I’ve been thinking a lot lately about being a storyteller. Think of the books you’ve loved over the years. It’s because you were gripped by the story.

Readers forgive and overlook plot inconsistancies, weak dialog or average writing if the author pulls them into a good old fashioned story.

So, what does it take to tell a good story? Here are some elements I think we need.

Vivid characters. They have personality, spunk, motivation, drive, purpose. Think of the Uncle Remus stories. I haven’t read one in decades, but I can still hear Br’er Rabbit saying, “Don’t throw me in that der briar patch.”

Act out your characters if you can’t hear their voice. I am always dialoging with my “people,” acting out different roles and scenes.

Create a journey. In craft-speak we call this Plot, but let’s switch up our lingo for now and call it a story journey. What is the point of your story? Where is your vivid character going, and why?

Now, break up the story in scenes and segments. Introduce a problem.

In my next release, Sweet Caroline, the heroine, Caroline Sweeney, wants to leave her job as manager of a run down Cafe and take an exciting opportunity in Barcelona. She’s on her way until she finds out….

Here, I introduce a problem with Caroline and the Cafe. To make the problem meaningful, I introduced secondary characters Caroline loves, and hopefully the readers. I give them meaning to the Cafe and vice versa. This puts pressure on Caroline, messing up her “journey.”

Listen to old radio shows to get a feel for plotting and pacing.

Dramatic Effect. Good story telling has dramatic effect. So what Cinderella has to do a few chores for her mean old step mom. But the classic tale’s dramatic effect is increased when we see the lazy step sisters being favored while Cinderella works night and day with no reward or thanks.

Next, our lovely heroine is invited to a Ball for the Prince. Okay, big deal. Happens every day in fairytale land. Again, drama is added when the step sisters tear and rip Cinderella’s gown. Our hearts are also ripped apart, and torn with emotion for Cinderella. We want to punch those ugly step sisters. (And who knew mice could sew? All that work for nothing!)

See what I mean? Donald Maass would call this upping then tension.

Setting. Create a sense of time and place. “It was a dark and stormy night.”

“The sun rose over the Mississippi burning down from a soft blue sky with relentless white heat.”

Think of geographic scenes in great epic movies like “Dances With Wolves,” “Far and Away,” or “Open Range.”

How did they impact you? Draw you in? Were you too dancing with wolves? Could you feel the tension and excitement of waiting to rush into Oklahoma? What about the dust and wind of the open range. I felt Kevin Costner’s love for Sue Barlow when he told her he loved her.

Write your setting in as few, but powerful words as possible. Imagine yourself before an audience who’s never seen the Andes or felt the silky surface of the Ohio River on their finger tips.

Emotion. This is a writing weakness for me. I’m so afraid of telling, or boring the reader, I forget to slow down for emotion. Don’t load up your story with lots of back story or information, but show and tell us how the characters are feeling.

Have you jumped at a scary scene? Why? Weave it into your story.

Ever cried rading a book or watching a movie? What about the book or movie made tears blur your vision? Add it to your book.

If you are stuck, push away from the keyboard, find the dog and the cat, and tell your story. If you can keep them entertained, the world will be your oyster!

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