What is the Story?

Writing anything: poetry, a short story, an essay, a book comes down to answering the
question- What is your story about? It is really that simple, and it really is
that difficult.

I write what I enjoy reading the most, which is thriller-crime-mystery. Throw in
some suspense and perhaps a dash of police procedural, and you will have me
hooked. It is this love that gave me direction on what I love to write.

My first book, which was turned into a series and a prequel, was Stolen
Lives. My first publisher, who is no longer in business, wanted to not
only publish Stolen, but wanted me to write a series, and then
produce a prequel to introduce the series to the reader. But there had to be a
story or there wouldn’t have been a first book, much less a series and prequel.

The story is always, always the key and the most important part of writing. Yet,
you can’t have a story without characters, because the story involves a
character or characters wanting something, needing something, and frustrated
because there are obstacles and hinderances put into place to prevent the
character from obtaining what the heart’s desire is. There has to be enough
frustration that makes the reader want the character to succeed and that gets the
reader upset when the goal is difficult to reach. The reader cheers on the
character. The reader will cry when something happens to the character, and the
reader will fall in love with the character long before the character reaches the
goal, his or her heart’s desire.

But there has to be a story, and it is up to the writer to clearly articulate what
that story is about.

I remember a year or two ago when I was at a book festival and wandering around
the different tables manned by eager authors wanting to sell their books. I
happened by an author’s table who had two books on display. He had posters, an
eye-catching table covering, and had bookmarks and business cards to give away.
The poster held my attention, just as the cover of his two books did.

I asked him, “What is your book about?” Simple question, really. A necessary
question and an important question. The author’s eyes glazed over as he talked
about time-travel, special forces, fights and explosions. He never mentioned
the protagonist or an antagonist. He never told me what the book was about,
because he couldn’t clearly articulate what the story was.

Now maybe the book was wonderfully written. Maybe there wasn’t a typo or
grammatical mistake to be found. But I passed on purchasing the book because I
wondered if the story wouldn’t be found either. If he couldn’t put into a few
sentences what the story is about, I feared he couldn’t do that in the five
hundred plus pages either.

Stolen Lives: two boys are snatched off a safe suburban street, and the FBI knows if they
don’t find them within 48 hours, they might never find them. Worse, they might
end up like the other bodies of kids they’ve found around the country: dead,
with their hands cuffed behind their back, nude, and with two bullets to the
back of the head.

That’s the story behind Stolen Lives and behind the Lives Trilogy
and Prequel.

Blaze In, Blaze Out: two cops testify and put a crime lord in prison. They thought the guilty
verdict was the end, but it was only the beginning. From behind prison walls
and using intermediaries, the crime lord contracts two assassins to kill the
two detectives and anyone else in their way. Revenge knows no bounds. It wants
what it wants, when it wants.

That’s the story behind Blaze In, Blaze Out.

In both cases, I used only a few sentences to tell you what the books are about.
You, the reader, has a picture in your head, based upon your experiences with
other books you’ve read or movies you’ve watched. You have an idea of who the
protagonists are, and in Blaze, who the antagonist is. So, figure out what your story is. Clearly articulate it to yourself. Jot it down. Try it out with others. If you find the listener leaning towards you, you might have a hook, and a hook leads to the story. Once you have it, write the story.

Polish it. Give us a character or characters that make us want to root for
them, help them, and perhaps cause us to cry with them. It really is that
simple, and it really is that difficult.

Some Good News!

I recently did a podcast with Lindsey Friel of @BooksGoSocial, and I’ve included the link for you. She asked terrific questions, some I’ve not been asked before. It was a terrific experience and I hope you give the podcast a listen. Here is the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Hh0qzYvLZNCYf0OiUzFn7?si=8b0e27df228243a6

Another piece of good news I wanted to share is that my book #10, Black Yé’ii (The Evil One) will be published January 2, 2024. I sent my publisher an email that gave him the
story idea (What is your story?), and based upon that email, my idea/story was
placed into review and subsequently, I received a contract for Black Yé’ii (The Evil One) for publication. What makes this so special to me, actually making me quite
emotional, was that the story is not completed yet. The contract was issued
based upon the idea, and most likely, my track record with my other books. It
still excites me to think that my publisher has that much faith in me as a
storyteller. Preview copies should be available about a year from now, and I
will keep you posted.

Last, I recently had a book sale and signing at our local (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Barnes and Noble. It was such a success that they purchased multiple copies of
two books, Betrayed and Fan Mail, and they are now on display and for sale. And, something they do for only a few authors, they’ve invited me back in January for another sale and signing. Usually, they don’t bring an author back for at least six to nine months. Obviously, I’m happy to oblige and will again have my books available.

Check out all my books that are available on my website at jrlewisauthor.com
Descriptions and purchase links are included there.

I would love to hear your thoughts, so please use the comment section below. And, as always, thank you for your willingness to travel along with me on my writing journey. Until next time …