Writing a good story – Five Helpful Tips

Short Story You want to write a story that your readers will love.

But hasn’t everything been written that can be written?

How do you manage to write a really gripping, innovative story?

With the help of the following 10 aspects you can put a really successful story on paper.

Aspect 1: Start writing your story

Sometimes we find it difficult to get into writing. Everyday life often has a firm grip on us. It is all the more important to know a few tools and approaches that will make it easier to get started.

Before you even know what story you want to write, you should even start writing. If this first step is done, you will get into a flow of writing and everything will be easier.

But what’s the easiest way to get into writing out of everyday life?

The creative flow of writing a story

Your ideas don’t always have to be good to end up with a good story.

On the contrary.

It is much more important to have ideas at all, as often and as many as possible. Because if you enter your creative flow through free writing as often as possible , there will always be a good idea. And sometimes even an outstanding one with which you can then continue working.

Every beginning is easy

It is important that you start writing at all. The beginning of writing doesn’t have to be the beginning of your story. That can always be changed later.

Here are some ideas to start with when you feel like writing a story:

•  Write down the trains of thought of a particular character
•  Brainstorm on a topic
•  Collect different interesting situations from your life
•  Let different characters meet and watch what happens
•  Make a list of possible conflictive, humorous, or romantic situations
•  Combine a setting, a conflict and a character
•  Play with story cubes

Writing stories – a question of attitude

It is important that you feel like writing your story. But that is still no guarantee of success.

In order to really stick with it, to successfully finish a story, you need more:

• You should find enough time to write so that you can incorporate story-writing into your everyday life.
• You should make sure to stay focused on what you are doing. With the right writing focus, you will write more successfully.
• If you are once unmotivated and have problems finishing the story, you need to feel like writing again first .

Aspect 2: Find a topic for your story

Both the appropriate attitude and specific methods will help you find a good topic for your story. Here is a selection of the best strategies.

Collect ideas for your story

Don’t expect yourself to always come up with the one brilliant idea that will turn into a fantastic text.

This is also not necessary at all.

Rather collect whatever you can think of without evaluating it. You can carry a notebook with you in the classic way or you can create a file in which you type in everything that comes to mind.

Now or later

A collection of ideas can serve as a fund for later considerations, because you do not have to implement every idea on the spot. Or maybe you come across a topic that you want to tackle immediately. Because sometimes an idea forms the germ of a great text, which is best started right away.

Stay open

If you expect every idea to be brilliant, you are putting yourself under unnecessary pressure. In the end you will achieve the opposite and nip all creativity in the bud. Rather tell yourself that anything goes, and that every idea is good enough to be noted down – the best prerequisite for writing a good story!

Aspect 3: A good start for your story

At some point the time has come: you have decided on an idea and now you want to start writing.

Maybe you already know exactly what is going on in your story. Or maybe you have a vague idea and hope that the concrete course of action will develop during the writing process.

Anyway – the beginning of your story should convince. Because it depends on whether the reader puts the text aside after a few sentences or continues reading with fascination.

But how do you do it?

What makes a good start?

Grab the reader

The beginning of your story should grab your reader’s attention. First of all, he needs a reason to read on. Everything is allowed to achieve this. The only thing that is forbidden is to be bored.

The easiest way to do this is to start right away in a dicey situation. Nothing is more uninteresting than uniformity. So right at the beginning you should give an indication that something extraordinary has happened, is about to happen, or is about to happen in your story.

Provide orientation for the reader

The reader doesn’t need to understand what is happening right away. You can leave him in the dark about some things. Still, you shouldn’t overdo it. It is important to familiarize him with the characters and the situation at least enough to have a rough idea of ​​what is happening.

If, after reading several sentences, there is still complete clueless what is going on, the reader needs damn good reasons to read on at all. Making it understandable what it’s about is certainly not enough to get you started.

Leaving everything in the vague, however, sooner or later leads to the reader putting the text down in annoyance.

Make curious about your story

Probably the most important function of the beginning is to draw the reader into the story. He should be curious to see what happens next. Only then does he continue reading.

But how do you do that?

If the characters involved have no relevance to the reader, he is also not interested in their fate. He doesn’t care if the characters are doing well or badly. The actions of the characters should therefore come to life in such a way that the reader is able to identify with them.

As soon as there is a basic identification, the reader takes part in what is happening. This works particularly well when the characters are in an emotionally stressful situation. So it should be about something, the act described should be emotionally relevant – in whatever way.

Finally, a certain openness of the plot is necessary to arouse the reader’s curiosity. If it is already obvious how something will end, there is no need to read on. By keeping the outcome of the situation vague, you are giving the reader a reason to keep reading.

Finding a balance between mystery and orientation

A good start raises questions for the reader. He wants to know what exactly is happening, what has happened, or will happen. Or what is actually going on with a character. Reading is always like solving a riddle.

At the same time, you shouldn’t overdo it. If the beginning of your story is too incomprehensible, reading will be tedious.

Accordingly, your goal should be to find a good balance between mystery and orientation for the reader.

But there are so many different stories – what kind of story do you want to write?

Aspect 4: Writing different types of stories

There are very different types of stories, from the literarily sophisticated work of art to pure entertainment literature. Be clear about the type of story you want to write.

The types of stories mentioned here are not strictly separated from one another. Mixed forms and modifications are not only possible but probable.

Nevertheless, you should get an overview of typical narrative patterns and particularly common types of stories. So you can use powerful storytelling traditions to write your very own stories.

Writing an autobiographical story

Your own life offers itself as a source of inspiration. This does not mean that you should retell what happened to you one-on-one. Rather, there is a wide range of autobiographical writing, ranging from the vague idea to the literary processing of formative events.

Experiences that have shaped you are particularly suitable for gripping autobiographical stories. It can be conflicts or humorous anecdotes that you use as a starting point for your storytelling.

However, it is important in any case: something should happen!

Less suitable as material for gripping narration is everyday life experienced as uniform without ups and downs.

Ideas about autobiographical writing in general will help.

Write fairy tales

Fairy tales offer traditional plot structures that still fascinate us. Therefore we can use them for our own writing and with their help we can captivate the reader.

Your story doesn’t have to look traditional or even old-fashioned this way. Rather, the storytelling patterns of fairy tales can also be used and modified for modern storytelling.

Using Little Red Riding Hood as an example, I’ll show you how to write a modern fairy tale based on tradition.

Write a short story

Short stories are often more literary stories.

The short story, which comes mainly from the English-speaking tradition, has very clear rules. Mostly there is a direct entry into the plot that focuses on a conflict with no secondary threads. At the same time, short stories usually also offer a lot of space for interpretation.

According to a less strict definition, a short story can also simply be understood as a short story . Known in German-speaking countries as stories, the length can vary between a few lines and several pages.

Write adventure story

Adventure stories are mostly based heavily on the plot and its course. They often play in strange worlds or distant lands.

Elements from the hero’s journey can be used here.

So there is a central hero who sets out to achieve a specific goal. On the way there are obstacles in his way. A main part of the plot consists of the hero facing these obstacles and trying to overcome them.

Write a horror story

In horror stories, typical means are used to shudder the reader or listener. Often times, horror stories are based on an oral storytelling tradition.

Content-related details to tell creepy stories are typical locations such as old castles, eerie attics or dungeons. Dark or scary figures come to a suitable place. Hints should be made during the course of the plot to increase the tension.

On the linguistic level, the creep can be supported, for example by working onomatopoeic.

Horror stories often have a surprising ending, where the tension is released.

Write a love story

There are different variants of typical love stories. The central point is usually a conflict through which something stands in the way of love. The question is whether the lovers find each other.

A classic: two lovers are separated by certain differences and cannot be together (Romeo and Juliet).

Triangle stories are also very popular: Here there is usually one too many, which creates potential for conflict.

Unfulfilled love appears in all possible forms and always provides material for conflicts that not only remain external, but are able to shake the whole person.

A collection of great love stories will help you with inspiration and provide a good overview of the typical patterns.

Write seasonal stories

Certain occasions are great for writing stories. The typical customs, symbols and motifs of this time can be incorporated into the story.

Existing summer or Christmas stories can also be used as a starting point for writing your own story. Why not tell the Christmas story from the Bible in a completely different way? Or another classic Christmas story?

These instructions for a successful Christmas story will help you!

Aspect 5: Write exciting stories

There is no such thing as one recipe for exciting writing. The tension arises when reading through the most varied of dimensions of the story.

Creating tension – there is more to it than that. There are a multitude of ways in which you can write an exciting story !

In addition to the “suspense” tension, which is crucial in suspense literature ( thrillers , crime novels ), the art of formulating can also make a text exciting.

Perhaps boredom is the best way to understand what tension is all about: the reader is involved in the story and the action, it does not leave them indifferent, it does not bore them – in whatever way this is achieved .

Characters and plot

Identification of the reader with the characters in your story is a basic requirement for tension. If he’s not interested in who you’re talking about, he’s not curious to see how your character is doing. So make sure by carefully designing the characters that the reader has the chance to connect with the actors.

The actual story also belongs to the absolute basis of your story. Your story should involve some kind of conflict. This is the only way that what happens is relevant. A conflict that fits the character gives your story a tension curve that can turn reading into a roller coaster ride.

Providing information

Skillful methods of conveying information can also generate tension . References to what happened and its background make the reader curious, the withholding of further details makes him read on.

Targeted narrative techniques also create tension – but only if there is already a certain basic tension. For example, we can tell stories all at once in slow motion or switch from the past to the present at a crucial point. But this only works if the reader is already interested in the progress of the story.

Narrative perspective

The large area of ​​the narrative perspective offers a variety of possibilities to make your story exciting.

With different narrators you can work with contradictions or you can use the limited perspective of a narrator to leave important questions unanswered.

The narrative structure of your story can also add tension to your reading. A story can be designed in different ways. You can start with the beginning, tell from back to front or seemingly jump back and forth. If your structuring is motivated and coherent, deviations from the usual chronological narrative style can add considerable tension to your story.