 Horror/Scary: May 31, 2006 Issue [#1060] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: animatqua
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To develop a good Horror/Scary story one needs to develop a good story.
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Last month I began to share things that have helped me to write as well as to function as a Storyteller.
Recapping last month’s issue, I have found these things necessary to write/tell a good story:
1. Break down the basics of the story to a simple one or two word definition.
2. Decide which slant of the story, or genre, we want to use.
3. Establish which elements (character, action, and/or setting) are necessary to convey the story basic.
4. Establish which characteristics and descriptions are necessary to support the element(s) above.
So how do we break down the basics of a story?
My senior year of high school my English teacher gave this assignment: define integrity. He did not give a specific number of pages necessary nor a specific number of words. He simply said, “Define integrity.”
Well, ok. Let’s get out the dictionary and extend from there.
His next assignment? “Define integrity in one paragraph.” Yes. More difficult, but doable.
Next, of course, was “Define integrity in one sentence.” Ouch! And finally, “Define integrity in one word.”
There we go.
It takes work, it takes knowing how to use resources (a dictionary, a thesaurus, etc.), it takes time. But once the `seed’ is established the story can grow from there.
Can a story be developed without knowing/understanding this core? It may seem like it can but in reality that seed is always somewhere in the back of the author’s mind. It is being able to look at that center, however, that gives a powerful thrust toward keeping the author on track as the story is put together.
Now. I know I keep saying “Read, read, read. Review, review, review. Write, write, write.” but these are the best ways to develop our writing skills. Reading the work of other authors and breaking their stories down to the basics will hone our ability to do this with our own work.
Another helpful exercise is breaking down someone else’s work to see how many basic seeds could be found within it. I broke ”Romeo and Juliet” (to use an example from the last Newsletter) down to `tragic love’. Other seeds in that story, however, could be `tragic rivalries’, `foolish youth’, `unbeatable forces’, `passion’, `death‘, and so forth.
Any one of these seeds would be an excellent starting point for a good Horror story. Or Romance. Or Action/Adventure, or----many of the genre, actually. And there is the `seed’ of the next issue: why choosing a genre is so important to the development of the central point of the story.
But that’s next issue. Until then, do read, review, and write. Read the work of other authors on site. Review the work (and give the author your feedback on it!), write down what you believe the seed of the story was.
As an aside, I am going to say something about the feedback. I have to be very honest here and say I don’t always give feedback when I review. My general habit is to save feedback for only a few specific incidences: 1. The piece is great. The author needs to be told this and why I think it’s great. 2. The piece is good, but needs some work. The author may need some insight concerning where I, at least, feel changes are necessary. 3. The author has specifically asked for help, and there are some improvements I can suggest.
The `few’ in incidences does not mean I only give a few feedbacks. I generally try to give feedback. Sometimes, however, the story needs so much work that I don’t have the time to go into everything that should be looked at. Sometimes the author is young, or new to writing, and just needs experience to improve.
None of these things should impede anyone’s ability to break the story down to its seed, though. So the suggestion stands. Read and get the seed. We will also get into the reviewing part later.
Note: I will be archiving these Newsletters on story development in my portfolio under | |  | Invalid Item
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First, my sincere apologies to some very good authors. I told them I would feature their stories the next time I edited the Newsletter---and then lost my little black book.
If your jewel has not been featured and I promised to do so, please send me an e-mail and you will be featured.
Second, you will begin to note that I feature some of the authors more than once. For this I do not apologize. In my book, to be featured your work has to really touch me. Enough said if two of your stories are featured.
Third, you will also notice many of the items I feature are short ones. To rephrase above, for me to choose to feature a work it has to really touch me. If the story is able to touch me in a limited amount of words it also impresses me. Enough said.
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