This is the very first post in my new blog. I welcome a discussion about storytelling. I'm the author of a Story is a Promise. When I came up with these ideas about how a story functions as a promise and wrote the book, I thought if new and struggling writers could be taught the mechanics of storytelling, their writing would automatically improve. These principles have helped many writers, but I'm now exploring why so many people fail to learn storytelling (not just from me; I've worked with people who've taken writing workshops for 20 years from several dozen teachers and knew just about zero about storytelling). I'm actively seeking writers who would like to participate in a process I call Deep Characterization. Contact me for details.
Articles about the craft of writing. A blog by Bill Johnson that explores principles of storytelling and articles about writing by other authors.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI am re-reading A Story is a Promise and have to say, I missed the point the first time. I thought I knew what a story premise was, plot, and story line, but this time through I am making myself answer the questions at the end of each chapter and I can see why my current WIP keeps getting rejected. Now I am doing the hard work and hope to have a better story after revisions.
Thanks,
Bonnie
The quickest way for most people writing a novel to find a story's promise is to ask what a main character seeks or wants.
ReplyDeleteSome writers struggle with this because they overlay their personal issues onto a main character, so they understand quite well what a character wants. But that's not the same as making that character issue accessible to a story's audience.
The writer looks at a character in a situation or event and 'feels' the why it matters to the character, because the character is an extention of the author. The reader sees a character in a situation and has no clue what it means or why the reader should feel invested in an outcome.