What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 4

August 22, 2011
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(Part One: Character Development || Part Two: History & Geography || Part Three: Culture & Economy) Conflict So you’ve developed your characters, answered all the important questions, and your readers love them. You’ve developed your world, made it rich and full and extremely real. What’s next? One of my favorite points: conflict. “But what, specifically and [...]

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What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 3

July 25, 2011
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(Part One: Character Development || Part Two: History & Geography || Part Four: Tension) A Sense of Culture Oh, this is a tough one. It affects YA authors, who tend to be considerably older than the people they’re writing about. It affects fantasy/sci-fi authors, who are responsible for creating something that feels new and different [...]

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What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 2

June 8, 2011
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So how’s that worldbuilding going?

Unlike the character concepts in part one, you may think this doesn’t apply to you. “Oh, I’m writing in the real world,” is an excuse heard often around the halls of writtendom. But this isn’t correct. Even a modern, magicless YA has world-building, and if you do it wrong, your readers can tell.

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What Makes a Compelling Story

April 29, 2011
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What happens when you read a good story? What makes a good character? A good world? I’ve compiled this list as a guide. It’s by no means exhaustive. Think of it as an outline, and if you’re able to fill in the blanks, then you’re on your way to building an excellent story.

A good story sticks with you. A good story becomes PART of you, making you think, making you give a damn about the world, the characters, everything involved. And, most importantly, a good story makes you forget the technique used to make it.

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