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Every good story has a good hook.

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Every good story has some characters

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as long as its interesting and keeps people involved.

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https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/makes-good-story/#:~:text=A%20good%20story%20is%20about,to%20make%20important%20news%20interesting.&text=Journalism%20is%20a%20process%20in,to%20make%20a%20subject%20newsworthy.

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A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting.

The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

So anything can be news. But not everything is newsworthy. Journalism is a process in which a reporter uses verification and storytelling to make a subject newsworthy.

At its most basic level, news is a function of distribution -- news organizations (or members of the public) create stories to pass on a piece of information to readers, viewers, or listeners.

A good story, however, does more than inform or amplify. It adds value to the topic.

The Elements of Journalism, in fact, describes journalism as "storytelling with a purpose."

Creating a good story means finding and verifying important or interesting information and then presenting it in a way that engages the audience. Good stories are part of what make journalism different, and more valuable, than other content in the media universe.

Research proves two things about good stories:

Treatment trumps topic. How a story is told is more important to the audience than its topic, what it is about. The best story is a well-told tale about something the reader feels is relevant or significant.

The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive. They contain more verified information from more sources with more viewpoints and expertise. They exhibit more enterprise, more reportorial effort.
This guide, like many of the others in API's Journalism Essentials section, is largely based on the research and teachings of the Committee of Concerned Journalists - a consortium of reporters, editors, producers, publishers, owners and academics that for 10 years facilitated a discussion among thousands of journalists about what they did, how they did it, and why it was important. The author, Walter Dean, was CCJ training director and API Executive Director Tom Rosenstiel formerly co-chaired the committee.

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What makes a good story? - American Press Institute

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A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting. The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting.

The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

So anything can be news. But not everything is newsworthy. Journalism is a process in which a reporter uses verification and storytelling to make a subject newsworthy.

At its most basic level, news is a function of distribution -- news organizations (or members of the public) create stories to pass on a piece of information to readers, viewers, or listeners.

A good story, however, does more than inform or amplify. It adds value to the topic.

The Elements of Journalism, in fact, describes journalism as "storytelling with a purpose."

Creating a good story means finding and verifying important or interesting information and then presenting it in a way that engages the audience. Good stories are part of what make journalism different, and more valuable, than other content in the media universe.

Research proves two things about good stories:

Treatment trumps topic. How a story is told is more important to the audience than its topic, what it is about. The best story is a well-told tale about something the reader feels is relevant or significant.

The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive. They contain more verified information from more sources with more viewpoints and expertise. They exhibit more enterprise, more reportorial effort.
This guide, like many of the others in API's Journalism Essentials section, is largely based on the research and teachings of the Committee of Concerned Journalists - a consortium of reporters, editors, producers, publishers, owners and academics that for 10 years facilitated a discussion among thousands of journalists about what they did, how they did it, and why it was important. The author, Walter Dean, was CCJ training director and API Executive Director Tom Rosenstiel formerly co-chaired the committee.

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What makes a good story? - American Press Institute

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting. The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

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| 28 videos

Video by The Atlantic

At this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, we asked a group of writers, journalists, and producers to explain what makes a story great. According to House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon, the answer is a simple one: "The most important element in a good story is conflict. It's seeing two opposing forces collide with one another." Other panelists include Michael Eisner, Catherine Burns, Jay Allison, Jon Lovett, Yoni Bloch, Paula Kerger, and Jonathan Harris.

The Big Question is a series inspired by The Atlantic's back-page feature.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

About This Series

Ideas and insights from leaders at the Aspen Ideas Festival

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Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg, Sam Price-Waldman, and Nadine Ajaka

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What's the Most Important Element of a Good Story?

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At this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, we asked a group of writers, journalists, and producers to explain what makes a story great. According to House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon, the answer is a simple one: "The most important element in a good story is conflict.

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There are authors who have such fantastic first lines that they grab reader's interest from the very first line. Take Jeffrey Eugenides for example:

"On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide-it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese-the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope," (from The Virgin Suicides).

This guest post is by Ann Garvin. Garvin is the author of I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around. She earned her MS from Madison in exercise physiology, and a PhD in exercise and health psychology, hoping to understand how physical activity effects the brain. She has been teaching in the University of Wisconsin system since 1990, and is now a full tenured professor. She is a sought after speaker and educator at writers conferences and festivals, and also holds an adjunct Master's of Fine Arts' position at Southern New Hampshire University. She is the author of the previous titles On Maggie's Watch and The Dog Year. Find her at Facebook or Twitter @anngarvin_.

Or, there's Cheryl Strayed first sentence from Wild:

"The trees were tall, but I was taller, standing above them on a steep mountain slope in northern California. Moments before, I'd removed my hiking boots and the left one had fallen into those trees, first catapulting into the air when my enormous backpack toppled onto it, then skittering across the gravelly trail and flying over the edge."

But it isn't the first sentences that made these books best sellers it was the author's ability to hook readers and keep them hooked. If a writer wants a writing career we need to practice the craft of both hooking and keeping; it's not about the one night stand, it's about the relationship.

When I wanted to write an essay about my difficult relationship with my brother I had to figure out a way to make it interesting to other people so I turned to these 10 elements to keep the story rolling. Here are the elements that were taken into account every step of the way when writing the essay:

1. Begin at a pivotal moment

2. Add an unusual situation.

3. Add an intriguing character

4. Conflict

5. Add an antagonist

6. Change emotion

7. Irony and surprise

8. Make People Wonder

9. Dread Factor

10. Keep narrative voice compelling

Now, here is the essay separated by each element so you can see how to incorporate into your own story:

A Summer Place by Ann Garvin

When my older brother Ray put Jamie Lockhart into a coma it changed my life but it took me forty-five years to figure out how.

Begin at a pivotal moment

When I was twelve my family moved from one-hour outside of New York City to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and one-hour away from a JC-Penny's. We were raised Presbyterian, but because we had the distinct hallow-eye'd look of Ann Frank and everyone else in the White Pine, looked very Scandinavian, we became the town's diversity-before diversity was a good thing.

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Add an unusual situation.

I coped by being careful and good and funny which was like an invisibility cloak in high school but as much as I tried to blend in, my older brother Ray stood out in the most threatening way possible for a good girl and that was as a bad boy.

At home we called him, Open Crab Face sandwich because I don't think douche bag was a recognizable slur at that time. I used to say that my brother suffered from a case of severe assholishness, but I said it quietly and to myself because my father didn't need any help pinpointing my brother's shortcomings.

Add intriguing characters

My father was and is best described as an intense, idealist with a steel girder of a work ethic and a charm that wears thin under the gun of his laser focused attentions. And there I sat, at the nexus of my brother Ray's crummy moods, ADHD or Asperger's and my father's galvanic need to fix him. I was the North Star right in the middle of the war between the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia except I was a rarely sited star in the constellation of our family even though I longed to be seen.

Here's how it went with us. Never mind where we were, New Jersey, New York City or Northern Michigan my father would, with well-rehearsed words say,

"We're going out to dinner. Tonight is a treat. The treat is, being together as a family, and giving your mother a break from creating a meal. This was his sizzle reel and tagging mom added the emotional component to the pitch. Because he was looking forward to the night out, and possibly had some kind of amnesia where my brother was concerned. Then his big finish, his hook was, "Everyone pick something affordable. "Ray," he'd say. "No steak."

My brother would say, "DAD. I get it."
[10 Meaningful Practices for Every Writer]
Conflict

Outside the restaurant, just before swinging the door wide and walking inside my Dad would stop us and say,

"Now remember everybody, this is for Mom. Let's focus on why we are here." My brother would slouch through the door and my dad would whisper into his teenage ear, "Spaghetti "and then it was dead man walking all the way to our seats.

At the table, with the waitress looming, my father would raise his eyebrows as if to say, Ok, people, this is not a drill.

One by one, we would order; Veal for my mother, lasagna for me, my dad a pork chop or the fish, and without batting an eye my brother would say, "Steak please."

The rest of the night would become one long unbroken monologue delivered by my father on gratefulness, frugality, and the value of the dollar. I had my own ritual. I'd give my mom a panicked look and we'd scuttle to the restroom where I'd stand in the bathroom stall, head over the toilet, gagging. I was a sensitive kid and between the car ride (motion sickness) and the constant anxiety of being surrounded by the anticipation of battle, barfing seemed like sweet relief. It was my mother that suffered the most though, her only night out in months was to be spent rubbing her anxious daughter's back or listening to a filibuster at table-twelve.

Add an antagonist

The thing about my father is this, he believed that if his lecturing didn't have the desired effect it was because the listener didn't or couldn't fully comprehend his logic, his high level thinking, and the best course of action was, logically, more lecturing.

Ray and I had bedrooms on the same floor, across the hall from each other and night after night my father would sit on Ray's bed and layout the error of my brother's approach to life and fill in with his own recipe for success.

Night after night, I'd listen to the low rumble of only my father's voice across the hall, so grateful that I wasn't on the receiving end of his fervent reasoning, on the one hand and on the other hand wishing for a vowel or two thrown in my direction. Once, tired of being the good, forgotten girl, I said to my Dad,

"Could we talk a little?"

He said, "Sure, what do you want to talk about?

I hesitated and said, "I don't know. Maybe something nice. Butterflies?"
[The 5 Biggest Fiction Writing Mistakes (& How to Fix Them)]
Change emotion

Without hesitation, because my father rarely hesitated said, "I don't know very much about butterflies." And off he went secure in the knowledge that the kid who wanted to talk about butterflies wasn't doing drugs.

Ray's poor judgment, miserable friends and defiance carried him through all of his years in high school, creating a groove in our familial interactions like the ruts of the Oregon Trail. Fixing Ray was our homesteading and nothing would divert us from this path.

Then, after years of trouble; slashed tires, stolen tests, drunken night time pass-outs, and fairly obvious drug use, the months before graduation Ray seemed to settle down.

Make People Wonder

In an unrelated action and totally out of character, my father purchased a used 1970 Ford Mustang. He wasn't the type to buy toys and suddenly there were a lot of new vocabulary words in the house. Mint condition, Blue Book, resale opportunity, investment. I was wholly uninterested except when I heard my brother reason with my dad just after pulling the new car into the driveway.

"Just let me take it out for a quick drive. Just for a few miles. Trust me."

Dread Factor

I don't know what possessed my father to hand over the keys that day, but I like to think it was hope. More likely though it could have been the irrational belief that if you knock your head against a wall enough times that wall eventually turns into a door. Frankly, it's more likely that my father had the unshakeable belief in his own salesmenship rather than any mystical feeling of hope.

The how or the why didn't really matter in the end. In the end, that rarely matters.

Later that night, I was in the basement practicing my flute, my mother darted into my room saying,

"Ray's been in an accident, we're going to the hospital." And she and my father disappeared. I waited and upon their return I got the details of the accident along with a few more vocabulary words: Survival rate, coma, manslaughter, jail time.

That day, with keys in hand my brother picked up two friends and sped off down the two lane country road that runs parallel to Lake Superior in a town, called Silver City. Another friend was in the car in front of him and my brother accelerated. They were most likely racing. When the car ahead, slammed on his breaks, with no functioning tail lights, my brother, a 17 year-old inexperienced driver in a car he'd never driven before, swerved left then right, and drove headlong into the slag-filled ditch and slammed into a tree, inches before hitting Lake Superior. The boy in the passenger seat flew through the windshield and the boy in the back, Jamie Lockart, flew between the bucket seats and rammed his head into the dashboard.

When my brother came home from the hospital with bruises on his head and chest and a deep gash in his leg, nobody looked happy, relieved or grateful. Over the next weeks dark circles formed under my brother's eyes, his skin yellowed and he lost weight. Night after night my father sat in his room trying to impress upon him the severity of the events, what was likely to happen if the boy in the coma didn't wake up or worse, died.

Graduation day came and there was no joy in Muddville. If before the accident we were seen as outsiders now that feeling had been amplified and we were thought of those people who brought this plight to their community.

At the ceremony I remember the stares. I remember my brother looked like a sweaty, boiled egg in his shiny red graduation gown. I remember the lack of applause when he walked across the stage. But I don't remember me in this scene. I was never present during my brother's drama. I lived in my head and only in my head: angry, silent, mortified.

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Add Surprise & Irony

To make matters intolerable, the plan for the graduation night was to go out to dinner. There was only one restaurant in town, The Konteka, where I worked bussing tables. We all assumed we would go there but, when my father turned left instead of right and headed out onto the highway I heard my brother shout,

"Where are we going?"

I don't remember how my father figured out that my brother had plans to go to graduation parties after the ceremonies. My mom and dad had made an a priori decision. We were driving an hour and a half to Houghton, MI to eat dinner at a restaurant called The Summer Place and stay the night. The entire ride, my brother looked like a cat in a cage that was filling up with water.

Keep Narrative Voice Compelling.

I had to hand it to my parents, this felt heroic. Looking back, I believe my parents thought Ray might kill himself if left to his own or his friends devices and my dad finally stopped talking and did something.

It was a checkmate and the most miserable dinner I'd ever spent a night hovering over a toilet through.

As if to mock us, the silent, sulking family, the restaurant played the sound track to Andy Williams's A Summer Place- there's A Summer Place where it can rain or storm and I'm safe and warm over and over and over again.
[How To Write Novels When You're A Parent]
Change emotion/surprise

The boy in the coma woke up and before the end of the year walked and miraculously talked. There may have been a civil suit, maybe not, I don't remember. My brother's bruises healed and he went on to wreck more cars, notably the one that was supposed to be mine. An old red VW beetle that once my brother rolled, the tires folded under it as if it were a real bug playing dead.

Ray went to college and we really didn't interact for years except on break or Christmas. I dreaded these times. No one could make me angrier than my brother. He knew calling me goody-goody, and Miss-Free-Ticket-to-Life was a kind of mocking taunt. He was wicked, he knew the truth,

"You maybe be awesome but the old man doesn't give a shit about awesome."

Conflict

After a while I stopped coming home. One time, just last year in-fact, at a family reunion, I told my brother to go f*** himself after the first fifteen minutes in a visit together.

Until this past summer. My parents had their 60th wedding anniversary. My mother has advanced Alzheimer's and only remembers my father who is her full time caregiver. My father has chased away something like 20 nurses with his continued lectures on doing things his way.

At the anniversary dinner I noticed my brother Ray seemed an entirely different person, relaxed, happy, even chatty. I went defensive as usual but saw that something had lifted, he wasn't the Open Crab face Sandwich I was used to. Curious, I impulsively volunteered to drive him to the airport.

All the way to the airport I drove, teeth clenched waiting.

Just before getting out of the car he said,
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"Hey, Uh, I just want to say something to you. I want you to know that I was always so jealous of you that I just couldn't be nice to you. I want you to know that's over now. I'm over it. I can't believe it took me 45 years to get over myself. I want you to know you're amazing and I love you."

Change the emotion

And there, at the Delta Airlines drop off, I saw our relationship unroll like a scroll to be read. My brother wanted less of my father's focus and I wanted more. This brick wall of envy that had lived between us fell and ironically it took me 45 years and ten minutes longer than my clueless, irritating, brother to figure it out.

Hooking a reader is all about keeping them interested by using craft to paint a compelling picture. If you consider the ten items that help build tension and move the story forward, writers can weave a tale that keeps readers up at night and that is the magic in the best of relationships.

Brian A. Klems is the editor of this blog, online editor of Writer's Digest and author of the popular gift book Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl: A Dad's Survival Guide to Raising Daughters.

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10 Ways To Hook Your Reader (and Reel Them in for Good)

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When I wanted to write an essay about my difficult relationship with my brother I had to figure out a way to make it interesting to other people so I turned to these 10 elements to keep the story rolling.

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Good writers often break rules-but they know they're doing it! Here are some good rules to know. A theme is something important the story tries to tell us-something that might help us in our own lives. Not every story has a theme, but it's best if it does. Don't get too preachy.

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What makes a good story? Understanding the key elements of a great story and what satisfies readers regardless of finer details (such as genre) will help you write a more successful book. We're satisfied when stories achieve certain effects, such as moving us, inspiring us to wonder. With the advent of self-publishing there are now more books than ever on the market. So how do you make a story good so it is more successful?

10 ways to make a good story successful and compelling:

1. Make the dramatic content of your story strong

'Man has bacon and eggs for breakfast' is not a story idea that is going to have readers clawing for a copy of your book. It also is highly unlikely this would sustain an entire novel.

'Man has bacon and eggs for breakfast, but the bacon is made from human flesh' is a story scenario with much more dramatic potential (this could be a scene from one of Thomas Harris' popular novels about the serial killer Hannibal Lector). Once you've found the resulting actions and the eventual outcome that develops out of your primary story scenario, you have a story idea.

What are the key elements of a good, dramatic story?

Dramatic storytelling is a matter of including key elements of a good story such as:

Tension

Surprise

Extraordinary characters or character behaviour

Controversy

Mystery

Suspense

The second story idea above contains most of these elements. It's surprising because cannibalism is a taboo most people find disturbing. The character's behaviour is extraordinary because cannibalism is not an everyday, common behaviour. The subject matter is controversial. There is implicit tension because of the possibility the character is a murderer, given his actions. There's mystery - who is this character and why does he engage in this activity?

'Dramatic content' isn't necessarily shocking or controversial. It could be something as innocuous as the reader not knowing whether romantic leads will end up in each other's arms. Brainstorm characters, plot points or settings that give some of the above elements using our step-by-step prompts. Making a story good starts with finding and developing multi-faceted ideas.

2. Vary your prose's rhythm and structure

Writing instructors often advise creative writing classes to write shorter, punchier sentences. Short sentences are great for increasing pace and help to make scenes that have tense subject matter tenser in mood. Yet be wary of monotonous writing. Vary sentence length. Tap out the rhythm of your sentences' syllables every now and then, or read your prose aloud. This will help you hear its cadence, its music.

Use rhythmic structure from poetry for inspiration. For example, the japanese haiku is a short three-line poem in which the first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 and the third 5 again. Try write a few prose sentences with this syllabic structure, e.g.

'He waited all day. It was cold and darkening. Would anyone come?'

Exploring the rhythm of your writing consciously will help you to write better sentences. A book contains many sentences, so make yours easier and lovelier to read. Consciously crafted, creative prose makes a book better in any genre.

3. Create believable, memorable characters

Why do we find some characters more memorable than others? Because they have one or more of the following:

Note that appearance comes last: If you simply describe your characters' eye colour, your character won't stand out. Key to making a story good is creating characters you'd remember if you stood next to them in line. Even if only for 15 minutes.

Part of a memorable voice is created by your character's origins. Do they use regional dialects or sayings that mark them as being from a particular place? Are their voices soft or loud? What sorts of expressions do they use? And slang?

Read authors such as Charles Dickens, who is famous for creating larger-than-life, memorable characters. According to The Guardian, 'hearing voices allowed Charles Dickens to create extraordinary fictional worlds'.

Like their voices, characters' goals and motivations should be wholly their own and should help us understand their behaviour.

What does each character in your book (even the secondary, 'walk on, walk off' ones) crave? Why do they desire the things they do? Get How to Write Real Characters for practical exercises and examples in how to make characters ring true.

4. Make the important parts of your story effective

Each part of a story needs to be effective to make it good. Great openings create fascinating introductions to authors' worlds, characters and plot scenarios. In a brilliant middle, your story might:

Introduce new characters who help or hinder your primary character(s)

Add subplots that supplement your main story arc (more on this in number 5 below)

Reveal why your characters have the goals you establish at the start of your book

Increase narrative tension by increasing what's at stake for your characters

Chuck Wendig has a great post here on how to fight the mushy middle and make your own story lean and mean throughout. This is Wendig's advice when writing the middle gets tough:

'Find your next steps. Discover your narrative landmarks. That'll get you out of the woods and back onto the road.'

5. Deepen your plot with subplots

What is the definition of a subplot?

A subplot is 'a secondary plot, or a strand of the main plot that runs parallel to it and supports it'. An example of a subplot would be the departure of the character Quoyle's wife in the early chapters of E. Annie Proulx's novel The Shipping News. This becomes part of the subplot of Quoyle grieving for (and looking for substitute) love. The subplot sets the tragic tone for the novel and the pathos of it, Quoyle's heartbreak, drives the reader to invest emotionally in his outcome.

To deepen your story with subplots:

Use subplots to make readers care about your characters - this grows reader investment

Add subplots that reveal characters' personalities and complicate their progress towards their goals

Find subplots that expand key themes of your novel

Deepening your plot with subplots will improve your novel because readers will feel more connected to your characters. Connection arises out of understanding and empathy. A good, relevant subplot can help you create these two things.

6. Make every line of dialogue count

Make every line of dialogue count. In great dialogue:

We gain a sense of characters' different personalities, views, quirks (everyone has their own voice)

Dialogue serves the story (characters don't just sit around telling each other what they had for breakfast)

Dialogue deepens or develops connections between characters such as conflict and other emotional elements

In a good story, characters do not sound like real people all the time (even if they create the illusion of being real). This is because in a good story:

Characters mostly speak to the point. There are fewer pleasantries, for example, such as 'Fine thanks and you?'

They don't use filler words such as 'like' or 'um' excessively (unless this is emphasized for a justifiable reason)

Characters' dialogue serves the plot. It helps us understand what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

See advice for writing better dialogue in our separate post on the subject.

7. Add what makes a good story: Immersive setting

What makes a story great? Besides unforgettable characters, a crafted plot, engaging action and dialogue? Immersive settings. A great story puts us right in the heart of its scenes, its world. How do you write a great setting?

1. Make place a character. Don't just give a house a shape and colour. Give it personality. Is it old and dank, shutting out the light of the world, or is it light, charming and elegant? Besides giving place personality, give it something out of the ordinary to make it truly fascinating.

2. Make place in your story change with the times. The street your characters grow up on should have changed when they return in later life, not only because places do change over time but because change is interesting. Old neighbours may have moved or passed away. Characters might feel differently about a place with passing years, too. Find the emotional connections we have to places.

3. Enrich your setting with detail. If you write about a real, historical or contemporary place in particular, know the landmarks. Know the demographics, the underprivileged areas and the rich ones. Know what the place is celebrated or nefarious for. Details, contrasts and contradictions give cities their vibrance and their complex social life.

8. Create conflict and tension

When we read the word 'conflict' we often think immediately of violence. War, for example, or physical fights between adversaries. But there are many kinds of conflict you can use to improve your story. Characters' internal conflicts create tension by making readers wonder whether they will overcome their hurdles. Characters might also grapple with their environments. For example, in a character vs society conflict (such as in The Scarlet Letter). Or when characters struggle with natural phenomena (the typical disaster story).

To write great conflict:

Create and bring together characters whose personalities clash. The reality TV series Come Dine With Me does this expertly by combining dinner guests who are guaranteed to irritate each other. The bubbly go-getter is paired with the morose man-of-few-words.

Combine different kinds of story conflicts within a single narrative. It's interesting when tension arises from varied sources

Watch movies or series that are renowned for their mastery of tense conflict and note down the plot, dialogue or scene setting devices that help scriptwriters achieve their effects.

James Duncan offers some excellent advice on creating conflict and tension. Says Duncan:

'Maybe the goal a character wants to accomplish is reached, but it turns out to be nothing the character expected ... But the genie is hard to get back in the bottle, isn't it?'

Even when our wildest dreams come true, we may find there are more rivers to cross. Relationships, for example, take work.

9. Craft beguiling beginnings

The beginning is part of what elevates a good story to become a great one.

What makes a good story beginning?

A good beginning:

1. Creates questions the reader is determined to have answered (e.g. 'Who is this mysterious killer who loves Barry Manilow's 'Copacabana'?')

2. Hooks readers on your writing style

3. Introduces the key conflicts and/or characters of your novel (and what makes them interesting).

4. Promises a meaningful reading experience (promises being moved, going on an adventure, being terrified).

How to create good opening questions

For the first element of a good story beginning, you can:

Describe a character doing something unexpected

Introduce a perplexing scenario that must be explained (murder is the mainstay of thriller and suspense novels when it comes to creating questions)

Tease the reader with unknowns (whether these relate to a character, an unfamiliar setting or object)

How to hook readers in

For the second story beginning element, hooking your reader on your writing:

Make sure your language is polished

Cut out extraneous information - it isn't relevant what your character ate for breakfast, unless this somehow is developed to become a crucial detail

Use original (but clear) language and the occasional fresh metaphor or simile

Ways to introduce characters

To improve your beginning:

Describe characters in concrete terms: Instead of 'she had always been a happy child', show a happy scene from childhood

Show your character at a pivotal moment: hook the reader right away

Either hint at a coming conflict or launch right into it

How to create the promise of a good story

To show readers your story is worth reading early on:

Set the core action of the story in motion (For example: your character receives an unmarked letter)

Give your reader a taste of the excitement, emotional power or laughs in store

10. Deliver knockout endings

The ending will either entice a reader to seek out other novels you've written or donate the book they've just finished. Don't let your book be clutter. End on a lingering impression:

What makes a good story ending?

A good story ending:

1. Resolves the primary conflict of your story (the killer is caught or the adventurer reaches his destination)

2. Rises in tension before giving the reader release

3. Isn't so tidy that it's predictable or a cop-out

4. Uses words that convey the sense of an ending

Resolving primary story conflicts

We're satisfied when primary conflicts resolve, as there's follow-through on preceding events. Solve conflicts by

Making wrongdoers or antagonists face the music (even if they emerge victorious in an unhappy ending for your protagonist)

Make the outcome of your primary conflict feel explicable but not predictable. For example, make a killer's escape or conviction equally possible - keep the reader guessing

How to build rising action to your climax

To make a story good throughout its final chapters:

Build tension by adding story complications. (In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo must not only destroy the ring but do so with a greatly diminished party as he journeys towards the villain's heartland)

As Jessica Page Morrel says here, make sure that the stakes are high and the consequences for failure are dire. What does your character stand to lose if they don't get what they want?

Ways to avoid a predictable ending

To avoid a lame or cop-out ending and make your story go out with intrigue:

Make sure that you keep up dramatic tension until the end. Meaningful wins seldom come easy

Keep readers guessing how things will pan out with a plot twist. If you use a surprise plot twist, remember to keep the surprise believable

Avoid the deus ex machina, a practically miraculous event that lets you tie things up quickly with little exlanation. Characters developing amnesia as a plot device in soap operas is a classic example (watch a great parody of this here: https://youtu.be/5qLzF6mZrCw)

How to create the sense of an ending

To give your final paragraphs a closing, rounding off feeling:

Read the final paragraphs of your favourite novels. What kind of language does the author use? Is it poignant, nostalgic, dramatic or epic in tone?

Make sure the ending ties back to the preceding story. One example of this is having an ending that echoes, in imagery or themes, the opening lines of your novel

Learn what makes a story good with constructive feedback from our writing community. Or get one-on-one feedback from a writing coach to make real progress.

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What Makes a Good Story? 10 Elements | Now Novel

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What makes a good story? Understanding the key elements of a great story and what satisfies readers regardless of finer details (such as genre) will help you write a more successful book. We're satisfied when stories achieve certain effects, such as moving us, inspiring us to wonder.

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https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf

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New York Times Personal Narrative Essay Contest Finalists

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New York Times Personal Narrative Essay Contest Finalists

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The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest (Published 2020)

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We asked students to write about a meaningful life experience. Here are the eight winning essays, as well as runners-up and honorable mentions.

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I know this is meant for game design but it works so well for storytelling.

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The Beginner's Guide FULL NO COMMENTARY WALKTHROUGH GAMEPLAY "The Beginner's Guide Walkthrough"

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The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm

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Pixar is arguably one of the greatest storytellers of our generation.

Over the years, they've won 13 Academy Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 11 Grammys.

Effective storytelling involves a deep understanding of human emotions, motivations, and psychology in order to truly move an audience.

Luckily, storytelling is something we all do naturally, starting at a very young age. But there's a difference between good storytelling and great storytelling.

I recently stumbled across Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling - here are the top six we can all learn from.

"Storytelling is the greatest technology that humans have ever created." - Jon Westenberg

1. Great stories are universal

Great storytelling is about taking a piece of the human condition (so things like birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict) and conveying it in a unique situation.

Acclaimed Pixar director Pete Docter puts it perfectly:

"What you're trying to do, when you tell a story, is to write about an event in your life that made you feel some particular way. And what you're trying to do, when you tell a story, is to get the audience to have that same feeling."

One way you can do this is to pull apart the stories you like.

Break down every little element about what you love about them. Those are real feelings you're having and you have to recognize them in detail in order to tell a great story yourself.
In other words, self knowledge and awareness are at the the root of all great storytelling.
You are part of the human condition and people will relate to that.

2. Great stories have a clear structure and purpose
Part A (Structure)
One of my favorite ways to develop a compelling story is to use " The Story Spine " formula created by professional playwright and improvisor Kenn Adams.

Pixar has used this story structure to create so many films we know and love today.

It goes:
Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].
The Story Spine - Emma Coats

Give the Story Spine a shot to help develop a truly unique story to tell.
Part B (Purpose)
As Pixar writes:

Why must you tell THIS story?

What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of?

What greater purpose does this serve? What does it teach?

That's the heart of really great storytelling.
By crafting a story that you are passionate to tell because it serves a real purpose, your stories will have bigger impact on the world.
I think that gets lost a lot of the time.

3. Great stories have a character to root for (an underdog)

Believe it or not, people want to root for you (the main character).

AND they love a good underdog.

This might seem straightforward but it's worth keeping in mind anytime you're creating a story.

Pixar explains that we as the audience admire a character for trying more than for their success. In other words, it's more about the character's journey than it is their actual destination.

When your character is battling against all odds, facing adversity, or their back is against the wall, well then, you have yourself the makings of great story.
In our modern society, for example, everyone loves a good "rags to riches" story. How many times has Forbes published an article about the fearless entreprenuer that dropped everything, almost failed dozens of times along the way, yet still managed to create a multi-million dollar business?

Give the people an unexpected hero to root for.

4. Great stories appeal to our deepest emotions

Psychologists generally agree that there are six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.

If you ever watched the Pixar movie Inside Out, you'll recognize these emotions as characters in the movie.

The more you understand how/when your own emotional levers are pulled, the more you'll appreciate how that works in other people (and the more you'll be able to hone those emotions in your stories).

Consciously being to recognize these various emotions in yourself -and think about the "why".
Why are you feeling a certain way? How might you be able to take the "why" behind your emotions and tell a story?
Continuously question yourself in order to understand your own emotional reactions to stories so that you can learn to tell more authentic stories that reach and move people where it counts.

5. Great stories are surprising and unexpected

We've all seen the classic "fairytale" storyline: a helpless princess in need and a charming prince swooping in to save the day.
Boring (and totally outdated). What makes modern stories compelling are when our perceptions of reality are challenged or changed in some way.
Creators like Pixar and Walt Disney use animated movies as vehicles to address real-life phenomenons, issues, stereotypes, and norms.

Movies such as Brave, Coco, Tangled, and Moana help us to understand and reflect on big, human-centered topics that we might not otherwise take time out of our day to think about.

Many times those topics or themes are surprising and unexpected, leaving the audience thinking about the story well after it is over.

If you're stuck on coming up with something truly unique, Pixar recommends to get rid of the 1st thing that comes to mind - and then the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

Challenge yourself to dig deep.

6. Great stories are simple and focused

We as audiences know a good story when we see or hear one.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where you had to keep asking yourself (or someone else) what was happening in the plot?

Not a great experience.
As creators, we naturally want to include as much information as possible in our stories. We want to pack the story full of characters and plot twists and dialogue.
And often times we might not even realize that we're adding layers that don't need to be there.

Pixar's advice here is to "combine characters and hop over detours."

While you as the creator may feel like you're losing lots of valuable stuff, it'll set you free in the end and will allow your audience to get lost in the narrative.

One way to find out if your story is easy to follow is to tell it to a friend or family member who has never heard it before. Watch their face as you read it and try to see where they pause and what questions they might have.

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

22 Rules for Storytelling by Pixar
6 Rules for Great Storytelling originally appeared on the Buffer Podcast:

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6 Rules of Great Storytelling (As Told by Pixar)

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Effective storytelling involves a deep understanding of human emotions, motivations, and psychology in order to truly move an audience. Luckily, storytelling is something we all do naturally...

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Lukas Graham - 7 Years [Official Music Video]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7qRkUYu580

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A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting.

The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

So anything can be news. But not everything is newsworthy. Journalism is a process in which a reporter uses verification and storytelling to make a subject newsworthy.

At its most basic level, news is a function of distribution -- news organizations (or members of the public) create stories to pass on a piece of information to readers, viewers, or listeners.

A good story, however, does more than inform or amplify. It adds value to the topic.

The Elements of Journalism, in fact, describes journalism as "storytelling with a purpose."

Creating a good story means finding and verifying important or interesting information and then presenting it in a way that engages the audience. Good stories are part of what make journalism different, and more valuable, than other content in the media universe.

Research proves two things about good stories:

Treatment trumps topic. How a story is told is more important to the audience than its topic, what it is about. The best story is a well-told tale about something the reader feels is relevant or significant.

The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive. They contain more verified information from more sources with more viewpoints and expertise. They exhibit more enterprise, more reportorial effort.
This guide, like many of the others in API's Journalism Essentials section, is largely based on the research and teachings of the Committee of Concerned Journalists - a consortium of reporters, editors, producers, publishers, owners and academics that for 10 years facilitated a discussion among thousands of journalists about what they did, how they did it, and why it was important. The author, Walter Dean, was CCJ training director and API Executive Director Tom Rosenstiel formerly co-chaired the committee.

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What makes a good story? - American Press Institute

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A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting or important. A great story often does both by using storytelling to make important news interesting. The public is exceptionally diverse. Though people may share certain characteristics or beliefs, they have an untold variety of concerns and interests.

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Bob Ross always has meaning behind his paintings