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How To Write Stories
by Alex Glaros
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There's a simple formula for writing a good story.
Have the character go through a difficult time that must involve an emotionally
challenging problem. By overcoming the problem, the character is transformed
into a wiser, deeper, better person.
Here's an an example of a story without an emotionally challenging
problem.
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John is walking to school, tossing his eraser into the air while
passing next an empty factory building.
His eraser bounces into the building through an open window. John
climbs through the window, comes out with his eraser and continues
on to school.
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There was a problem that got solved, but it didn't require any
emotional courage to resolve.
Let's fix the story!
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John has always been afraid of dogs. One day, John is walking to
school, tossing his eraser into the air while passing next an empty
factory building.
His eraser bounces into the building through an open window. John
climbs through the window to look it. He sees the eraser on the
floor and picks it up. When he turns around, there's a guard dog
standing between him and the window!
John gets scared, and scrambles up to the top of a supply cabinet.
The dog won't let him down for hours!
John finally realizes that he has to do something or he will end
up spending the whole night in the building. He opens the supply
cabinet and sees a bottle of chlorine bleach. In a brave moment,
he grabs the bottle and splashes the dog's face with the bleach.
The dog howls in pain. John can't believe his success and chases
the now frightened dog with the bleach. Then he climbs out the window,
never afraid of dogs again.
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So, you can see that we've added a problem that required emotional courage
to solve.
The problem in a story creates tension. Tension and release are important
elements in a story. Tension is the technique used to focus on where the
character's personality needs strengthening, and to help transform the
character into a smarter, wiser, braver or better person.
Without a tension creating problem, the story doesn't go anywhere!
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