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. 

Build A Good Story

 

(Due to a washing machine disaster, today's post is a repeat, but I think it has some good points in it)

Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.– Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway and I attended the same high school in suburban Chicago--Oak Park and River Forest High School, pictured here. We both became writers. He attained fame. I did not. Still, I like to put myself in the same group of alums of our school, even though he was there quite some time before I entered its hallowed halls. There is another difference between the two of us. I got an A in freshman English and Mr. Hemingway flunked it. And yet, look where he traveled on his writing journey. Look at the goals he achieved and the awards he won.

I pay close attention to quotes by famous authors. These people did something right and I'd like to learn from them.

The author gives us fine direction in the simple six word quote above. An architect builds and so does a good writer. A good writer doesn't just sprinkle a lot of flowery language through a weak story so that it appeals to readers. A good writer builds his/her story from its foundation to the very top.

A building's foundation is of prime importance. So is the foundation of the story you are going to build. Know what it is before you begin. Then add one floor after another as you flesh out the story itself. The foundation has to be strong to hold what goes above it. I'd say this is a good argument for outlining your story, whether it is a short story or a novel.

Build your story with language that stays with the reader. Use sensory details to bring the place and the time and the action right to the reader. Show the reader the story; don't just simply tell it. You can do this if you build the story bit by bit upon that firm foundation.

Strong characterization, dialogue, tension, flow--all these and more are part of what makes a story memorable. It's what good authors like Hemingway become known for. These are the bricks on top of that foundation where your story begins.

So, the big question left today is How in the world did Ernest Hemingway flunk freshman English? Maybe he was so far beyond what was being taught that he just plain ignored it. Maybe he didn't like the teacher and had that snotty teen attitude of You can't make me do this. Perhaps he had poor study habits and neglected to finish the assignment or didn't turn in half of them. He could have been a late bloomer. We'll never know but take comfort in the fact that, even though he had to go home to parents who probably railed at him, he eventually learned how to build a darned good story.

October 8, 2020