The Q&A Approach to Storytelling
It’s every fiction writer’s goal, a story so compelling that the reader picks it up and closes it hours later when the book has been read from cover to cover in a single sitting. A couple of days may have gone by, with the reader barely stopping to eat or sleep. They eat your words. Your story keeps them awake with a flashlight beneath the covers. How can you tell this sort of story?
Regardless of your genre, a simple trick will keep your story compelling. We will call this the Question and Answer approach to storytelling. Remember that first scene you read in the book you couldn’t put down? It didn’t regale you with lengthy back-story or world-building before the action ever began. If the back-story is filled in, and the world is built clearly in the reader’s mind, there is no reason to keep reading. If your reader has all of the pieces of the puzzle assembled, the element of curiosity is lost, and the reader along with it. However, sprinkle the right details into the mix of a story in motion and you can spoon-feed a captive audience like a baby.
It is usually best if your story begins with a boost of adrenaline and very few questions answered. Who is that character? Why is he doing what he’s doing? Wait. Why did that just happen? When your audience begins to read, the questions should readily emerge. Answer them gradually. If your audience doesn’t fully know or understand your character or your world until the end of the book, they keep reading until they find the answers.
As you tell a story, you want to give answers to the questions that arise, but make certain your readers don’t have all the answers until the very end. A good rule of thumb is that, until the climax, each chapter of a story should leave the reader with as many or more questions than it answers. Keep track of these questions as you write, and you will always know where your story is going. As a result, you will actually reduce your chances of writer’s block. But that’s just a positive side-effect of the overall endeavor.
A fisherman uses a variety of lures to catch a variety of fish. A storyteller uses a variety of lures to catch an audience. Not every question will be as compelling for every reader. Some will be genuinely interested in the world you are building. Some read because of characters they can relate to. Of course, the simplest question you want your readers to ask continually is “What happens next?” But most stories cannot maintain a break-neck speed throughout, and most readers don’t really look for that sort of story. Strong pacing is vital. Action is only part of a compelling story. A fisherman will begin luring fish to his spot by throwing a few pebbles into the lake, because movement attracts the fish, but if what happens to be moving isn’t at all interesting, the fish swims away. In a similar way, for your reader to be interested in the plot, the characters have to be interesting, and if the audience has a bunch of questions in their minds when reading about your character, then the character is interesting. The same can be said for the world you’re building. Each time your audience discovers the answer to a question, they will feel a hint of satisfaction. And a satisfied audience continues reading. As they piece the puzzle together to reach the satisfying conclusion, they can stand back and marvel at the full picture in all its beauty.
Consider this: every successful author, whatever the genre, is really a mystery writer. Whether the mystery is "Will Lord Jareth vanquish the princess and rescue the dragon in time for dinner?" (I may have gotten that backward; forgive me.) Or "Will these two characters realize how perfect they would be together in time for dinner?" A mystery is a question unanswered. That said, what sort of mystery may vary greatly, but the approach doesn’t. Why not? Because the best storytellers learn from those who came before them.
I've said it before, not simply because I like to end my blog this way, but because I have truly felt it and firmly believe it. When we learn from one another, our stories always become better as a result.
Iffix Y Santaph’s debut novella Impulse is a sci-fi fairytale flavored with a hint of mystery. It is available now from amazon.com and other online retailers. Deception, the second novella in his Forgotten Princess series, will be released in July, 2015.
Questions for discussion: What questions arise in your story’s introduction?
Regardless of your genre, a simple trick will keep your story compelling. We will call this the Question and Answer approach to storytelling. Remember that first scene you read in the book you couldn’t put down? It didn’t regale you with lengthy back-story or world-building before the action ever began. If the back-story is filled in, and the world is built clearly in the reader’s mind, there is no reason to keep reading. If your reader has all of the pieces of the puzzle assembled, the element of curiosity is lost, and the reader along with it. However, sprinkle the right details into the mix of a story in motion and you can spoon-feed a captive audience like a baby.
It is usually best if your story begins with a boost of adrenaline and very few questions answered. Who is that character? Why is he doing what he’s doing? Wait. Why did that just happen? When your audience begins to read, the questions should readily emerge. Answer them gradually. If your audience doesn’t fully know or understand your character or your world until the end of the book, they keep reading until they find the answers.
As you tell a story, you want to give answers to the questions that arise, but make certain your readers don’t have all the answers until the very end. A good rule of thumb is that, until the climax, each chapter of a story should leave the reader with as many or more questions than it answers. Keep track of these questions as you write, and you will always know where your story is going. As a result, you will actually reduce your chances of writer’s block. But that’s just a positive side-effect of the overall endeavor.
A fisherman uses a variety of lures to catch a variety of fish. A storyteller uses a variety of lures to catch an audience. Not every question will be as compelling for every reader. Some will be genuinely interested in the world you are building. Some read because of characters they can relate to. Of course, the simplest question you want your readers to ask continually is “What happens next?” But most stories cannot maintain a break-neck speed throughout, and most readers don’t really look for that sort of story. Strong pacing is vital. Action is only part of a compelling story. A fisherman will begin luring fish to his spot by throwing a few pebbles into the lake, because movement attracts the fish, but if what happens to be moving isn’t at all interesting, the fish swims away. In a similar way, for your reader to be interested in the plot, the characters have to be interesting, and if the audience has a bunch of questions in their minds when reading about your character, then the character is interesting. The same can be said for the world you’re building. Each time your audience discovers the answer to a question, they will feel a hint of satisfaction. And a satisfied audience continues reading. As they piece the puzzle together to reach the satisfying conclusion, they can stand back and marvel at the full picture in all its beauty.
Consider this: every successful author, whatever the genre, is really a mystery writer. Whether the mystery is "Will Lord Jareth vanquish the princess and rescue the dragon in time for dinner?" (I may have gotten that backward; forgive me.) Or "Will these two characters realize how perfect they would be together in time for dinner?" A mystery is a question unanswered. That said, what sort of mystery may vary greatly, but the approach doesn’t. Why not? Because the best storytellers learn from those who came before them.
I've said it before, not simply because I like to end my blog this way, but because I have truly felt it and firmly believe it. When we learn from one another, our stories always become better as a result.
Iffix Y Santaph’s debut novella Impulse is a sci-fi fairytale flavored with a hint of mystery. It is available now from amazon.com and other online retailers. Deception, the second novella in his Forgotten Princess series, will be released in July, 2015.Questions for discussion: What questions arise in your story’s introduction?
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