What makes a great story? (Full Version)

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Vendaval -> What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 11:57:57 AM)

OK, a philosophical discussion for a Sunday afternoon, no politics or gun hijacks please.     
 
What in your esteemed opinions makes for a good story?[sm=writing.gif]
Do you prefer drama, comedy, real life or fiction, novels or plays or movies or poetry?
What kinds of characters speak to you?
And what stories have had the strongest impact on your life?[sm=book.gif]



FullCircle -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:06:30 PM)

A beginning a middle and a sequel.
 
Those Eastenders scriptwriters at the BBC do go scripts but very depressing, you won’t live long watching that stuff that’s for sure.



hizgeorgiapeach -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:10:58 PM)

Ven, this is a question that's positively Loaded (no gun puns intended, thankyou) in the circles I run with.  Most of us are bards of one sort or another - storeytellers, poets, musicians... entertainers of one sort or another by either training and choice, or by past or present profession.
 
What makes for a good story?  Creativity, originality (or an original spin/fresh outlook on an old tale) a good command of the language it's being presented in... . and that's simply the tip of the iceburg.  (Here's hoping this doesn't sink as quickly as the Titanic.)  On a secondary level, you'd have to include appropriate content for the venue in which it's being presented, audience preferences, and novelty of the subject matter.
 
We have a lil "Bard's Game" that we tend to play at local medieval events (including pulling some of this for the Demo we did this weekend at our Local annual Medieval Faire) - it's called "Give Me a Sentence."  The object of the game is actually quite simple.  Each participant, in turn, is given a single sentence - from which they have to create a story on the spot.  It has to be original, it has to start with - and have something to do with - the sentence they are given.  They can't walk away and think about it, then present the story later - it has to be done right then, right there, on the spot, as they go.  It's not as easy as it might sound.
 
On the "consumer" end of things - fictional comedic novels, comedic plays, and any sort of poetry.  (Although like many poets, I tend to keep my poetry to myself, rather than inflicting it upon the masses - unless I'm competing and one of the Requirements is to present a piece of poetry of some form - in which case I generally do a new piece specifically for that compitition.)



Vendaval -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:12:54 PM)

Full Circle and Rhi,
 
What about stories that inspire you personally?  Let you see the world in a new way or learn something new about yourselves?



hizgeorgiapeach -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:19:52 PM)

I can't really say that many stories help  me see the world differently.  Being a bard - a storyteller, poet, & singer - I'm more used to being the one to Create the piece that will hopefully inspire someone else.  Every time I sit down to write poetry, I learn something about myself - sometimes it's something that I want to know, sometimes it's not.
 
There are a lot of pieces of poetry from others that I Identify With - that touch a chord, and make me go "yeah, I know Exactly where they were when they wrote that," - but I wouldn't really call those pieces that teach me something.
 
The changes in my tastes for music, movies, books, and plays over the years has taught me more about myself than the actual Contents of any of the work that I've read or viewed.



FullCircle -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:20:45 PM)

The programme Lost is so open ended you never know what is going to happen next. For example the other week they went back in time and the Iraqi interrogator killed Ben. Since Ben has more or less been involved in manipulating the others from start to end this has some major causality issues. One could even argue it touches on paradoxical situations such as why would the Iraqi interrogator feel the need to go back in time to kill someone that doesn’t exist since he went back in time and killed him. Writing has to twist your brain up and squeeze out the reasoning because otherwise reasoning can be used to predict the ending and how fun is that? [8|]



Vendaval -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:29:40 PM)

Rhi -
I can really identify with changing preferences during the journey of life. 
 
Full Circle -
I do perfer stories with more complex plots and complicated characters.



TheHeretic -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:40:47 PM)

       Not sure if I can offer an "esteemed" opinion, Ven, but what catches and holds my interest are characters.  I like imperfections, and internal conflict.  I don't mind unhappy endings.



FullCircle -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:42:22 PM)

Well Lost is so complicated you need a degree in Lostology before you will ever begin to understand the goings on.
 
I like stories with a twist there is this finite art to writing them that makes them believable balanced against unexpected.
 
I mentioned Eastenders earlier and this had one of the best Tragic storylines of late and kind of a twist but we all expected it. There was this girl who came to Walford looking for her biological mother. The girl had no one else and so pinned all her hopes on striking up a good relationship with the mother. Thus she was really nervous about coming out with the truth that she was her long lost daughter. The audience saw the mother long for a reunion with the child she gave up for adoption not knowing she was right under her nose. Since the girl was hanging around trying to make the right first impression and introduce herself she made herself inadvertently look creepy to the mother who told her to get lost. There were other elements to the story that complexified it further but to cut a long story short the mother realised she had turned away her daughter and so went looking for her. She found her on the other side of the street and smiled at her making the girl realise she knew the truth. The girl crossed the road to embrace the mother she longed for only to be run over by a car. I suppose more than anything this is a story about the need to follow the green cross code even when emotions are running high.



MissMorrigan -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:42:37 PM)

I prefer non-fiction, a sound religious and historical background in which is set a series of tumultuous events experienced by the author who will take me on an emotional rollercoaster that has me gripped with each turn of the page. I want to connect with the author, to feel thorugh their narration that I've been on an incredible journey.

I do also enjoy non-fiction from time to time, especially authors such as David Hewson and Dan Brown (again the religious/historical background), whose complex plots twist and turn, leaving me guessing til the very last chapter, and disappointed when I have read the final word. 



MarcEsadrian -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 12:54:21 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Vendaval

OK, a philosophical discussion for a Sunday afternoon, no politics or gun hijacks please.  

What in your esteemed opinions makes for a good story?


Careful consideration to point of view (omniscient, first person, third person, etc.), an immediacy and verve in style, memorable characters and an adequately developed plot, to put it in a nutshell.

More abstractly, I like stories that draw one in, where the scenery and sensations described are almost palpable. I get bored with colorless exposition that speaks in generalities. Anyone can write like that. It takes skill to build atmosphere as rich as a deep red wine while at the same time keeping the story moving fluidly.



Lockit -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 1:07:50 PM)

A publisher with money and eyes for only you.

I don't care what it is, if it is in print or from the heart and soul of another... I love it. 



heartcream -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 1:34:26 PM)

I love to read, love to read, love to read. I like how inside a book one can say those things almost no one else will. I like how authors are able to expose things where the character/s dont necessarily look good and somehow still feel love for them.

I love humorous writers who can also convey real issues of our times. Some writers find that ability to convey concise environments in and outside the body that leave me breathless in the artistry.

I like reading books where it almost hurts the writing is that good.

I love Historical novels. They can be a very nice way to read about something in more of a story form. I do like non-fiction and devour my share of it. I love to learn, how-to books have taught me so many things, cooking, knitting, sewing, guitar to name a few.

Reading is a fundamental part of my life I adore.







MarsBonfire -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 2:05:15 PM)

I love a lot of Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Richard Matheson's stories. They are all masters at taking everyday life, and suddenly injecting it with some element of the fantastic which leads the reader into these wonderful "what if" situations. (This was something Rod Serling often did on his old Twilight Zone series.) Other tales of science fiction or horror are fine, but if they don't have characters that I can relate to, the story ends up losing a lot of it's impact.

Having a spaceship is not enough,
nor these spacemen sketched in rough,
plotting itself may be tough,
but the character is the essential stuff!

                                         -Anon. (but often attributed to Charles Beaumont)



slaveluci -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 2:47:42 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

       Not sure if I can offer an "esteemed" opinion, Ven, but what catches and holds my interest are characters.  I like imperfections, and internal conflict.  I don't mind unhappy endings.

I definitely have to "ditto" this. I prefer nonfiction, bio's and documentaries because they take a real person with real problems and obstacles and imperfections and lay it all bare. In fiction and in films, I also prefer either "unhappy" endings or open-ended stories that let you fill in the blank. Sure, happy endings are warm and fuzzy and OK sometimes but just aren't always that realistic. I don't read/watch films to escape. I like for my books and movies to illuminate harsh reality not whitewash it. That's just me, though.................luci



DesFIP -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 3:04:54 PM)

What happens to the characters in the story has to seem organic to that character, not something the author put in because of her political views or because she felt it was time for something to happen.

Dickens wrote serials, all of which episodes had to start and end with a startling incident. Modern soap operas are like that.

Books work differently. Also the dialogue can't feel forced, you have to feel that you really are hearing them talk.



MsAlaria -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 3:55:42 PM)

I am a huge fan of Dean Koontz.  Not so much for his storylines (although most are quite intriguing) but for his character creation.  His characters are always colorful, entertaining and generally thought-provoking.  I also enjoy the duo of Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child.  Special Agent Pendergast is an anamoly, but one that keeps me intrigued from one book to the next.  Their storylines are generally unique and interesting and their characters can be as colorful as any I've ever read.

In general, a storyline has to draw and keep my attention, whether it be a novel or movie.  Although there are times when I watch something purely for entertainment value or comic relief. 



theobserver -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 7:22:51 PM)

Wow, I came back to the forum after being MIA for a while, to get some advice about a short D/S fic I'm writing and here is this thread!

A good story engages, compels and makes you want to know more after the last page has been read, without exhausting.

I don't know, but that's as succinctly as I could put it.

Anyhow, is there anyone willing to give me some helpful advice on my characters? I 'm hitting a bit of a roadblock and could use some help from some of you more seasoned in the lifestyle.





kittinSol -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 7:27:11 PM)

To me, it's the way the story is told that makes the story great, more than its content and plot. The writer's vision of the plot and the ability to create characters matter more than the plot itself .

Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky. Among many others...



pahunkboy -> RE: What makes a great story? (4/5/2009 7:35:04 PM)

Anna korena.

She was the other woman and could never be the main woman.  That final scene was so deep.   In the dark - pouring rain, she runs sobbing and sobbing.      One could hear the train wistle in the distance.



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