide on who all of your main characters will be and how they relate to one another. Are they related by blood, marriage or friendship? Are they co-workers? Once you have these basics figured out, all that remains is building your conflict. This will form the basis for your story so it needs to be something intriguing enough to keep readers engaged from beginning to end.
Tell me the importance of story elements?
Each of these story elements are important in their own way. The setting can help to set the mood and tone for your story, while the characters provide a window into the action. The conflict is what propels the plot forward and keeps readers on their toes. So make sure that you take care in developing each of these elements to their fullest potential!
Tell me the essence of a story?
At its heart, a story is about change. It follows the characters as they go on a journey and experience different things that cause them to grow and evolve. No matter what the genre or style, this is always at the core of a good tale. You don’t need a specific length to tell a good tale. There are a number of short stories that contain all of the key elements. These common elements can help bring your own story to life.
10 essential parts of a storyYou may be asking what are the elements of a story that make a compelling story. Here are ten essential parts to nearly every story:
- Characters: Not just a protagonist and an antagonist. Every character is in some way connected to the central conflict, either by being involved or by their reactions to it. Each person believes they are the main character in their story’s plot. This is one of the key elements to understanding a character’s perspective.
- A Problem: The story begins when something changes for the characters, which leads them to combat this change in some way. It could be something about their physical location or other characters that create the problem. There could be breaking a set of cultural norms. The problem could even be a flaw in one of their character traits.
- Immediate Consequences: Something happens as a direct result of the protagonist’s attempt (or lack thereof) to solve his problem. This brings your reader deeper into the action of the story while also bringing your hero one step closer to resolving his issue or watch him get even more entangled instead!
- Repercussions: How did things go after the immediate consequences? Anticipation builds for both your readers and your characters as they wait to see what will happen as a result of the last turn of events. This is one of the essential elements to a story character. You get a sneak peak into their point of view and an eventual turning point.
- Increasing Tension: The stakes must be continually raised as the story progresses in order to keep readers hooked. This can be done through adding new conflicts, complications, and obstacles for your characters to overcome. However you add in this tension, there needs to be some sort of rising action moment.
- A Climax: All the tension that has been building up reaches a breaking point and is resolved in some way.
- Resolution: Everything is wrapped up nicely with a bow–or not, as the case may be. Your characters may have changed as a result of their journey, or they may be right back where they started (but hopefully wiser for the experience). A writer knows that a satisfying resolution requires an element of falling action now that the inciting incident is finally resolved.
- Theme: What is your story about? This may not be clear until the end, but every great story has a message or moral that it imparts to its readers.
- Setting: The place and time in which your story takes place can greatly affect the tone and flavor of your tale.
- Style: How is your story written? This is another factor that contributes to the overall feel of your work. Is it light-hearted and humorous, or dark and gritty? All good stories have themes.
Bonus Element-Tropes: These are familiar story devices, such as the reluctant hero or the love triangle, that help to quickly orient readers and set the stage for your particular tale. These are not negative components for your story writing. Instead, tropes allow readers of other authors to quickly understand some commonality among the stories they like. The hero will win, the villain will lose, and everyone will grow in some way.
What is the most important story element?
Characterization is the most important element in a fiction story, as you cannot have a compelling story without characters to tell it. They are the people that readers will bond with and cheer for, or develop a special hatred for as they work their way through the various conflicts of your narrative.
What is a good story?
While characterization is very important, if you want to compose great stories that grip your audience, then you need to make sure that you master three key areas: locations, characters, and conflicts. A solid setting can provide an excellent backdrop for many adventures (and misadventures), while a scene of endearing heroes help guide readers on this journey of discovery. Then there is climaxes, which resolve these tales by tying up any loose ends and providing us with conclusions to the various arcs that have been created. If done correctly, a good story can leave readers feeling as if they have just completed an epic journey of their own.
You don’t need to have a giant list of all the tools a writer uses, nor know the difference between third person, first person, second person, or even all knowing narrator. You can use the other story elements listed above, to nail down your theme and characters. When you have elements work together to make a main character pop out to readers, it’s time to start writing! Start with a compelling list of different characters and basic elements will fall in place together.
For more on building a good fiction story, including further insight into story elements, and word choices, take a look at this video:
