Budding writers often wonder how to write a story. Not just a story, but a good story that everyone remembers and recommends. The world is full of stories, so you have to work hard at yours to make it outstanding. So if you often wonder how to create a story, you have come to the right place. 

Prolific writer, Charles Opara in his article, offers writers a step-by-step guide on how to write a good story. This guide will help you figure out how to  create the best story you possibly can. It will also show you how to overcome certain challenges that writers face such as unproductivity nnd writers’ block.

Ready to learn? Let’s read on.

How To Write A Story Like A Literary Great (Story Writing Tips + Examples)

It is almost impossible to learn how to write a story without first understanding the concept of the story. So let’s start by describing or defining a story.

What is a story? 

When you think of a story, think of a necklace. Or a string of pearls. The entire string is the narrative. Simply put, it is the fiction-writing mode in which the narrator communicates directly to the reader.

The pearl, in other words, is the description. It usually contains the scenes. (Recall, the four rhetorical modes of discourse: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation.)  

Scene vs. Narrative And Why They Matter In Storytelling and Story Writing

The scenes paint a picture and they usually describe places, things, or characters. Consider the piece of string between two adjacent pearls.

In story writing, scenes move at a fast pace. The events that happen in this part are not detailed, and for that reason, advance much quicker.

Here, the writer wishes to inform the reader that this or that occurred, or that time has passed (events that take place between one scene and the next) albeit summarily. Without this vital part it would be difficult to follow the story, difficult to tell what stage the story is in.

While the pearls handle the significant events the writer wishes to share in detail, the string hides details of events the writer does not wish to bother the reader with. I’m sure you’ll agree that the pearls are the beauty of the necklace, the reason why we buy it. And so it is with fiction.

A Step-by-Step Guide On How To Write A Good Story.

When writing a story, even if you must sacrifice the plot (that thing that connects all your scenes) you can’t write a good fiction without at least a scene, which would most likely feature a character in a setting.

If you try, the outcome will be something aimed at informing the reader (rather than transporting him to a different time and place) like a story outline, a skeletal account, or plot points. And this is not good.

People read fiction mainly to be entertained, and it’s hard to entertain them when they do not feel drawn to your story.

While creating a story, it is important to note that  scenes are the building blocks of an entertaining story. There is no better way to make readers feel emotions like joy, anger, disgust, lust, horror, sorrow, tension, excitement and the rest than putting them in a scene with your characters.

Learn to move your story forward: How to keep your readers au fait

The renowned German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht, who died in 1956, used narrators or narrative figures to fill the missing action in his plays. Today, the use of narrators before a scene opens has become a feature in epic dramas.

These narrators tell us the action that is not played out for us by the actors, the action that we missed between the last scene and the next.

Figure Out What Makes Up A Good Story

• A good story is a collection of scenes connected by a narrative. In other words, it has description and narration.
• Sometimes, a story can have just one scene.
• A good work of fiction can never be just the narrative. (That would be the story outline or the synopsis, which is different from the sample chapters we send to publishers and literary agents).
• The narration that doesn’t occur within a scene, often giving a sketchy account, is meant to help the reader follow the sequence of events in the story. We will refer to this as the narrative.

Master The Parts Or Elements Of A Story

The plot, the story goal, the theme, the characters, the conflict and the setting, especially the opening and final scenes, are six things you need to determine before you begin to write your story.

If you are clear on these, then, only your writing can let you down. Before I learned how to write a story, I used to be one of those people who didn’t plan my plot right up till the end before I started to write.

This meant I never knew how my story would pan out until I had reached the very last scene nor did I know how my characters would develop.

My theme was often a mystery to me. Which is why I often had to redraft my stories, many times — too many times. Sometimes having to make major changes to the story.

To forestall against this, develop the habit of working with and working through a story plan that includes the six elements of fiction. By story plan, I mean a skeletal framework on what you want to write about. A story plan is a vital step to writing a good story.

The elements of fiction (expressed as parts of the figurative story necklace)

Going back to our metaphor of the necklace, let’s appreciate the various elements of fiction better. We find the plot coursing through the whole necklace. Having the same dynamics as fluid, it moves much faster in the narrow string and much slower in the pearl.

As I’ve already said, the beads would be that part of the story where characters perform actions.  The part where your characters and their conflicts unfold, allowing you to form an opinion about them, an opinion not (explicitly) defined for you by the author’s narrative (as we see in the string), allowing you to experience or visualize a character or a setting (through sensory images). The string would be that part that takes you to a scene.

Or, you could say, the events mentioned in summary so the reader can follow the story better (e.g. the passage of time). Looking at the necklace more closely, you’ll notice a repeating pattern in the beads (there usually is, in a good necklace.) This pattern is the theme. There’s one part of the string I still haven’t talked about. The clip.

So, what element of fiction do you think the clip of the necklace represents? Here’s a clue: it’s something that keeps the necklace firmly around your neck. It’s that thing that brings all your elements together. Can you guess? Pause from reading and take a minute to think about it.

The Clip And Its Role In Helping You Learning How To Write A Story.

Without the clip would the necklace stay around your neck? No. It would fall off. So the clip is very important. In fact, without it, there will be no point of owning a necklace; its aim is defeated as you can’t wear it.

If you just carry it in the palm of your hand, no one will see it like it ought to be seen, no one will appreciate it. So what is that which plays the role of a clip in a good story?

It is the thematic statement. The theme has two parts: a concept and a statement. The thematic concept is the design or pattern that we see in the beads while the thematic statement is the clip at the end of the necklace that allows it to be worn. The thematic concept is commonly referred to as the theme.

While there isn’t a common name for the thematic statement, to my knowledge, my guess for its more generic term would be the story goal. (The story goal is different from the character goal, please take note.)

Story goals have to do with the morals or the lessons stories try to teach. The thematic statement is the salient message/idea/point that the reader gets from the story. And what determines this is usually how the story is resolved. So you will not be entirely wrong if you called the clip the resolution.

Decide On What The Point Of Your Story Will Be.

When a story lacks a thematic statement then it is  not a good story because it is all plot and no purpose, a collection of different events (different actions described within a setting) that have nothing binding them together, nothing to make you appreciate why the writer took the trouble to tell them. Many readers consider these type of stories a waste of time.

 What Makes A Good Story?

Most times, as writers, we focus on the art of writing, neglecting the art of storytelling or story-crafting. A lot of us are good writers, but some of us have trouble telling a good story.

When your writing is up to par, and you’re still having trouble getting your stories accepted for publication, it’s time for you to master the art of storytelling.

Storytelling is what takes your writing from raw sentences to real entertainment. It is like the glaze on a ceramic sculpture that makes it look finished.

If writing is artistic expression, storytelling is artistic direction. The two are like hand and glove. And like hand and glove, they can be separated.

Storytelling: How Story Writing Works.

Begin by asking yourself what the story you want to write is about. Can you say it in one sentence (called an elevator pitch, a premise, or a logline)?

Whenever you’re trying to figure out what a story is really about, look for the internal conflict. When you ask people what a story is about, most make the mistake of telling you the plot of the story.

Well, it’s not the plot. It’s the theme. And it ought to be so because, when you consider our story necklace metaphor, you’ll see that the theme gives the necklace beautiful patterns; it adds value to it. So it’s all about the theme when trying to decide on the worth of the necklace.

If the necklace is supposed to be a thing of beauty, then, it’s all about the patterns on it. If you can summarize the story you want to write in one sentence and make it include the theme, then, that’s it. That’s what it’s about.

The Two Types Of Conflict.

In a good story, there are usually two types of conflicts: the external one and the internal one.

Why? Because a well-developed story makes us appreciate a character’s inner turmoil, his emotional/ psychological struggle, and in the end, it says something about life. Stories with internal conflicts are deep. When you think of a good story to write, remember that conflicts are important.

They paint pictures about the human condition, the human struggle, the human mind, the human character, the human virtue, the human resilience, and more.  Ultimately, their resolution by characters who show humanities (even if they are aliens) gives your story its meaning, gives it an underlying message, a lesson that can be framed into one sentence called the thematic statement.

The Six Elements of Fiction.

• Plot
• Theme
• Setting
• Character
• Conflict
• Style

Things like, Point of View and Voice, Tone and many others fall under Style.

The plot

The plot is what happens in your story. It usually revolves around an external conflict.

For example, a man takes the bus home from work after his car breaks down.

The external conflict is all that stands in the way of his trying to get home. The need to get home is the character’s goal. It’s a combination of his car breaking down and all the setbacks he encounters on his way home.

The Theme And It Helps You Create A Stronger Story.

The theme is what your sub-story (your deeper, underlying story) is about. And it revolves around your internal conflict.

A man refuses to let his wife give him a ride back home when his car breaks down.

Why does he refuse his wife’s favour?

Because he’s still mad at her for cheating on him with the school coach, his best friend. They’ve already resolved this matter, but he still wants to give her a hard time over it.

So the internal conflict is the emotions he’s still dealing with surrounding his wife’s unfaithfulness, now that he has knowledge of it.

The theme here is infidelity, or dealing with unfaithfulness, the unfaithfulness of a spouse.

Let’s say our story opens with our protagonist trying to start his car. He gets a call from his wife. He tells her he’s having car trouble and turns down her offer to pick him up.

The rest of the scenes in the story detail the things the man sees on his bus trip, and the discomfort and culture shock he has as a result (he has never taken the bus in his life).

While all this is going on, his thoughts flashback to how he learned of his wife’s affair (exposition) and we understand better the phone conversation he had with her in the beginning, why she said something about him wanting to still punish her.

Our example is taken from a short story called The Bus by Brock Clarke. Most of the scenes take place in the bus so it seems the story is about a bus trip, but it’s not.

The internal conflict hints at what the story is really about.

The story is not about a dreadful bus ride. The bus ride is what happens in the story. That is the plot. The story is about a man trying to punish his wife for an affair she had with his best friend by turning down her offer of a ride home from work.

 I know this from the internal conflict. The theme will tell you what the story is about and it usually revolves around an internal conflict.

The Role Of Conflict, Plot, and Theme When Figuring Out How To Write A Story.

You can see that the conflict (both external and internal) is a distinct element of fiction, distinguishable from the plot and the theme. Plot and Theme usually revolve around conflicts. Plot is what happens in a bid to resolve some external conflict. Theme is the idea and the message that the internal conflict brings to our attention.

Do you now see why you should decide what your conflicts will be before you start to type your story? It helps you decide on what will happen in your story and what your story will be about, helps you decide on the plot and the theme.

What happens when a story has more than one external conflict?

Sometimes a story may have several external conflicts and several internal conflicts. But it should have one major internal conflict. If you have two or more internal conflicts, you could end up telling two or more stories instead of one.

That’s not a crime per se, but it is a little too much, from an aesthetic point of view, if you ask me. From an artistic perspective, I don’t advise this. Better for you to break up your story into several chapters and have one theme for each chapter. Or if you’re writing a TV series, have one theme for each episode.

Since the point of a story revolves around an internal conflict, having two internal conflicts would cause some confusion.

(Note that one internal conflict can lead to several external conflicts and not the other way around, not normally. You don’t want your readers to grapple with too many life lessons in one chapter or episode because it would water down or dilute the impact of your piece.)

From our story, our male protagonist could get off the bus and be chased by muggers. This would result in a new external conflict, one that takes place outside the bus: he now wants to escape muggers (the first was getting through an unbearable bus ride home), but it’s still one plot: a man’s effort to get back home after his car broke down (now having two parts: the bus trip and the chase).

When a story has several themes

A story can have several themes. A theme is an idea that the story revolves around. And it is usually rooted in an internal conflict. Several ideas could revolve around one internal conflict. A story can have several themes but it should make a statement about just one (the central theme). From our example, one idea could be unfaithfulness or infidelity. Another could be, resentfulness.

The theme: concept and statement

Earlier, I said the theme is both the idea (concept) and the message (statement) your story carries. If you have an internal conflict, you already have an idea for the theme. What remains now is what statement you make about it. Your theme is not complete unless your story says something about it. And you make it say what you want by how you end your story.

Oh

Determine The Thematic Concept Of The Story.

So, what do you think is the thematic concept of our story example?

How about, ‘Resentfulness vs. truly forgiving’? Begrudging vs. Letting go. What about, ‘the things we put ourselves through to make a point’?

Our ending determines what our thematic statement says.

If the bus trip turns out to be an experience our protagonist wishes he had not undergone, then, the thematic statement would be,

‘Resentfulness after reconciliation leads to regret’?

Or, ‘It doesn’t pay to still begrudge those who have told us they are sorry’.

Or, ‘Refusing to let old wounds heal begets new pains’.

Character and Setting Plays A Good Role In Story Writing.

The other elements of fiction, Character and Setting, are self-explanatory. I won’t go into them. I’ll just say, depending on the length of your story, you ought to devote a certain amount of words to character development and setting. In flash fiction, character development is either omitted completely or done in very few words.

Style

The last is Style, also called ‘writing style‘ or ‘narrative style’. It’s all about the technique you deploy in your narration. You should decide on what style to use after crafting your story, before you sit down to write it. And so it should also be one of your pre-considerations. Style is your art of writing, or your literary expression. It includes things like POV choice, Voice, Tone, Diction and more. It’s very broad.

How To Write a Story Using Diegesis and Mimesis

From our metaphor of a story, some could argue that the string tells more than it shows, and the pearl, a metaphor for a scene (and since scenes are heavy on description), shows more than it tells.

Showing and telling, telling and showing. Aren’t we, as writers, all too familiar with the terms?

The more technical terms would be Diegesis (telling) and Mimesis (showing). They are both style choices.

Diegesis

In diegesis, the narrator tells the story. The narrator presents the actions (and sometimes thoughts) of the characters to the readers or audience. Diegetic elements are part of the fictional world (“part of the story”), as opposed to non-diegetic elements which are stylistic elements of how the narrator tells the story (“part of the storytelling”).

In Diegesis, there is a filter to the action, a narrative filter that gives us a sense of an authorial presence.

We are made even more aware of this presence by the writer’s voice, especially if he or she speaks in a non-standard dialect. Remember the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett? There are many more examples.

Mimesis

Mimesis is imitative representation of the real world in art and literature. It’s understood as a form of realism in literature.

Dissect The Diegesis vs. Mimesis

Mimesis shows rather than tells, by means of action that is enacted. Diegesis is the telling of a story by a narrator. The narrator may speak as a particular character, or may be the invisible narrator, or even the all-knowing narrator who speaks from “outside” in the form of commenting on the action or the characters. In Diegesis, there’s a filter to the action. In Mimesis, there’s none.

I’m sure you’ll agree that the decision to write with or without a filter is a style choice. So you see, it’s not accurate to say that showing occurs in the beads and telling occurs in the string because it’s a style choice.

A story can be diegetically told, with no aspect of Mimesis. Your writing style pervades all aspects of your story and can be seen in every part of the necklace, both string and bead. The only thing we can be certain of is that the plot moves at a faster pace in the string than in the bead.

Writing is art expression; storytelling is art direction

A good writer is not necessarily a good storyteller and vice versa. Writing is a literary expression; storytelling is literary direction. Some writers do one better than the other.

Think of the other five elements (outside style) as all the things that will make you a good storyteller, a good story crafter while style is everything you need to apply to your writing that will make you a good writer.

To learn how to write a story, learn to create a story plan.

If I’m asked what makes a good story, I would tell them it’s a story that deploys the six elements of fiction (plot, theme, conflict, setting, character and style).

If you want to write better stories, create a story plan that looks something like this:

• Plot Summary (in one or two sentences)
• Theme (in one word)
• Concept of theme (in more than one word)
• Statement of theme (in one sentence)
• Setting (place and time period e.g. present-day, 1994, medieval times.)
• Characters (List all your characters with their relationship to the protagonist or their relevance to the story in brackets.)
• Conflict
• External
• Internal
• Style
• POV
• Voice
• Tone

(You can add other aspects of style not on this list). You can create a story plan before you start writing your story, or after the story has been written. The story plan is supposed to help you figure out ways to plu plot holes and to develop your characters.

Conclusion On How To Write A Story Like A Literary Great.

Good story writing is not as easy as accomplished writers make it seem. But you can write good stories if you choose your scenes, characters and themes wisely. And pay attention to the narrative techniques in your story.

Have you learned the ins and outs of writing a story? Please share your tips with us in the comments section. We want to learn more on how to write a story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Opara is a Nigerian-born author who writes suspense, speculative fiction, and short stories, who is about to publish a collection of short stories. He is a programmer with a passion for groundbreaking technologies. His creative mind enjoys the logic involved in writing stories and programs. In 2015, his horror short “It Happened” was shortlisted for the Awele Creative Trust Prize and in 2017, another story ‘Baby-girl’ was long-listed for the Quramo National Prize in his country. His stories have appeared in Ambit, Flash Fiction Press, and Zoetic Press.

twitter handle: Charles Opara@OparaCc

The post How To Write A Story Like A Literary Great (Story Writing Tips + Examples) appeared first on Creative Writing News.

What is a story arc? Does it mean the same thing as narrative arc or plot arc? These are questions many budding and professional writers often ask. And they are very important questions too. Storytelling arcs help to make great stories memorable and outstanding.

In this article, Charles Opara will give apt narrative arc definitions. Then, he’ll dissect a sample story that has a clear story arc. What’s more, he’ll explain the difference between a character arc and a narrative arc. You’ll also get bonus tips on how to create the arc of a story in a narrative 

Ready to learn about arcs in stories? Read on.

The Story Arc Also Known As The Narrative Arc.

When many writers get a story idea, the last thing they think about is the narrative arc. But the story arc is one out of many techniques that keeps the reader hooked.

Before we learn how to create a story arc, let’s define a narrative arc.

What is a narrative arc?

The story arc or narrative arc or dramatic arc is the path a story follows. It gives a story a definite form, one with a clear beginning, middle, and end. 

The concept of narrative arc as we know it today was created by Gustav Freytag, a German novelist and playwright who closely analyzed ancient Greek writing, along with William Shakespeare’s five-act plays.

As the term suggests, when plotted on paper, a typical narrative arc forms the shape of a hill or pyramid.

Creative writing experts suggest that a typical story arc has five elements..  Understanding these elements will help you know what to focus on when trying to create a narrative arc in your story.

Here they are, arranged in the order in which they appear:

The Five Elements of a Story Arc

Exposition.

This is the reader’s introduction to the story. The exposition offers background information to prime the audience for the rest of the story, including introducing the main character(s) (the “who”), setting (the “where”), and circumstances or time period (the “when”).

Rising Action.

This is when conflict begins to ramp up. The rising action usually begins with what’s called an “inciting incident”—the triggering event that puts the main events of the story in motion. This is when the audience starts to see what your story is really about.

This element forces you to answer questions like, what visual representation describes the structural elements of your plot?

Climax.

This is the highest point of tension in your storyline, and often the point at which all the different subplots and characters converge. Typically, the climax requires the main character to face the truth or make an important choice.

Falling Action.

This is what happens as a result of the protagonist’s decision. During the falling action, the conflict gives way to resolution. Loose ends are tied up, and tension begins to dissipate.

Resolution.

Also known as a denouement, this is how your story ends. The resolution of a narrative arc isn’t always happy, but it does close the loop and show how the events of the story have changed the characters and the world around them.

How To Create A Narrative Arc (Examples and Tips).

I will demonstrate these 5 elements using excerpts from my horror short story piece: It Happened.

A Demonstration of the Five Elements of a Story Arc using the horror short story piece

‘It Happened’ by Charles Opara

Exposition (Opening)

It is official. My son is missing — if you believe the statement I made back at the station. I am in the backseat of a squad car, on a manhunt for the prime suspect in my son’s abduction, and we have just gone past the orphanage at Aladinma. Chuma, my first child, left home for Church to rehearse for a play his youth group plan to stage on Sunday and has not returned since. Look at the time. It is past nine. The police chief and I have spent the last forty-five minutes visiting some of Chuma’s friends in their homes and interrogating them. They all said the same thing: they last saw him at the rehearsal and do not know where he went after that.

The police chief is constantly on his phone, constantly talking to his boys, asking if they have made any progress. Every negative response he gets threatens to turn me into a nervous wreck.

Help me, Lord, before I lose my mind. I am a poor widow whose mite comes from her earnings as a nurse at a state-run clinic, one of the outstations for the proper reference hospitals in the city. I have no one else but you, Lord, and I thank you for revealing to me who my son’s abductor is. I speak of Ihemee, the destitute on our street. Would I even know his name if it were not for my son, whom he chose to befriend?

Chuma has been acting strange ever since we moved to Ikoku Avenue, almost three months ago. He has a knack for expressing ideas that could not possibly come from a nine-year-old. Like the time he asked me a riddle: “Grass eats dirt, cow eats grass, and man eats cow. What eats man?” I answered ‘nothing’, and he said, “Maggots. Maggots eat man. They turn him into dirt so the grass can eat.”

When Chuma became fascinated with setting traps for house rats — when I noticed he was a little too eager to take out the rubbish, every evening — I asked Uchendu, my second child, to follow him and see where he would take the trash. Uchendu came home to report that he had seen Chuma speaking with Ihemee at the dumpsite.

What? My son? Talking to that mad man? After I specifically warned him to steer clear of him? What sort of mind-control medicine is that homeless herbalist using on him? Ihemee, of all people! How can Chuma want to be friends with that disgusting thing? A tramp who could be carrying skin diseases yet unknown to man? Who might even be a runaway from a mental institution, and potentially dangerous?

Analysis Of The Opening (Exposition).

Notice the background information. I’m referring to the incidents that happened before we joined the story:

• Chuma’s relationship with Ihemee.
• Chuma not returning home after a rehearsal at church.
• The narrator calling the police. 
• The narrator and the police chief making house calls to inquire about the whereabouts of Chuma.
• The narrator going to the police station to give a report.
• The manhunt. The narrator and the police chief boarding a squad car that’s part of a convoy of two police vehicles on a search for the suspect.

We also learn a bit about the narrator.

She’s a nurse.

And two other characters, who are at the heart of the conflict: Chuma and Ihemee.

Rising Action.

The police chief gets off the phone and says to me, “My men have apprehended the suspect.”

“Praise God,” I chant. “Is my son with him? Have they found him?”

”Calm down, Madam. Your son is not with him, but we will find him. I assure you.”

He tells the driver to turn the car around and our convoy of two makes a U-turn. At one point, the other car’s headlight strikes me with a blinding haze of white that catches the tears welling up in my eyes.

If my premonition misses, my son is not in a black cellophane bag and Ihemee is not a ritualist looking for a human head while pretending to be shelter-challenged.

I keep my head turned towards my window, away from the police chief, and watch the dark shapes of trees as they fly by. A quick flash of light from a working streetlight ambushes me with my sad reflection.

Analysis Of The Rising Action.

The inciting incident is the phone call the police chief receives. It informs him that the suspect has been apprehended.

At this point, we start to get a sense of what the story is about.

Climax

At the shoulder of the hill, a putrid smell filled my lungs. But I was like a moth drawn to the strong light on the other side, I could not be denied. I crawled up the slope, taking my time. At the summit, I fell on my chest and slithered up and poked my head over the hill. The first thing that caught my eye was a bright furnace. And then a man. He was naked, stark naked. He looked like the driver of our bus. There was another man by the fire. He was tending to the flames with a long stick. I knew I had seen him somewhere before, on the bus, perhaps. Wasn’t he the one who sat closest to the door?

The first man dragged an equally unclothed body by the ankles—dead from all indications—out of a pile of human remains and laid it flat on its back. The corpse he had pulled out belonged to the woman who had offered me ukwa while we were waiting for the bus to fill up with passengers. The first man—who, in the glaze of firelight, I could now confirm was our driver—lowered himself on top of the woman’s corpse and assumed the missionary position. It was a sickening sight. I could not think of anything more depraved. I could not think at all. He belched. He puked all over her face. His vomitus poured and poured (bucket-loads of it) and as it did, his head lurched forward and he gurgled, “Bleeegh!”

His oral discharge seemed alive, the way it swirled over the woman’s face and then over the rest of her, soiling and unsoiling her body parts. Jesus! It was a swarm—of maggots. The driver coughed out the last ones. And then came… a long worm—no, a leech, the longest I had ever seen in my life. Maggots, leeches (and God knows what other vermin) turned the woman’s face into a hive. The last thing I saw, before slinking away, was of the driver licking the woman’s skull, slurping back the maggots, and exposing her soggy half-eaten face.

Analysis Of The Climax.

In this scene, the narrator faces a shocking truth: the men, she initially thought were rescuers, are scavengers, decay-feeding supernatural creatures.

Falling Action

Where am I?” I ask.

“In hospital,” Chuma says.

“How do you feel?” Ngozi asks, her eyes the pale red of someone who has been crying.

“Excuse me. That’s my job,” the strange face in the room says. She raises her stethoscope and slips it into her ears. “Now, if the rest of you will give me a moment, I will be done here.”

I feel the cold dab of her stethoscope on my chest and jerk back a little. 

“So it was all a dream,” I say. “Thank goodness. But what happened? Why am I here? Doctor, did you give me a hallucinogen? You can tell me. I’m a nurse.”

“Hold still.” She pulls down my lower eyelid and shines her retinoscope in my eye. She does the same with my other eye. “I did not,” she says. “Your bus had an accident and, for all we know, you are the only survivor.”  

No. She can’t be serious. “Noooo,” I scream, alarming the young woman leaning over me. 

Ada, whom Chuma is trying to prevent from clambering up into my bed, stops struggling and gapes at me for a brief moment before she opens her mouth wide and releases a bawl.

“Mummy, what is it?” Uchendu asks.

“She is still in shock,” the woman in white overall says to Uchendu. “Now, I want everyone to leave so that she can get some rest. She will feel much better after she sleeps it off.”

Analysis of the Falling Action.

Here, we see how the protagonist reacts to her realization in the climax. This action, which starts in the ‘Falling Action’ will lead to the resolution.

Resolution

“Confused, I watch the woman lift Ada into her arms, and shepherd my family out of the room. 

Chukwunna, lekwa nu mo, Father, see me-o, I repeat to myself each time I recall the accident, and the driver scavenging that passenger’s face. 

Before the woman can shut the door behind her, an impulse makes me say, “Chuma. I want to speak with Chuma.”

“Of course,” the doctor says and allows my son back into the room. 

Chuma bounds over to me and the woman pulls the door shut. He stands by my bed, waiting. He doesn’t know what to say. And for a while, neither do I.

“That thing Ihemee said to the police, the night Obasi went missing, did you understand it?” I ask, finally.

“Yes, Mummy.”

I blink to clear the tear-clouds from my eyes, my lips shuddering slightly.

“Mummy, what is it? Don’t cry. You’ll be okay. The doctor says you will,” Chuma says, switching to Igbo.

“How does Ihemee know what he knows?”

Chuma hesitates.

I reach out and touch his arm. “You can tell me. I won’t get angry. I promise.” 

“He is one of them. He is like Pastor Ikenna, but he is not bad like him. He doesn’t kill and bury children so he can eat them later. He only eats dead rats and the things he finds in the garbage. Mummy, Ihemee is my friend, and he can be your friend too, if you like.”

 End Of Story.

How Story Arcs Work.

Story arcs in contemporary drama often follow the pattern of bringing a character to a low point, removing the structures the character depends upon, and then forcing the character to find new strength without those structures.

In a story arc, the character undergoes substantial growth or change, which culminates in the denouement in the last third or quarter of a story.

What’s The Difference Between The Narrative Arc and The Plot Of A Story?

Plot refers to the individual events that make up your story. In other words, the plot is what happens.

Narrative arc, on the other hand, refers to the path or sequence of your plot, and how that series of events creates a flow and progression that keeps the reader engaged at each stage in the story.

What Is the Difference Between a Narrative Arc and a Character Arc?

If a narrative arc is the path of the overall story, a character arc is the path a specific character takes during that story.

The story arc is external, and happens to all of the characters, while a character arc is internal, and happens to one person.

A character arc usually involves a character overcoming an obstacle and changing the way they see the world. (Undergoes an internal change, if nothing else.)

When the narrative arc begins its descent down the pyramid into the falling action and resolution, the character arc has its moment to shine.

This is when a character experiences a turning point by:

• asking for help,
• learning a new skill,
• making a critical choice,
• and/or becoming more self-aware.

Typically, only major characters have character arcs, though minor characters can undergo this type of character development as well.

The character arc of the narrator in our sample story

From the story “It Happened”, the narrator’s character arc is her realization that Ihemee is not what she thinks, but something much worse,  something hard to believe.

She now knows that Ihemee is not insane and was speaking the truth when he accused the general overseer of the church she attends of being a cannibal. We don’t know how she’ll respond to this. But it can be inferred that a change has occurred within her, a change in the way she sees the world.

And this change results from her acceptance of the fact that men who feed by digesting their prey extracellularly exist.

Wrap On Narrative Arcs, Story Arcs, Character Arcs and Plot Arcs.

The story arc can be seen as a pyramid that shows the different changes that take place in a story. There are five elements of a narrative arc. And each element plays an important role in defining the clear arc of the story.

The narrative arc is different from a plot. A character arc differs from a narrative arc. With our aforementioned example, you can decipher what the differences are. And hopefully, you can write classic short stories the everyone will love.

Have you ever tried to decipher the narrative arc of your story? What did you learn from the process? 

Got more tips on creating a story arc? Please share in the comments section. We look forward to learning from you.

About the Author:

Charles Opara is a Nigerian-born author who writes suspense, speculative fiction, literary fiction and short stories. He is a programmer with a passion for groundbreaking technologies. His creative mind enjoys the logic involved in writing stories and programs, puzzles and problem-solving, basically. In 2015, his horror short “It Happened” was shortlisted for the Awele Creative Trust Prize and in 2017, another story ‘Baby-girl’ was long-listed for the Quramo National Prize in his country. His stories have appeared in Ambit, Flash Fiction Press, and Zoetic Press. He is about to publish a collection of short stories with Fomite Press called ‘How Hamisu Survived Bad Kidneys and a Bad Son-in-law’.

Twitter handle: Charles Opara@OparaCc

INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

1. Fake It, Flash Fiction Press http://www.theflashfictionpress.org/2016/06/24/fake-it/
2. Fermenting, Zoetic Press, Non-Binary Review #7 The Woman in White
3. Broken Sleep, Ambit Magazine, Ambit 229 (19th July 2017) ISSN: 0002-6972 http://ambitmagazine.co.uk/issues/229

WRITING CREDITS 

1. ‘It Happened’ shortlisted for Awele Creative Writers’ Prize 2014
2. ‘The Dream’ longlisted for Fiction Desk’s Best Newcomer’s Prize 2015  
3. ‘Fermenting’ nominated for the Best of the Net (Zoetic Press 2016)
4. ‘Baby-girl’ longlisted for the Quramo National Short Story Prize 2017

The post Narrative Arc, Story Arc, Plot Arc and Character Arc (Definitions + Examples + Tips For Creating A Narrative Arc In Your Story) appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Iceland Writers Retreat has partnered with the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel to offer one person a free spot at the Iceland Writers Retreat, which is scheduled to hold in April-May 2020. The winner will receive four nights’ accommodation at the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel and will be offered admission to all events of the retreat. The deadline to submit an entry is Monday, December 16, 2019.

Who is Eligible to Apply:

• Anyone from anywhere in the world, who is 18 years or older on the day of the retreat (April 29, 2020).
• There is no entry fee.

How to Apply:

• Submit a single entry of not more than 350 words, inspired by the featured image, which is captioned “Iceland: ethereal, exhilarating, sublime.”
• The entry could be a poem, an essay, or a story.
• Make sure that you mention Iceland somewhere in your entry.
• The deadline to apply is December 16, 2019.

What Does the Win Entail:

• If the winner is based outside of the Reykjavik Capital Area, they will be offered four nights of accommodation at the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel.
• A delegate spot at the Iceland Writers Retreat.
• NOTE that the prize does not include airfare, airport transfers, or any expenses not itemized in the delegate description.
• To apply, click here.

Good luck.

The post Win a Spot at the Iceland Writers Retreat/ How to Apply (Prize: Accommodation + more) appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The short story form is in high demand. Many writers want to learn how to write a short story. Also, many writers wonder how long is a short story?

In this article, Tega explains everything he learned from prolific writer TJ Benson. Wrapped in short story examples are nuggets on short story outlines, elements writing hacks, and more.

Ready to learn how to write a short story? Ready to learn how long a short story should be.? Read on. This article starts with a vivid short story about a writing festival.

How To Write A Short Story: Lessons Learned From TJ Benson’s Short Short Story Day Africa Workshop. 

It’s the Jos Museum Festival. It means the celebration of ancient cultures and histories to keep the future breathing. 

I want to roll with the massive crowd gathering at British-America Junction. I want to soak the raw banging of the local drums and the seismic blast of horns scattered everywhere.

Another thing, the popular Terminus Market is falling flat today. I want to see Chinese engineers setting demolition charges to the quiet sprawl of mossy buildings that were once the economic pride of Jos.

I have also been invited to a Cast and Crew Party at the Jos Repertory Theatre. The party means Jollof rice and baked chicken and groundnut oil. It means moi-moi, and chilled juices and evergreen high-life music.

But guess where I am headed with Lardo, YoungLan and our copies of We Won’t Fade into Darkness?

To a short story workshop taught by fiction writing maestro, TJ Benson. There I intend to learn more about how to write a short story.

For the uninitiated, here’s a definition of a short story.

A short story is a work of prose fiction (sometimes prose poetry) that can be read in one sitting. It can also be defined as a piece of fiction that focuses on a specific moment in a character’s or group of characters’ lives.

On my way to this workshop, someone begged me to ask how long is a short story. But I said, I already knew about the word counts of short stories.

A short story is usually as long as it wants to be. Or as short as it wants to. Thankfully, the short story market is flexible. It can accommodate stories that are as short as six words and as long as 10,000 or even 20,000 words.

Ernest Hemmingway famously wrote a beautiful flash fiction or micro fiction story that was six words long. It read:

TJ Benson had interesting things to say about how long a short story should be. More on that later.

A Short Story About Meeting The Other Workshop Participants.

nHUB is all vintage lamps, impossible warmth, and brilliant graffiti. Poets move up and down, asking for the central Wi-Fi password.

I feel strangely related to all of them even with their mad varieties of accents. I broach one.

“What’s your name?”

“De General.”

“Bro, I mean your real name?”

He observes a long pause as though trying to remember his birth name. “Nuel,” he says, almost with a grudge. He is a performance poet, he says.

Performance poets prefer their stage names. He mourns his lack of earphones. Poets need their earphones, especially spoken word poets. Please, do I have any spare earphones to lend?

In the spacious lobby, Younglan and other poets find belonging in navigating the memories of a Pulitzer photographer who killed himself. Someone makes light of the tragic issue.

“Have you ever been in a deep depression?” Miriam asks the person, her voice bellicose.

“Depression is depression.” The person says, in a quiet shout. “Nothing like deep depression.”

An argument on depression follows. It flows sadly, loudly.

I move away from them to a flower girl filling herself with music by a concrete balustrade. Her name is Sonia.

Her lips are soft passion fruits. Like passion fruits, maybe they will produce some sweetness. Maybe they will be comforting.

Hello, Sonia! What genre do you mostly write? Poetry too? Okay. So, Sonia what was your last poem about? Depression too? Mo gbe! No, pleeeease don’t show me. Thank you! I leap into the hall.

Arriving At The Short Short Story Day Workshop Hall.

The hall is the milk veneer tables, which strangely turn purple when the white lights trip on.

The hall is also a rainbow of neatly arranged chairs and weird wall paintings. I jog my hands across the cold expanse of tinted glass windows that mute the daylight.

But I do nothing to mute the raucous sound downstairs. I roll back one of the windows.

I lower my gaze and take in the reckless movement of cars, and people in ridiculous tribal clothes. They’re dancing their way to British-America Junction for the festival. Someone, an old man with a brilliant toothy smile, waves at me. I wave back.

Write Your Story Immediately The Idea Comes To You.

We sit facing a whiteboard that reads, ‘WRITE IT NOW. SOMETIMES, LATER BECOMES NEVER.’ I feel attacked.

I know I shouldn’t. But I can help myself. Learning how to write a short story isn’t for wimps.

Rudolph, an ingenious spoken word poet and one of the organizers of the workshop, performs a poem while walking around our tables.

I find it hard to catch up with his experimental style. He talks about theme, coherence, plot, rhythm and diction. All the elements of a short story.

He talks as if these elements are things from outer space. I don’t understand much of them, maybe because I am not a poet.

I look at my wristwatch and scribble on my right palm: Where. Is. TJ Benson?

Crafting A Character Profile Of The Workshop Facilitator

TJ Benson breezes into the hall in the cool height of a Toyota Hummer bus, in swaying ash trousers and a white T-shirt that is MALAWI.

His eyes are focused on everyone. He owes Jos some years of his writing life, he says.

TJ’s movement is a lot like Salsa. The way his hands swim, and the way his shoulders swing back and forth when he says he has nothing against people who beer out their bellies. His movements are all endlessly fascinating.

He has the soul of an intricate Tiv song, this TJ. He imagines himself as the character he is writing. And by that way, he is able to find specific things about that character. He stalks himself. Applaudissez! We clap for him.

Straight to the matter. What are your names? He asks. Tell the house something about you.

The first writer is trying to love again. Wow. Bold of him to say that, TJ says. Isn’t writing about churning bold expressions when other art forms are reticent? Be bold. Know and say what you want. Write it. Don’t worry about the short story length. Just write it. Next!

The second is a psychologist who doesn’t socialize.

Her character is unique, TJ points out. She is wearing a shouty blue lipstick to draw our attention. And she doesn’t like socializing, huh?

An accurate irony, something writeable! “It’s green,” she says to TJ, smiling, “my lips are green.” It’s all a story, TJ says. That’s the long and short of it. 

Depictions don’t have to be factual. Just make them interesting and believable. Okay? Next!

Someone wants to situate deep humour inside a short story strictly on pain. More like distilling perfume from garlic. Why not! It’s possible. Everything is. There is something called Speculative Fiction, and there is Fantasy, TJ says.

Someone wants to write a book about life.

‘WHAT PART OF LIFE?’ TJ writes on the whiteboard. Life is too broad, he says facing us, his voice a decibel higher.

Avoid blanket statements. Don’t think of life when writing. Think about specific experiences in life. Good writing thrives on specificity.

But avoid the obvious, he adds. Like poverty, disease, hunger, and other clichéd subject matters that are copious in most African Literature.

Write something new. Write from a fresh and unique angle, he admonishes. Writing is not a tidy experience, he adds. We must avoid the urge to put the process into a small or bland space.

What about urban markets? Bank Vault? About BRT buses? About the surface of the moon? About Maximum prisons? About afterlife? Research. Tell outgoing stories.

Someone says he is a writer who is mostly too lazy to lift a pen. But when he does, OMG happens. For example, he helped a secondary school student write an essay and the essay is taking the student to the USA.

TJ tells him to trust his lazy process as long as it gives him OMG results. He proceeds to ask a moral question: Do we think it was wrong of him to have helped the student write the essay?

An argument breaks out between two participants.

“Oh! It’s cheating.”

“EVERYONE cheats one way or the other.”

“I don’t cheat!”

“He was just helping an underprivileged kid get to the USA!”

“It was a competition for school kids.”

“And so what? What of ghostwriting?”

“What about ghostwriting!?”

“Are you not a ghostwriter?”

“That’s none of your business!”

“Why?”

“Zed.”

Someone says he photographs for a local newspaper.

TJ Benson asks him to give a picture of the newspaper office. The person says it’s conducive, beautiful –

Keep your opinion to yourself, TJ cuts it. Just paint a picture. Show what the place looks like then let the reader say whether it’s conducive and beautiful. Show. Don’t tell.

Next! Next!…

Determining How Long Your Short Story Should Be.

The short story is a compact wonderful literary form. Yes, there’s a lot of contention about the aptest short story length. This explains why budding writers are often asking, how long is a short story?

According to TJ, short story lengths are dynamic. In some cases, they overlap.

Many short story journals and contests often publish short stories with word counts between 2000 – 5000 words. Some flash fiction magazines and contests prefer stories that are less than 1000 words. Some prefer sudden or microfiction stories that are under 500 words.

There is no easy answer to the FAQ, how long is a short story. But below is a yardstick you can use to determine the correct short story length.

Microfiction or sudden fiction: 500 words or less.

Flash fiction (also called short, short stories): 1,000 words or less.

Short story: 1000 to 20,000 words (the style is often cyclical. There are often echoes strewn throughout the story)

Short novel or a novelette: 7,500 to 25,000 words

Novella: 10,000 to 49,000 words

Novel: 50,000 words or more.

More Of TJ Benson’s Tips On How To Write A Good Short Story.

If you’re learning how to write a short story, you must take the following tips seriously.

Your Story Should Haunt The Reader.

Your short story supposed to make the reader feel a strange sense of wonder. There are a bunch of amazing short stories out there. But there will also be a space for yours. Simply make your reader truly feel that strange sense of wonder.

Create Seminal Moments Of Change.

For a short story to be successful, there has to be a profound change. Our lives are stories of changes.

We are born. We die. We change senses. We change our minds. We change our clothes. We change levels.

Something has to change in the story you are writing. The more major and unpredictable the change is, the better the sense of wonder.

Ask Yourself The Following Questions After the First/Second Draft of Your Short Story:

• What makes this piece different from every other piece?
• How does it capture a specific moment or consciousness?
• Why should people give up their precious time for it?
• How can I cut it down? This question is important is you’re wondering how long your story should be.

Practice The Art Of Word Count Economy. Say A Lot In Few Words.

A good short story isn’t unnecessarily wordy. The best short story writers often employ a rare technique called word economy.

Your short story should be able to convey as much meaning as possible in few words. And this must be neatly done –else, it becomes a burden to the reader.

Don’t forget that word count and length matter in short stories. But rather than ask, how long is a short story, pause. Compress your sentences. Delete unnecessary and repetitive words.

Aim For A Rythmic, Voice Driven Tale.

A good short story should flow and show. Don’t spend too much time describing to your readers. Or you will leave them with roadblocks and no story.

Show your reader a picture of the unfolding events. When you show, your readers experience and absorb your story.

Pay Attention To Your Mode Of Representation

There is a certain form of erasure of groups that do not belong to the mainstream in every part of the world.

There is no one-way to being human. Humanity is complex. Showing complexity and difference in your work matters.

Write the marginal in with dignity. But don’t be preachy about it.

Good Short Stories Don’t Waste Words On Stereotypes.

As a writer, assume no default identity. Rise above preconceived notions and unbridled traditional beliefs.

There are no fixed restrictions as to what should be or not be. Always be on the verge of saying something new. Work against stereotypes.

Resist The Temptation To Italicize Non-English Words.

Don’t italicize or explain indigenous words for the West. Your job isn’t to beg people to like your culture.

Your indigenous words aren’t exotic. Exhaust materials peculiar to your culture. Use folktales, songs, riddles, proverbs and so on. Enrich your works with these things.

Your experience is worthy of representation.

Give Your Story Context

Context is the ecosystem of your story. Context matters. It adds believability to your piece. Always check with context.

Pay Attention To Intent and Language

Your intent is the ocean wave that carries your words. It is the guiding spirit of the story.

It is the energy behind each word, the feeling. If your intent is to create a love story let it be clearly felt by the reader. Be intentional.

Favor language simplicity. Don’t rely on heavy or complicated language to tell your story.

Rely on yourself as an artist. Build a confident voice (and you do this by continuous writing practices and of course, reading)

 Watch a video of the workshop. Learn how to write a short story.

Create Moving Dialogue

Characters are different people. The way they talk should mirror their differences. Your characters shouldn’t speak like you. Study the cadence of people.

For example, assertive people talk with curt and short sentences or long rants.

Less self-assured or nervous people beat around the bush or ramble.

Never enter into a writing project without absorbing the sounds of various kinds of people.

 Choose Your Characters Names Wisely.

Humanize your story with names, profound names. Let diversity and color richly show in your characters’ names.

Often, writers assume that readers won’t remember indigenous names. The irony is that such names make them more memorable.

Remember Ralia, the sugar girl? Ali and Simbi? Who can ever forget Ifemelu or Okonkwo or Jagua Nana?

Your Title Should Tell The Reader Something About Your Short Story. 

Your title may cast an informing light on the story but should not give it away. You could get a title from when a major change occurs in the story.

If the essence of your story cannot be contained in its first and second paragraphs then let it be contained in the title.

Read Materials That Make You A Better Short Story Writer. 

To read is to think and to think clearly is to write wonderfully. It opens and renews the mind. 

Reading is the surest way to learn how to write a short story. It gives you more words, more ideas, and consciousnesses.

When you read, you add heft to your voice. You know what is true to you. You know what is not. You know the right length for the short story you’re working on.

Read widely. Don’t look down on any genre. Have an acute consciousness. Read and absorb your environment. Be aware.

Bonus Tips: How To Care For Your Creative Health

• Be kind to your mind.
• Don’t let rejection letters get to you.
• Remove market pressure from your worktable.
• Don’t do it for prizes or for validation. Do it for you. Write at your pace.
• Control your work. Be in charge of the process. Be in charge of how much of yourself you put into your work.
• Network with friends. Have a support system that will insulate you from dark moods.
• Be deliberate about the environments you expose your mind to. Some environments will never be good for you as an artist.
• Don’t disappear into the world you are trying to create on paper.
• Create time to stretch and do some physical exercises. Remove yourself from your manuscript once in a while, and seek out psychical spaces that are new to you.
• Traveling is very essential to the craft. Travel out of your experience and embody other consciousnesses.
• Don’t conform. Find your own formula. Don’t let how any writer writes to be your absolute way.
• You may experience the imposter syndrome sometimes. You may feel you are not worthy of the attention you receive. You do, and you deserve even more.

Because TJ Benson says we deserve more, and because we do, Lardo and Rudolph skip forward bearing a pack of meat pie and frosty coke for each one of us.

Wrap Up On How Long Is A Short Story?: Understanding The Basics Of How To Write A Short Story.

The short story is a unique art form. It is almost as technical as drama and screenplay writing. But it is interesting still.

The easiest way to figure out how to write a short story is to read many, many stories. There are a lot of great short stories you can read for free online.

Rather than worry about the length of your story, simply write. Focus on getting the voice right, on plugging plot holes. Focus on making the most of the elements of the short story.

The tips above will help you write the perfect short story. And hopefully, you now know the answer to the FAQ, how long is a short story.

Have you written a short story lately? What was your experience? Did you have to worry about the short story length? And does reading and analyzing poetry make you a better writer?

Please leave a comment below. Click, if you’d like to learn how to write a novel.

 The workshop was co-organized by Just Create, Tales Afrik and Custodians of African Literature. It held on the 18^th of May, 2019, in Jos, Nigeria.

Bio: Tega Oghenechovwen has attended Short Story Day Africa workshop, Aké Festival writing Workshop, among others. He has published work with the Rumpus, Black Sun Lit, Litro Magazine, Arts and Africa, and elsewhere. He tweets @tega_chovwen

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