How to go about writing a story - I
So you are all set to write a story. But a question pops up in your mind- where do I start from? If such is the case, you may find the following things useful.
The Three Divisions: One of the basic moves will be to divide your story into portions. There may be as many portions as you like; I personally like them to be a minimum of three. They are: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. Let's discuss them one by one.
Setup: In the setup, we provide the introduction. We must provide the introduction to our world where the story is set, our characters, and their relationship. You may also provide details like weather, economic conditions, political conditions, and other such things. You can approach it on two ways:
Author explanation: Here the author explains the surroundings. Below is an example:
"In those times when the world was colonized, there was a small island off the coast of Peru, where the warm Peru current always kept the climate humid. In this hot land, people lived through their lives, hardly able to earn bread, and went starving for days. Then there were droughts, and misery. Life was hard; rather life made the people hard. Among these hardships rose a hero, who was to save the others."
Character explanations: Assume two characters- Ron and Jake. These characters take the readers through the story. It is their emotions that guide the story. The reader gets to know the situation through them.
"Ron brought some warm milk for Jake, who sat uneasily on a chair in the dark corner of Ron's house. Receiving the milk, Jake sat stupefied for a moment, and then spoke, 'I have forgotten the last time I drank milk. There is no money on me. My farm animals have died because of the drought that the Peru current brought upon these lands. And that we are colonized makes the effect even greater. I have debts on me, and the rates of the colonists are high. They are ruthless. Why doesn't the God send an angel to rescue us.' Ron looked up, and spoke, 'There has risen a hero, who is to save the others'. "
I personally like the character explanation.
Whichever method you follow, your setup should end with the start of the main conflict. You may call this an inciting conflict- the start of the tension between the protagonist and the antagonist.
The Confrontation: This starts at the end of the Setup, with the description of the inciting incident. From here, you describe the confrontations between the protagonist and the antagonist, and between their forces, if any. Now the main thing here- tension should always increase in this. You must always increase the adrenaline in the mind of your reader that makes him flip the pages to find out the ending. Now how you do this? A good way is to depict your character failing in your quest. Consider the two examples, assume that the character Ron has to get the treasure to win.
Example 1: "Ron entered the dark and damp tunnel. He made his way cautiously to its end. He found a treasure there, with guards about it. He fought bravely, killed all the guards, picked up the chest, and made his way out of the tunnel. Upon coming out, he said to himself, 'This shall be deemed as the start downfall of the colonists.' "
Example 2: "Ron entered the dark and damp tunnel. It was quiet and dead. Its silence seemed to shout in his ears. He stepped forward. But lo! the door of the tunnel closed suddenly, and he saw torches. Had they seen him? He pressed himself against the wall. They were more than him, and he would be dead the moment they spot him. Beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. His hands shivered. The fortunes of the people of the island were dependent on him; he could not die. He edged forward. Voiced were about him; they were angry and hungry for blood. He moved forward, and reached the chest at the end of the tunnel. He picked up the chest. He returned. Prayers flew from his fearful heart. Just as he neared the gate, a torch shone on him. He ran. He heard gunshots directed towards himself. One hit and he was gone. One hit and the hopes of people was gone. He closed his eyes and ran. He neared the door. Gunshots increased in number and amplitude. He crashed against the door; it opened. He was through. He quickly shut the door from outside. Silence returned to the place. He murmured, 'This shall be deemed as the start downfall of the colonists.' "
I feel the second example was better than the first, not because of the length, but because of its heightening tension and the fear of the failure of the hero. If you read the whole passage, you have the answer to your question- tensions grips the reader to read.
The sentence structure also determines the action. Short sentences denote quick and fast actions, suitable for tense situation. The example 2 uses short sentences, and helps to heighten the tension.
Long sentences help to slow down things, and make the reader relax. They are useful in quiet scenarios. See the example below:
'The land was wide, and could be seen from miles afar. Wheat and corn grew in it; their soft and slender stems danced in the wind that blew gently from the heaven. When rain came, the crops flourished; it seemed they enjoyed the rain, as little children do, when they run out of their houses, shouting in joy in the heavy rain. The scent of the earth rose and was carried by the wind to the neighborhood, and the nostrils of the farmers were overjoyed. '
Your second division should end with the Final Confrontation, where the protagonist usually kills the antagonist, or bestows punishment on the antagonist for his deed.
The Resolution: This is the final division. It starts with the end of the Final Confrontation. A good story resolves the conflict according to the desires of the reader. Usually, the antagonist dies in the end, or is punished for deeds done. Here, you must end the story on a note decided by you. If it is a comedy, the things are well in the end. If it is a tragedy, things are not good in the end. Remember, the ending makes an impact on the reader. If you kill the protagonist, the reader might be a bit distressed. If you kill the antagonist, the reader might feel that injustice in done, as the antagonist may not have been unfair in his demands. For this, I would recommend to read some endings of some good works. Think why Shakespeare didn't kill Shylock in the end of the Merchant of Venice, or why Tolkien killed Sauron in the end in the Lord of the Rings; he was the antagonist, right? But then Tolkien killed Thorin in the end of the Hobbit, though he was the protagonist.
So that's all for this post. But I will continue the series with more discussion yet to come. We shall talk of characters, settings, story outlines and variety of things. So stay tuned for more!!!
The Three Divisions: One of the basic moves will be to divide your story into portions. There may be as many portions as you like; I personally like them to be a minimum of three. They are: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. Let's discuss them one by one.
Setup: In the setup, we provide the introduction. We must provide the introduction to our world where the story is set, our characters, and their relationship. You may also provide details like weather, economic conditions, political conditions, and other such things. You can approach it on two ways:
Author explanation: Here the author explains the surroundings. Below is an example:
"In those times when the world was colonized, there was a small island off the coast of Peru, where the warm Peru current always kept the climate humid. In this hot land, people lived through their lives, hardly able to earn bread, and went starving for days. Then there were droughts, and misery. Life was hard; rather life made the people hard. Among these hardships rose a hero, who was to save the others."
Character explanations: Assume two characters- Ron and Jake. These characters take the readers through the story. It is their emotions that guide the story. The reader gets to know the situation through them.
"Ron brought some warm milk for Jake, who sat uneasily on a chair in the dark corner of Ron's house. Receiving the milk, Jake sat stupefied for a moment, and then spoke, 'I have forgotten the last time I drank milk. There is no money on me. My farm animals have died because of the drought that the Peru current brought upon these lands. And that we are colonized makes the effect even greater. I have debts on me, and the rates of the colonists are high. They are ruthless. Why doesn't the God send an angel to rescue us.' Ron looked up, and spoke, 'There has risen a hero, who is to save the others'. "
I personally like the character explanation.
Whichever method you follow, your setup should end with the start of the main conflict. You may call this an inciting conflict- the start of the tension between the protagonist and the antagonist.
The Confrontation: This starts at the end of the Setup, with the description of the inciting incident. From here, you describe the confrontations between the protagonist and the antagonist, and between their forces, if any. Now the main thing here- tension should always increase in this. You must always increase the adrenaline in the mind of your reader that makes him flip the pages to find out the ending. Now how you do this? A good way is to depict your character failing in your quest. Consider the two examples, assume that the character Ron has to get the treasure to win.
Example 1: "Ron entered the dark and damp tunnel. He made his way cautiously to its end. He found a treasure there, with guards about it. He fought bravely, killed all the guards, picked up the chest, and made his way out of the tunnel. Upon coming out, he said to himself, 'This shall be deemed as the start downfall of the colonists.' "
Example 2: "Ron entered the dark and damp tunnel. It was quiet and dead. Its silence seemed to shout in his ears. He stepped forward. But lo! the door of the tunnel closed suddenly, and he saw torches. Had they seen him? He pressed himself against the wall. They were more than him, and he would be dead the moment they spot him. Beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. His hands shivered. The fortunes of the people of the island were dependent on him; he could not die. He edged forward. Voiced were about him; they were angry and hungry for blood. He moved forward, and reached the chest at the end of the tunnel. He picked up the chest. He returned. Prayers flew from his fearful heart. Just as he neared the gate, a torch shone on him. He ran. He heard gunshots directed towards himself. One hit and he was gone. One hit and the hopes of people was gone. He closed his eyes and ran. He neared the door. Gunshots increased in number and amplitude. He crashed against the door; it opened. He was through. He quickly shut the door from outside. Silence returned to the place. He murmured, 'This shall be deemed as the start downfall of the colonists.' "
I feel the second example was better than the first, not because of the length, but because of its heightening tension and the fear of the failure of the hero. If you read the whole passage, you have the answer to your question- tensions grips the reader to read.
The sentence structure also determines the action. Short sentences denote quick and fast actions, suitable for tense situation. The example 2 uses short sentences, and helps to heighten the tension.
Long sentences help to slow down things, and make the reader relax. They are useful in quiet scenarios. See the example below:
'The land was wide, and could be seen from miles afar. Wheat and corn grew in it; their soft and slender stems danced in the wind that blew gently from the heaven. When rain came, the crops flourished; it seemed they enjoyed the rain, as little children do, when they run out of their houses, shouting in joy in the heavy rain. The scent of the earth rose and was carried by the wind to the neighborhood, and the nostrils of the farmers were overjoyed. '
Your second division should end with the Final Confrontation, where the protagonist usually kills the antagonist, or bestows punishment on the antagonist for his deed.
The Resolution: This is the final division. It starts with the end of the Final Confrontation. A good story resolves the conflict according to the desires of the reader. Usually, the antagonist dies in the end, or is punished for deeds done. Here, you must end the story on a note decided by you. If it is a comedy, the things are well in the end. If it is a tragedy, things are not good in the end. Remember, the ending makes an impact on the reader. If you kill the protagonist, the reader might be a bit distressed. If you kill the antagonist, the reader might feel that injustice in done, as the antagonist may not have been unfair in his demands. For this, I would recommend to read some endings of some good works. Think why Shakespeare didn't kill Shylock in the end of the Merchant of Venice, or why Tolkien killed Sauron in the end in the Lord of the Rings; he was the antagonist, right? But then Tolkien killed Thorin in the end of the Hobbit, though he was the protagonist.
So that's all for this post. But I will continue the series with more discussion yet to come. We shall talk of characters, settings, story outlines and variety of things. So stay tuned for more!!!
About Nimish Mishra
Nimish is an avid lover of learning. Being a student, he himself takes up learning from the web. He is particularly interested in Sciences, Computers, and Research(researching in his little lab at his home). He has made a game on a non-programming interface, some android apps for his smartphone, and models on 3D modelling softwares. He has done sensible research on space-time and on applied mathematics. He has also written a novel.
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