As I’m about to embark on the sixth draft of my current work-in-progress,
(=WIP) I’m mulling over this
post that highlights three questions one should ask about the story while
drafting:
Is there a character arc?
Does the plot hold casual progression?
Are characters’ motivations convincing?
While this is important to do when evaluating a novel and
also when giving feedback to others, it is just as valid for a picture book
text if the picture book isn’t a concept text (i.e. lists of shapes, or ABC and such)—Any story
of any length will be compelling if a writer can strongly sign on as having
checked these three marks.
But I’d add a fourth, which is a duh
sort of pillar:
Is it entertaining? It’s best to enlist another’s eyes for
this, but even the writer can tell if they themselves are yawning. If you are
snoozing at your own writing, others would have been snoring by that point.
Great storytelling is both an innate talent and also a craft
mastered with care.
Hi, Mirka: I'm not doing much writing these days - art is my new obsession, but I'd say the protagonist's goal is #1 for me. I didn't realize before I started writing that, in the words of Kurt Vonnegut, "Every character has to want something, even if it's a glass of water." Entertaining readers is so important - I always wish I could combine funny and poignant like Kate DiCamillo. Cheers! Jan
ReplyDeleteI love that you are still blogging, Mirka, and writing books to thrill young readers. I'm currently reading True Grit, recommended to me by one of my sons. The story, the voice, everything is absolutely compelling. Can't believe I had not read it before, although I do remember seeing the movie ages ago with John Wayne.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that you still visit my blog, Karen. Now, continuing to blog does indeed take true grit at times;)
ReplyDeleteYep! Four essential questions. And gifted writers amaze me when they can keep doing these well book after book after book.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points to keep in mind. I'll add a 5th thing--is it true? I mean the heart of the story.
ReplyDeleteThere is entertaining and there is entertaining, that is, in what way is the writing entertaining? I think of the difference between a Greek play and a TV soap today. While driving, cleaning, chopping vegetables, I listen to lots of audiobooks, particularly mysteries. Are they entertaining me? I guess I think more along the lines of learning from them, especially because I prefer the stories from other countries/cultures and/or historical periods. And there’s always strong motivation to solve a murder.
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