by Leon Conrad

How long should a piece of writing be?

There is a huge range of opportunities for writers to explore between the towering masterpiece that is War and Peace and a condensed microfiction six-word story.

But what makes a piece of writing of any length work? Often it is not so much the length of a piece, but the underlying story that matters. More precisely, it is the link between the form and content that makes a piece of any length feel not too long; not too short; just right.

The story so far

In an earlier ‘Writers in the Storm’ blog post which explored the Deep Structure of Story, I outlined very briefly how story structures can be mapped using a set of six simple visually intuitive symbols. Two common patterns can be found at the heart of story. These follow the natural ebb and flow of story, at a level of story structure. They also show how sequences of events can expand and contract:

Mapping the Heartbeat of Story

Handled well, expansions of ‘backward steps’ can increase tension; expansions of ‘forward steps’ can release tension:

For instance: ‘She left it all’—which could be mapped as a single backward step—could be expanded to a series of them: ‘She left her house, her spouse, her wife, her child behind her.’

Alternatively, ‘The dragon took off, soaring higher and higher into the air, way past the cloudy sphere, until cloud-wrapped Noosa was a tiny speck beneath her’—which could be mapped as series of forward steps—could be condensed to: ‘The dragon soared high, high, high above the clouds’, or even further to: ‘The dragon soared high above the clouds’.

Similarly, sequences of different step types can expand and contract as follows. The combinations of forward and backward steps can make the task of keeping things varied and interesting much easier for writers:

For example:

The Heartbeat of Story

Just like a living being, a story needs a healthy pulse rate appropriate to the function it is performing. This can be traced both in the underlying sequence of events that can be mapped in a character’s story line, and in the way in which the story is told, at the level of plot patterning.

Short time, long telling: easy

Long time, short telling: challenging

As outlined above, by visualising how steps expand and contract, we cannot only visualise the tightening or loosening of tension, but because the symbols are visually intuitive, we can embody the ebb and flow of tension and use that to inform the way we shape and tell the stories that want to be told through us.

By doing that, we have a better chance of staying true to the heartbeat of story without losing quality and without introducing unnecessary waffle. Moreover, when condensing a story, we can heighten tension, craft blurbs more easily, and come up with great film poster taglines or elevator pitches for the ideas we are working on or the projects we are pitching.

Try Your Hand at Expansion

The 1:3 expansions described in the example above which mapped condensed and expanded versions of the wolf’s exit from his house in order to find food are pretty common. This is not the only way in which a ‘backward-forward’ sequence can expand, however.

Where we start with a strong inciting incident, and the second step expands in a sequence of three consecutive moves, we end up with a Call and Response structure (Variation 1).

The barbed blade pierced his side. He grabbed the masked assailant’s hand to stop the advance, knowing that if it twisted, or retreated, he would die before he could complete his mission. He gripped harder, his left hand reaching for the cold steel stiletto which lay hidden in the lining of the left leg of his combat pants. In one swift move, he drew it out, thrust, twisted, and slashed, only releasing the attacker’s hand once he was sure they were dead. Making sure to keep the barbed blade in place, he stepped over the blood-smeared body, heading for the door, knowing he would have to make up for lost time somehow, ‘… if I even make it,’ he winced.

The sequence is mapped visually as follows:

Alternatively, a series of three negative steps can lead to a ‘1,2,3, Bang!’ sequence, which I describe as the Call and Response (Variation 2) structure:

You will probably be familiar with Hemingway’s six-word story:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

The back story that unfolded in my imagination started out with an expectant couple, a baby shower, the loss, and the placement of the advert. The account was internally inconsistent, though. A standard baby shower would involve quite a few gifts. What happened to the others? Why the need to dispose of a single pair of baby shoes? I engaged with story structure and the back story found its way from the weaker form above, to a stronger sequence of at least two Call and Response (Variation 2) structures.

The expectant unmarried couple, estranged from their families, conceive, and decide to go ahead with the pregnancy. However, they lose the child. On their return from the hospital, the arrive home to find a package waiting for them. They recognise the writing as being from her parents. They open it and find a pair of baby shoes inside, no note: a peace offering. Overcome with grief, they take a ‘too little, too late’ attitude, and put the shoes up for sale. The story is left open-ended at this point.

The patterns work. But they are not set in stone. The patterns are adaptable, variable. They are open to a variety of treatments. The closer these follow the natural ebb and flow of story structure, the more successful they are likely to be. Rules created by humans are made to be broken. The underlying rules that story follows go deeper. We break them at our peril.

Try Your Hand at Condensation

You can see how the longer story above was condensed into a poignant six-word telling. The taglines on film posters often follow a Transformation structure: ‘Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free’ (The Shawshank Redemption). ‘Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing.’ (Quiz Show). Sometimes, they follow a triple unfolding structure: ‘Lake Placid: part mystery, part thriller, parts missing’. The large accompanying image of a huge, toothed monster about to devour a helpless swimmer completes the sequence. ‘Five criminals. One line up. No coincidence.’ (The Usual Suspects).

The visuals play an important part in the framing of the story, but what original back stories you could derive from these condensed lines by imagining a different visual? Use the approach to come up with original taglines for folk tales or stories you are familiar with.

Start with a Quest structure story, one of the 16 linear structures outlined in Story and Structure. Condense the sequences of events in a 3:1 pattern to generate blurbs and elevator pitches, but also to spark ideas for choruses for song lyrics, to inspire poems, and to create micro fiction that works.

Have you expanded or condensed your stories? What are your experiences?

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About Leon

Leon Conrad was born in London, UK, to a Polish father and Coptic Egyptian mother. He moved to Alexandria at age 6, and grew up in a multilingual environment there, among the souks and bazaars of Egypt. He is currently based out of London.

As a writer, Leon sees the written word as sound on the page. Why else do we call nouns and verbs 'parts of speech'? He has written plays, and have published articles, poetry, and books.

As an editor, he offers in-depth proofreading, editing and review of manuscripts, focusing on a work’s structure, the reader’s journey, the narrative presentation, the style of a work, the sound, rhythm, musicality and the flow of a piece of writing.

Find out about his various projects, awards, and services at his website: LeonConrad.com.

Top Photo by Tan Kaninthanond on Unsplash

by Janice Hardy

A novel is about the story, not the technical skills you use to write it.

Fiction is an odd combination of skills. The craft of writing is technical, with rules and techniques that can achieve different results, yet the art of storytelling is visceral, relying on creativity and instinct to pluck the best pieces from our imagination.

While the story is often what grabs us first, it can quickly get overshadowed by the technical aspects.

• Is the opening line hooking?
• Should this be first or third person?
• Are my characters interesting?
• Am I showing or telling?
• Is there too much backstory?

Add in the countless blogs, books, and classes that teach good writing, and it’s easy to see how the focus can shift from telling a wonderful story to writing a well-written book. This can lead to technically well-written novels, but not great stories.

Instead of crafting a story readers can’t put down, we’re counting how many adverbs are in each chapter.

Now, I’m not saying ignore the technical side of writing—that’s how you bring a wonderful story to life—but don’t lose sight of the joy and magic you felt when that story idea originally came to you.

Because the story is what keeps readers coming back, not the technical skill.

How many times have you stopped reading a book that was well written, but the story didn’t wow you? And how often have you only read one book from an author who was clearly skilled, but their books felt flat? Their stories didn’t make you want more.

A story that excites you enough to write it, is a story that can excite readers enough to read it.

And that’s what we all want, right? A story that grabs readers by the shirtfront and hauls them into our worlds so they can play with our characters for a while. We want them to lose themselves in our stories first, and marvel over how we handled our stage direction later.

Here are some things to remember during the drafting process:

1. Make the characters as real as possible.

My high school creative writing teacher said it best: “Stories are just interesting people solving interesting problems in interesting ways.”

Characters are why readers love a book and they’re at the heart of every story. No matter how great the plot, a flat, lifeless character fails to make that emotional connection with the reader. Without that connection, readers don’t care about all those amazing plot elements you worked so hard to develop.

Sure, they might think the book itself is cool, but that memory fades as soon as a great character in another book comes along and captures their heart. Then your story is likely lost, or worse—becomes one of those “I forget the title but it had this really neat twist to it” novels readers talk about, but no one else reads.

Serve the story by being true to the characters in it.

Let them be the best story people they can be, and don’t shy away from showing both their strengths and their weaknesses. Give them motivations only they could have and let them act in credible and plausible ways. The more real a character is, the easier it is for readers to connect and relate to them. Even larger-than-life characters can be grounded in reality. Make sure they:

• Possess a past that shaped their present and who they are as the story opens
• Have flaws that lead them into trouble and allow them to make bad decisions when needed
• Have an emotional center that guides them, as well as makes things harder for them
• Use agency to drive the plot and show the story to readers the way you want them to see it

Stories are about characters, so don’t skimp on yours.

2. Dig deep for emotional connections.

The more emotion a reader feels, the more likely they are to love the story. Make them laugh, cry, gasp in shock or squeal in glee, and those will be the scenes they’re telling friends about the next day. Emotional connections allow readers to feel like they’re in the story along with the characters. Connections make readers care, and when they care, the plot becomes that much stronger and more meaningful.

Serve the story by looking deeper than the surface plot and find the emotional moments that resonate with readers.

It’s not just the stunning plot twist no one saw coming, but the emotional punch that twist caused. Build every tough choice into a gut-wrenching experience, tap into the human flaws we all recognize, and show the fears that we struggle with every day. Make the reader feel right along with the characters. Look for opportunities to:

• Make the internal conflict connect to the theme
• Cause the character’s backstory to be a hindrance to the main problem in the story
• Make other characters mirrors of the problems your protagonist is facing
• Use universal themes and emotions to make your characters relatable to readers, no matter who they are

Connection makes us care, and them more a reader connects to and emphasizes with a character, the deeper they’ll be drawn into the story you want to tell.

3. Pick the best parts to dramatize.

Elmore Leonard famously said, “don’t write the parts readers skip.” Failing to heed this advice has hurt many a story, and resulted in pages of backstory, heavy description, and tedious exposition. You know which moments are the best parts of your story—they’re the ones you can’t wait to write. If a scene isn’t exciting enough to make you want to write it, that’s a good indication that no one will want to read it.

Serve the story by focusing on the scenes that move you.

Find what you love most about every scene and use it to draw readers in so they love it, too. Try to craft every scene so it contains something that makes you want to call your best writer friend and tell them all about this great chapter you just wrote. Embrace the moments that:

• Give you goosebumps just thinking about them
• Get you excited and make you want to tell everyone about them
• Tap into something real and vulnerable about yourself
• Will keep reading thinking about it long after they’re done with the book

Stories come alive when you show them, not when you explain them.

Don’t forget about the parts that move you, and be true to the story you want to tell.

There’s no rule on when to explore the story and when to explore the technical aspects of writing it, so follow your instincts here. You might create the story first and then polish, or get the plot worked out before you focus on the deeper aspects of the tale. However it works for you, go for it. Just take some time before you’re done to develop the story itself, not just how you tell that story.

Free Workshop Alert! I’m giving an online workshop for the Florida Mystery Writers of America on Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps.

When: October 14

Time: 12:00-1:30 pm EST

Cost: Free

The video will be available for on-demand viewing October 15 – October 31.

It’s open to writers of all genres, from beginners to experienced. In this workshop, writers will learn how to create the critical elements of a novel’s plot, how to use goals, conflicts, and stakes to build a story and develop characters, and how to approach a novel in a way that will make it easier to write and be more marketable to agents, editors, and readers.

Here is the link to the event page on the library’s website: https://nova.libcal.com/event/11035820

How do you treat your story in your early drafts? Is it the focus, or does it get refined later?

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About Janice

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she's not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series. Sign up for her newsletter and receive 25 ways to Strengthen Your Writing Right Now free.

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Top Image by 422737 from Pixabay

by Laura Rossi

Writing can be a lonely journey.

I’ve been in the writing jungle for over ten years now and, even though I can’t consider myself an expert, I think I can safely say that there’s no right or wrong when it comes to writing.

I’ve seen debates on:

• What comes first – the characters or the plot.
• How to write blurbs.
• How to market a release.
• Writers arguing on the difference between author and writer- yes, you read that right.

But at the end of the day what works for you is what will make you successfully produce your art.

Follow the Muse.

If a character is speaking to you, let it, see where it takes you. Write everything down, like you’re in a lecture taking notes, don’t worry about the plot, don’t worry about anything but what the character is telling you. If it’s a strong voice, everything else will follow.

Likewise, if you have this amazing story in your head, write it in bullet points and expand as the ideas crowd your mind.

In other words, don’t listen to what others are doing, don’t listen to people telling you there’s one way. There isn’t. Writing is a learning journey, every single story I’ve written has taught me something new. No kidding. And I think it could be useful to share it with you.

Let’s just all agree on a few things first:

• We write for ourselves.
• Words are coming from the deepest part of our soul.
• It’s about communicating what we feel, how we feel.

Writing is making love with a blank page. You want to fill it with love and leave parts of you there forever.

There’s something so powerful and scary at the same time, the idea that it’s just you and that blank page and no one else to turn to. It’s an intense relationship with constant ups and downs.

Some days you’ll love the words, some days you’ll hate the words, but whatever you do, don’t delete the words!!

What I’m basically trying to say is to go with the flow, follow your gut instinct, and leave reasoning with the editor. You can however, like with any form of art, try to follow these simple suggestions – ones that have helped me, that I’ve learned story after story- to make this journey steadier and simpler for you.

1. Organize your writing space.

Get that nerd thinking cap on, pull out those notepads, cool pens and post-its, and make your desk perfect for you to work on. It sounds like a given. No, it isn’t. I’m a messy person and I’m sure a lot of writers are just like me. Organizing your space will lead you to organize your ideas. Trust me on this, it works.

2. Make sure you play with each and every character.

Figure out basic physical aspects – eye colour, height, hair, etc.- and also behavioural traits. Remember, you are the creator of your writing world. You need to envision the characters to make them consistent. Then you move on to the where the characters are at, what happens, and what will change for them at the end of the story. If you’re good at drawing, draw them. Or if you’re like me—helpless—I find that looking for pictures relevant to the theme of my book online helps me build ideas of the character.

3. Write the plot in bullet points first.

Some writers are amazing at writing beginnings, others at writing the endings, or those significant twists that make the story that much more amazing. Whatever is your gift, use it to build the storyline and don’t be scared if you think your method is unconventional.

There’s no order in creating. Take it from me, most of the times I start from endings. I get the general idea of what I want to write and the first thing I do is to write where I want things to end. Then go backwards and build the plot. Our minds work differently and each of us has a different superpower—hence why I suck at writing beginnings.

4. Not everything you write will be in the story.

Embrace this concept, accept it, and keep writing those parts anyways. It’s never a waste of time. I think if your mind is suggesting that you should jot down something, it needs to be done.

Sometimes you need to write it to figure out what you don’t want in the final draft. It’s okay, it’s actually often eye-opening and helps you put a finger on what you don’t like.

5. Don’t delete. I repeat, don’t delete.

What you don’t like now, you may like later, and then poof. The words will be gone and you won’t remember the wording, the phrases the way you’d written them. I usually leave everything in but highlight it in a bright colour so I know I have to be particularly careful when rereading that part, to see if I want to change it or delete it for real.

Also, a good idea is to write comments using the revision tool on your writing program. Write comments to yourself, things you might want to add later, ideas, hints, details that might suit that part of the story. You’ll thank yourself later during editing.

6. Don’t stress over writing.

If overthinking were a sport, writers would be gold. Listen, ideally, we all want to write every day, get a good sprint, feel good and productive about ourselves. But I’m not here to lie, I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned and that is nope. It won’t be like that every day.

If you don’t feel like writing, or if your mind is focused on something else, step away from that computer and go do something else. Otherwise, you won’t write a word, you’ll feel frustrated, and you’ll lose confidence. Best go for a walk, watch that TV series you were meaning to watch or go out with a friend. You’ll go back to the story with fresh ideas and a different perspective.

7. The writing community is immense.

It’s filled with lovely, helpful, and kind people just as much as bitter, manipulative, and dishonest ones.

Best advice I can give you is:

• Stay alert.
• Don’t trust easily.
• Never pay in advance for any service (editing, gadgets, marketing, cover art) if not via PayPal or any secure payment, so you can always contact to get your money back in case things don’t go as planned.

8. Get yourself the best editor money can buy.

That’s one thing you don’t want to mess up. If it’s just you and that blank page in the early stages of the story, it will be you, the editor and that page filled with corrections, suggestions, and comments before publishing. You want to make sure you deliver the best novel you can manage.

9. Indie or Traditional publisher?

Ha, this alone could be a post. You can try both of them out. I’m indie for most markets and traditionally published in Italy. There are pros and cons for both, but I haven’t made my mind up yet on which is best. However, if you want to go with a publisher, get yourself an agent first.

10. Look into Facebook and Amazon ads.

Whether you are indie or traditionally published, you want to learn how to create good adds. It’s what will give you visibility these days.

11. For the love of God, do not read reviews.

And I say this knowing that you are now wandering off, straight on to those reviews I just told you not to look at. Fine, read them if you want, but keep two things in mind:

1. Don’t let a bad review outvalue the great ones. Why do we always believe the worst and never the beautiful things people say about our work? If the bad review is just offensive and not constructive, ignore it darling. It’s of no use to you.
2. Whatever you do, never comment on a review. (Goodreads lets you do that but no, no, no, stay away from the comment button because it will only end up in a debate, an ugly one. Trust me, I've been there, done that, and I'd take it back if I could.)

12. Last, but not least, be you.

No this is not some slogan to write on a t-shirt, I mean it. Seriously. Trying to imitate other writers or writing the same kind of stories over and over again might feel like the right choice in terms of marketing and building readers, but only if you focus on your uniqueness. Remember who you are and why you are a writer. It will pay off.

I hope my personal to do list has helped you or given you a new boost. Happy writing!!!  

How is your writing journey? What keeps you on your writing path?

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About Laura

Laura Rossi is an Italian multi-genre writer. Raised in the US and in the UK, where she graduated in Psychology and Criminology, she now resides in Italy with her family.

Devotedly interested in the human mind, Laura likes to scare people saying she goes ‘from sweet to psycho in a matter of seconds’ with her characters. One day she’s writing something sweet and funny, the other she’s crafting dark, flawed characters for edgy, twisted stories.

When she’s not busy working in her family business or being a mom, she loves to travel and attend rock shows. If you see her wandering around town with a wicked smile on her lips, she’s probably thinking of putting you in one of her novels, plotting a new thriller in her head or figuring out which character needs to get the bullet.

For any rights or sub-rights query, Laura is represented by agent Nikki Groom at SBR Media.

nikki@sbrmedia.com

Follow Laura

@laurarossiauthor on Facebook and Instagram

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Top Image by Alan Frijns from Pixabay