Writing 2100: Intro to Storytelling

Writing 2100: Intro to Storytelling

Welcome to the 2000 level courses in the seminar! In the past few weeks, we’ve talked about the fundamentals of all effective writing: sentence structure, punctuation, and diction. As we go forward and begin talking about storytelling in earnest, I, your humble author, must confess that discussions from here on out will begin to sound more biased. Each author has had his or her own unique experiences when it comes to writing and publishing, and thus our advice will always be slanted – we’re going to talk about what works for us, and what we enjoy reading in the media we consume. No two writers approach the craft the same way, so just bear that in mind as we proceed. I will, though, try to speak as universally as possible.

What’s in a Story?

A story is, at its core, a piece of writing that is about something. There are characters and there is a plot – though plot is an element left to writer interpretation. There’s a quote from Sylvia Plath that I love:

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

Some stories are tautly-crafted and action-packed, while others are gentle and meandering. There’s an audience for every kind of story – perhaps a small one, for certain stories, but it’s there. As an author, you tend to gravitate toward certain storytelling techniques and styles, I know I certainly have, and that’s what we’ll talk about for the next few weeks.

First, let’s talk about the difference between plot-driven and character-driven storytelling.

Plot-Driven

In a plot-driven story, the external action is the most important element, or the driving force, of the story itself. Authors like Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton employed this brand of storytelling: thrilling adventures full of intrigue and action in which the characters are quickly-sketched vehicles through whose eyes the audience can witness the plot unfold. The emphasis is placed on what happens, when it happens, and how it happens, but you aren’t necessarily given an intimate, personal look at the characters.  

Character-Driven

By contrast, a character-driven story is all about the internal journey of the main character(s). A person’s growth, their emotional journey, are the focus, with the plot supporting this through events that test and change them. If a plot-driven story is about a disaster, a character-driven story is about the ways a disaster affects the people who live through it. Most literary fiction is character-driven, providing insight into the human condition.

A Little Bit of Both

Most books are a combination of both storytelling approaches. For instance, I like to think of my own books as character-driven, because for me, it begins and ends with the characters. Who they are, how they grow, how they affect the world around them – that’s my focus as an author. But I also like to include plenty of drama and action in the plot. I’m selfish that way: why can’t I do both? It’s something I discovered about myself a few years ago, when I began to seriously pursue writing as a career. For me, aesthetic, emotional nuance, and realism are key, and those are earmarks of character-driven stories. But I want the plot to have a little panache, too, which is a more plot-driven kind of storytelling.

While it’s common to see either/or in certain genres, there’s no hard-line rule to that effect.

Your homework: think about your very favorite books, and ask yourself which category they fall into: is the focus on the character’s journey? Or on the overall plot? Understanding what you love can help you understand what you want to write.