And some reasons to write them the best you can

Introduction

Anyone who has any experience with writing will know that there are many little things that go into writing, and anyone who has published their work will know there are even more things that go into publishing. In another article, I wrote about Imagination, Inspiration, and Hard Work, three important aspects of any writing, whether fiction or not. While these three things are very important, they can be applied to any part of life, not just writing. This article will focus one three other elements that are a bit more tangible, and more relevant strictly to a story in a fictional world: The World, the Characters, and the Plot. These three make up the entire story. Yes, without any one of them, the story simply would not be there, so one might be tempted to assume that of course they are important. Nevertheless, it is surprising how many stories seem to ignore them. They are used, it is impossible to write a story and not use them, but there is so much potential that is often left out, leaving the story flat and the reader lacking. The contents in this article are things that I have come to realize from my experience writing my own stories. Each experience will be different for each writer, but these elements, as far as I can see and have thought, are true for everyone.

The World

The world of any story is an important part of the story itself. As a writer it can be tempting to ask, ‘What makes my world unique?’ But from what I have learned, it is better rather to ask, ‘What makes it believable?’ Even if your world is filled with animals who speak and creatures who do not exist in our world, it can, and should, be believable.

A world of your own making

No man who ever bothers about originality will ever be original. Whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

C.S. Lewis

The pursuit of uniqueness in anything is not worth your effort. Some might wonder and think, ‘how can I have a world of my own making if I do not worry about making it unique?’ Well, I say you can, firstly because there are many authors who have done it. They did not go out and strive to make their world unique, they simply wrote their story, and it was good. And secondly, a world can be different from other worlds, and still not be unique. A unique world is solitary and, to the dismay of many a writer, unachievable. Not only that, it is unrelatable. Every world must have a certain level of familiarity if the reader is going to enjoy it. A unique world is not what you want. That being said, you can still have a world of your own making. But it is more difficult to write than one might think. Everything we invent and imagine, God created first. Because we are made in his image, and everything we see around us is his creation, anything even slightly inspired by what we see is God’s idea. However, since it is impossible to make anything not at least inspired by things created by God, no one can expect a writer to attempt such a feat. But even making a world different from another human’s world is very difficult. My first writings ever were heavily based off of the worlds I had known about and loved all my life. And as I got older and began to make my own stories, everywhere I went, I saw similarities in other stories, similarities which even sometimes made me change my stories, characters, and worlds.

Why try?

So why even attempt to make a world of your own, if it is so hard? First of all, if you are not ready to come across hardship, do not write. There is nothing so draining, physically, emotionally, and mentally, as writing a book. Everything about writing is hard and takes a great deal of energy and patience. Secondly, God does not call a writer to be unique, but He has given everyone, writers and not, an amazing and beautiful imagination, and there is so much potential in each human being’s thoughts. The best a writer can do with his stories is praise his creator by making the most of the gifts he has been given.

The Characters

When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature.

Ernest Hemingway

The characters in a story are by far my favorite part of writing. I enjoy creating and imagining them, then writing them down, and putting them into real situations, thinking about what they will think, experience, and say. Any character in your story gives you the chance to tell your reader whatever you want them to know, from an important part in the plot, to a fact about your world, to a point you want to get across, to a perception, true or false, stated by the antagonists or the main character. Everything they say and do, and how it is portrayed, shows what things the writer believes are right and wrong. For instance, if a character lies to get whatever he wants, and it is never addressed as wrong, the reader will draw the conclusion that the writer believes that lying is alright. Any wrong thing a character does has to be brought up again, whether someone actually comes to them and tells them what they did was wrong, or they feel guilty for having done it, knowing that it was wrong. Sins must be addressed.

Personality vs. Moral Failing

It can be difficult to distinguish between a personality trait in a character, and a major flaw. Everyone has a personality, and every personality carries its strengths and weaknesses, virtues and vices. A person who has a very loud and outgoing personality can be fun to be around, but they can also try to be the center of attention, showing off in front of others because they like people’s attention on them. This flaw is not a personality trait. This is a sin, namely pride. Again, a person who is quiet and does not like being in the middle of things can be a relief to those who want some peace, but they can also try to use their quietness to avoid doing what they want to do. Again, this flaw is not a personality trait. This is laziness. The fact that a person has a loud personality or a quiet personality does not change the reality that they are responsible for everything they do, and it does not excuse them for doing the wrong thing simply because they tend toward it. Characters, good or evil, are people, whether they have a human shape or not. So just like people, they have personalities, and they have moral failings.

People are people

So what makes a good character? Is it their abilities and skills? Is it the fact that for some unknown reason they are The One chosen by Fate to succeed in some impossible task, and though they are poor and have no skills worth anything, they prove themselves to be the best warriors and magic-users anyone has ever seen, even better than their masters, though they have only been training under then for a month or so? Or is it the fact that they have major moral failings? The answer is, none of the above. A good character is a convincing character, a man or woman anyone can relate to. Not everything they have experienced will be identical to everything anyone else has experienced. But they are people, and people live, and though their lives are not identical to anyone else’s, they can still teach others and show them what is right and wrong.

The Plot

Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion – that’s Plot.

Leigh Brackett

The plot is a very important part of the story. It is everything that happens, has happened, and will happen to and around the characters, and it is the most complex of these three elements, for the main reason that it can be so large and convoluted, and very easy to get tired of or ignore. The idea that the plot is just the events that take place is too simple an explanation and often makes the downfall of a story. The plot is everything everyone does, says, thinks, and feels, and is affected by every action, piece of dialogue, thought, and emotion. It is easy to try to make the characters follow the plot, but it is not so easy to make the plot follow the characters while still staying true to the direction the writer has given it, which should be the aspiration of the writer, in order to make the story feel real and flow well.

Plot Armor

Continuity in a story is how each part of the story fits seamlessly together with each other part. Continuity errors happen when things do not fit together, and these errors can be found in a wide range of aspects of a story. Usually the smaller errors, such as an object switching from a character’s right hand to their left without explanation, go unnoticed, but there are unfortunately a great many stories that have glaring errors that are hard to ignore. They stick out like a sore thumb, and they detract from the power of the rest of the story. Some continuity errors appear simply because the writer did not think about it, while others are there to make up for a problem somewhere else, to connect two parts of the story that cannot be connected. Small continuity errors can be ignored. However, there are large continuity errors which are impossible to explain and destroy the story because it simply could not have happened. If there is a character who is immortal, but then dies, there must be an explanation for this. Otherwise, the rules of the world have been contradicted, and this affects the plot. Do not rely on plot armor. Plot armor is an excuse for poor and uninterested writing. One should never find themselves answering a ‘why’ with ‘because it’s in the plot.’

The Run of Things

The plot is how the story runs. And errors and oversights can be severe destroyers of story. The plot is an extremely important part of a story and, unlike the characters, who should have flaws to show the reader the difference between right and wrong, the plot should be flawless. But is this possible to have no flaws in a plot? Yes, it is. Now, it can be difficult to avoid errors in a more complex plot, but it is possible, and it should be attempted, no matter how long it takes. The seamless flow of a story keeps the reader involved and intrigued, and keeps them reading, which is what a writer wants.

The Goal

So what should be a writer’s goal? To show the reader a fun and colorful world of your own? To grip the reader with a good character who gets inside them and makes them think? To show the reader how well they thought out the story? In the end, no. These are all parts of a good story, but a story told for the sake of the story itself is worthless. The goal every writer should have is to tell the truth in the best way they possibly can, to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong. A writer can create a wonderful world, realistic characters with realistic problems, and twist a plot together to make it complex and compelling, and still they can miss the mark. Truth is what makes a story good. If a writer has a simple plot, with a small world they have not thought through very much, and with a simple character, they can still make a good story.

Good Examples

So, what are some good examples of a good world, good characters, good plot, and good story? Well, my very first answer would be the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books, by JRR Tolkien. I have known these stories all my life, and they have been my main inspiration for my writing in more ways than one. But there are other stories, perhaps some not so well known, that are also good. The Peleg Chronicles by Matthew Christian Harding, is another good series. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis, The Green Ember series by S.D Smith, The Crown and Covenant series by Douglas Bond.

For little ones, here are some simple stories that are good: The King with Six Friends by Jay Williams, The Maggie B. by Irene Haas, Velveteen Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne, Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes by Margie Palatini, Adventures in the Big Thicket by Ken Gire.

These are all stories that I have read and I like, and while they are not perfectly written, they are good examples of good story.