The Story And The Execution
Within the myriad items and activities we writers worry about when crafting a story are these two major points: Developing the story itself, and, executing the writing. Let's have a quick look.
1. Developing the story
If your story idea doesn't excite your readers in your genre, then you need to improve it or find a more appropriate audience. I could write an awesome science fiction tale, for example, but if I'm soliciting feedback from western romance reader, I can fully expect a big bag of yawns no matter how amazing the story idea is.
Alternatively, if I pitch my science fiction story to science fiction readers and their response is "meh", then my story needs work.
It behooves you, therefore, to pitch your story idea to the appropriate audience early in the game. Take your major plot points and story premise, and talk to others about it. Gauge their response. Listen to their feedback, and adjust your story outline accordingly until the response is a resounding "Yes!". When you hear that, you'll know that your story idea resonates with the right audience.
2. Executing the writing
The only (haha) thing left to do is write that story.
Yes, it's a lot harder than the writers on TV make it out to be. If this is the first story you're writing, it won't be a best-seller. It likely won't be that well-written because you're still learning the craft. Listen. It takes years and hundreds of thousands of words before your writing becomes effective. You can have the best story idea in the world, but in the hands of someone who hasn't written before, don't expect wonders.
I say this respectfully. There are no short cuts to execution. You need to write, write a lot, and share your work with others in order to improve. So even if you're just starting out, write that great story idea. Put it out in the world. Gather feedback from readers and other writers. Then write the next one. And the next one.
Becoming an effective writer takes time and effort. You have to wade through a lot of crap before you find the gold. But it's worth it.
1. Developing the story
If your story idea doesn't excite your readers in your genre, then you need to improve it or find a more appropriate audience. I could write an awesome science fiction tale, for example, but if I'm soliciting feedback from western romance reader, I can fully expect a big bag of yawns no matter how amazing the story idea is.
Alternatively, if I pitch my science fiction story to science fiction readers and their response is "meh", then my story needs work.
It behooves you, therefore, to pitch your story idea to the appropriate audience early in the game. Take your major plot points and story premise, and talk to others about it. Gauge their response. Listen to their feedback, and adjust your story outline accordingly until the response is a resounding "Yes!". When you hear that, you'll know that your story idea resonates with the right audience.
2. Executing the writing
The only (haha) thing left to do is write that story.
Yes, it's a lot harder than the writers on TV make it out to be. If this is the first story you're writing, it won't be a best-seller. It likely won't be that well-written because you're still learning the craft. Listen. It takes years and hundreds of thousands of words before your writing becomes effective. You can have the best story idea in the world, but in the hands of someone who hasn't written before, don't expect wonders.
I say this respectfully. There are no short cuts to execution. You need to write, write a lot, and share your work with others in order to improve. So even if you're just starting out, write that great story idea. Put it out in the world. Gather feedback from readers and other writers. Then write the next one. And the next one.
Becoming an effective writer takes time and effort. You have to wade through a lot of crap before you find the gold. But it's worth it.
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