Tuesday, July 30, 2024

WHAT MAKES A GREAT STORY?

 

The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind. Because it depends on who you ask.

So, what makes a truly great story?

For many, it’s a tight plot with twists and turns, and an ending that ties loose ends.

For some, it’s a layered meaning that takes them to places they wouldn’t have gone otherwise.

For a few, it’s asking good questions that don’t get answered, but leave them thinking.

So, yeah. It depends.

 

For me, a great story opens a portal to greater understanding of my place while I navigate this life. I sort of named it “value.” A really great story has value much beyond momentary entertainment or distraction.

 

A great story asks something of me, and in return leaves me richer, the kind of riches money can’t buy. The last great story I read was Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose. I didn't read it until eight years ago, many years after it was published and won the Pulitzer Prize. 

I’ve read many very good stories since. But great? That’s a rarity.

I’ve written what some have called good stories. I hope they are. I still hope to write a great story before I check out.


6 comments:

  1. Wow, I've not read Angle of Repose so I will have to check it out on your recommendation. I agree, I read a lot of good books, but the greats are few and far between. The most recent story that I really enjoyed was The Lighthouse by Michael O'Brien. We listened to it on our road trip. Will I pick up a copy to read it again? I doubt it. But the story will remain with me.

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  2. Good insights, Mirka! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I've never heard of Angle of Repose. I need to pay more attention to books that win awards. I loved Lessons In Chemistry.

    Love,
    Janie

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  4. I've read a few books I felt were perfect. Not too many though, and none of them were award-winners or even famous. I've read many that other people rave about and I don't like at all.

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  5. Isn’t “great” a matter of opinion? Who gets to say? Aren’t judges of prizes biased in their own ways? But if you think Stegner’s story is great, then I am going to read it.

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  6. I love this: "A great story asks something of me, and in return leaves me richer, the kind of riches money can’t buy."

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