Building Your Story

 

Do you remember building with your childhood blocks? Or legos? Or Lincoln logs? You started with the first piece and added layer after layer until you decided it was finished. Or wanted to destroy it! Then build it again. 

We build the pieces we write, too. Whether they are fiction stories, essays, articles, or poems. We start with the idea, that's our ground piece. Then we add things like characters, events, descriptions, sensory detail, sense of place, and more. Each one is another block on top of your first layer, or your idea.

What happens if a child builds his tower of wooden blocks too quickly? It's off center, and before long, it topples to the floor. When we build our stories, we have to do it carefully, making sure each layer is centered and relevant. If we don't, we may end up like the child--starting all over again.

Some writers like lists. Why not make a list of the parts you want to include in your tower of story blocks? The one below is only the main pieces to include. You may think of others to add to your own list. Or you may subdivide any one of mine into smaller and more detailed points.

A. Story idea

B. Characters

C. Sense of Place

D. Sensory Details

E. Description

F. Opening

G. Closing

H. Tense

I. Active vs passive verbs

What other things might you use as building blocks for whatever you're writing? 

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that sometimes children destroyed their tower, only to rebuild. If what you are writing doesn't turn out the way that pleases you, you can knock it down and begin again. 

Children build towers with their blocks. Bakers create wedding cakes, layer by layer. A mason constructs a brick wall, one row at a time. Writers also build their stories, essays, articles, and poems a bit at a time, using many pieces, which hopefully fit together well in the end.