What makes a good story?

Good morning, Self!

Okay, let's address the question I used for the title of this post. What does make a good story? You need to start with an acceptable premise. Some that could be considered unacceptable can be made so with a judicious application of thought and inspiration. Does the premise violate social taboos? Use the development of your characters to move the reader toward an acceptance of that violation. Force your characters into an action that if avoided will result in dire consequences. Make sure that if the character doesn't commit that action, the consequences will fall on an innocent victim. That way you show the character as a person who acts for the good of someone else, despite his actions being either illegal or immoral.

I know, Self. You're saying that such a thing doesn't happen. I say that you are wrong. Check out the personal stories of the people in your local court's docket; Justice is blind and falls equally upon criminals no matter how they are able to rationalize their actions. Much like what happened to Jean Valjean. He was imprisoned for stealing food to feed his starving family. Make the unintended victim of the consequences pitiable enough and the readers will applaud the character who is forced into those illegal or immoral actions.

Next in line to do is: Make your characters human and sympathetic. Unless you're writing a sci-fi novel, in which case you should anthropomorphize your inhuman characters. Show them to be worth the readers' time and make them someone that the reader can care about. Show their virtues, by all means, but balance those virtues with human failings. No one wants to read about someone who never makes a mistake or error in judgement. Unless you're writing a fairy tale for very small children. Such simplistic writing is the kind of thing that they thrive on. It's only later that they learn the world isn't done up in jewel-tone colors, with friendly dragons, talking stuffed animals and parents who never spank their children.

And last; throw unexpected things into your story. It can be that beloved plot twist you've been thinking about for years, or simply a capricious lover who rejects the hero or heroine of the story after he or she has endured a journey through Hell for their sake. Make your story interesting, but keep it believable. It's your job as the writer to make it believable. If you work it right, you can suspend the reader's sense of disbelief and make it even more interesting.

All of this is only a simple guide. I am not a trained journalist, nor am I qualified to teach writing. I am, after all, learning every day, just like everyone else.

Thank you,
Derek A. Murphy
Author of Taken Apart, Behind the Stone and others.
Available on Kindle