The Constitution of a Brilliant Work of Fiction

What makes or breaks a story?


(Please remember that this is personal opinion only and is not a warrant of professional advice.)

What contributions are responsible for making a piece of fiction exceptional? Does the artistry solely lie in the writing or does a story need more than fancy words and a plot?

Personally, as a reader I am looking to be captivated within the first few paragraphs of a story. The first paragraph of a work is the most important. It will determine if someone will continue reading what you have written. It should set the tone for what to expect throughout the entire story. Most people won't even read an entire paragraph. They'll only read the first couple of sentences because they know that they will get the information they need from it to decide whether or not to spend their time on countless chapters. You'll probably spend more time on the first sentence than you will on any other part of your story. I've re-written my first sentence to my original fiction more times than I care to count. Yes, it is that important, I assure you. The only more crucial part is the title because that is what intiates interest.

Having said that, how does that make you (as a writer) feel? Does the prospect of having so much rely on one or two sentences scare you or do you see it as an opportunity? If there is one thing I've learned, it's always leave room for growth. You should view this as a great thing! Why? Because it's challenging! I don't feel that writing should be an easy process. If it's easy, you're doing it wrong. My entire first piece of fiction was easy and trust me it sucked! But a great piece of work isn't solely based on the first sentence. (Duh!) That is only a tiny part. Once you suck in a reader, how do you keep them from "flouncing"? There are several things, actually.

1.) Plot. Believe it or not, plot is cruicial. Shocking, I know, but we can't just throw words together that have absolutely no meaning at all and then call it a fiction novel. No, my friends, because this is what is called an autobiography and we're not writing one of these. I'm quoting a weird reference here, but as the Mickey character said in the movie Bedtime Stories, "Where's the arc?"

• To me, a great story needs an arc, or something to keep the story moving forward or perhaps put a twist on it. Now, I'm not saying to load up the story with juicy drama, clap your hands together and say, "Done!" For the love of all things, BIG TIME unnecessary drama only hurts the initial purpose. So, just say NO to that one.
• More than anything, the story should keep moving forward at all times. There are so many pieces that I have read that have such potential and then for some reason or another, the plot comes to a stand still. This is usually when unnecessary drama takes place, that has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline what-so-ever and leaves the reader with their hands lifted to the side, their shoulders tight and their mouth gaped open after saying, "WTF was that about?" Stay on point and don't stray from the initial task of why you began to write in the first place.

2.) Characters. Another shocker. I'm full of them this morning. Perhaps the most integral device to a wonderful story is it's rememerable characters. You are the Creator and they are your minions that carry messeges to the reader. If the character doesn't have a message to convey and is only mentioned once, then I don't want to know their name because it's unnecessary information (ie, Breaking Dawn). Things to keep in mind when developing and writing characters.

• Ask yourself, is he/she necessary?
• Keep in mind that a character always wants something, even if it's just something to eat or drink. So what is it that he/she wants? 
• How will this character add to the plot?

3.) Realism. This is probably the most difficult for me to explain. I'm not talking about not indulging in a fantasy situation with mythical creatures. By all means, please indulge! But the elements within the situations need to be carefully measured against the characters, surroundings, and plot. There is nothing more disturbing than reading something unrealistic to the story then rolling my eyes. Unfortunately, my faith in the author drops dramatically after this.

• Dialogue should be true to the character. Remember that each character has a different voice and not all of them should sound the same! Read and re-read outloud to see how it flows. If it doesn't sound right, then it probably isn't. Think about who he/she is (ie, their background - how they grew up, what has happened to them that would make them the way they are today, etc) and work it into the tone. Everything that surrounds them - past and present - will effect their voice. 
• What about the situations? I flounced one piece of fiction not too long back because something happened that made me *eyeroll* so hard that it nearly hurt. I won't say which one it was because that isn't very classy of me but let's just say this author embarrassed the main characters so much that I felt sorry for them, more so than necessary. It was just bad and when ever I think of realism, this fic always comes to mind and stands as the absolute no-no of the fan fiction world. 
• Actions. Make sure your character doesn't do something they wouldn't normally do, unless they are being redeemed. And let's not forget that not every character should be redeemable.  

 Your readers are smart and a little bit of research goes a long way. I was on a fan fiction forum not too long ago and read a rage post about stories that add name brand shops and cafes into the city where they take place but aren't really there. For example, someone said that there is NO Starbucks near Dartmouth College, yet authors kept placing their characters there. The person that raged about it stopped reading the stories that this situation was contained in because it was trying to put an unrealistic stretch into a true place. Some people don't like name brands added into the stories if there isn't one in the town/city you are basing it in while others don't mind. That particular situation is really a judgement call, but research, if anything, is a useful tool that you can derive ideas from.

4.) Grammar/Spelling. Most of the time, you will have someone read your work before readers see it but some people (including me) don't have the patience for betas. I'm an instant results kind-of girl and will not wait around for a chapter to be beta'd while writing fan fiction. If I want something done, I want it done right then. It's amazing that I can actually read fan fiction at all because it usually consists of waiting for updates. Anyways, sorry for the small tangent. Always re-read your work and correct it to the best of your ability. Spell check is your BFF...sometimes. Other times you just wish it would stfu. When there is a spelling or grammical error it interrupts the flow and then the reader has to go back and re-read to pick back up. Even if you do work with a beta, re-check your stuff. But sometimes, there is going to be a mistake no matter what. And you know what? A small error every now and then is okay.

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Even though I just said all this crap just remember one thing, be true to yourself and write what you know and love. Don't try to please people because it is impossible to please everyone. Don't change your characters because a few people don't like what you have written. You just do you because someone out there will think you are great! <3