How general of me, to claim that this lesson will be on writing stories. But to title it anything else would not properly describe the point I shall be going over. So, sit back, relax, and learn somethin’.

We’re story tellers. I mean, that’s why were here, right? To tell stories? If not, then you’re certainly in the wrong place, but you’re free to stay anyway.

Our goal here is to learn how to write good stories, and to actually write good stories. Now, here in the School for New Writers, there seems to be a massive focus on the many separate tools that come together in the creation and presentation of a good story, but what about the story itself?

Well, a lot of the time, this is something that is looked over for many reasons. First, we have no idea what kind of story you want to write. Second, it almost doesn’t seem to matter what kind of story you write if the skills required to present it properly haven’t been honed.

But as a pre-reader, proofreader, and editor of a few fics here on the site, some of them quite ancient indeed, I have learned that many times, instead of simply the wording being changed, or a set of scenes being changed, the entire story needs to take a completely different direction, or needs to be severely modified in order for it to makes sense.

This sadly happens more often than not, and a lot of authors end up quite a few chapters into something before they realize that they’re having a hard time making their dots connect and place the blame on writer’s block. Sometimes it is just writer’s block, but a lot of the time, especially with beginning writers, it’s because the author has too many things they want to include and they are unable to connect the hodge-podge in a logical way. In another sense it’s because the things that the author wants to include are not compatible with each other, and, unable to see that, they continue the vain effort of trying to fit them together.

So what is the solution? Learn to plan your story before you write it, and while you’re writing, be willing to make sacrifices, giving up events, lines, scenes, and even characters, in order to get the story to work properly. It’s a balance of what to keep, and what not to keep.

Above all, we must remember, the highest priority is the story itself, not the things that we want to include in the story.

Sometimes there are situations where the top priority is actually a tribute to something in our lives, or someone in our lives, and that is a perfectly acceptable exception, but the story construction principles will still apply. In this case, instead of sacrificing for the story, your sacrificing for the tribute or the message.

Good, now that we’ve got that down, let’s move on to discussing the many marvelous methods of story composition.

There are many ways to plan a story. Authors usually have a preference for one or another, and end up using a mix of many if not all of them, depending on which part of the story calls for what.

I’m going to talk about four methods that I have seen. Whatever method you may use likely falls under one of these, or can be cut into smaller parts that fall under these methods.

Method #1: On the Fly
Take a wild guess as to what this method entails. You guessed it! It’s stomping on an unfortunate fly.

Many authors use this method for one-shots, for fun, or in order to let off a little creative steam. Many times, this results in fantastic fics telling supremely entertaining tales. Every author should dabble in writing this way because it requires that the author invent things after the fact, try to cleverly tie loose ends that they themselves created, and attempt to do it in a sensible manner. It is healthy for the creative spirit, and is great fun to do.

It’s literally just writing what comes to mind, and letting what happens, happen. And if you need more to happen, you add twists, justify them, add characters, events, and issues, and try to figure it out from there. Make it more interesting and run along. No planning necessary. In fact, it's discouraged.

Not much more explanation is needed for this method of story creation.

Method #2: Points to Snowball
‘Snowball’ here is a verb.

This method is the most frequently employed method of story creation. It is the method by which we have ideas for scenes, for characters, for plots, twists, etc, that we want to include, and in order to do so, we weave a story around these things. We try to connect them in logical and interesting ways so that we can write an interesting story.

This method can be difficult to use, though it does have its benefits. Most of the time, its use comes from our beginner desires to make stories as good as the ones that we’ve seen before, and we tend to think it was the individual scenes, characters, and clever lines that made the story great, not seeing that those scenes, characters, and lines wouldn’t be as good had they been simply put together. The reason those things were good was because they made sense, they naturally occurred, and they pertained to the story at hand.

Now, there are some authors who are really good at taking individual bits and sewing them together into a consistent cloth, but that is usually done at the sacrifice of many other things they might have wanted to include.

The benefits of using this method is that, if you do it right, and are willing to sacrifice to get it to come together, you can create a very very good story, and you can do it with much less effort than other methods. The con is that while it is easier than other methods to use, it can all too easily result in a patched together rag of a story.

Do I discourage you from using this method? No, absolutely not! In fact, I encourage you to use this method all the time! Why? Because you can learn to use it correctly, and in doing so, create fantastic tales.

So, what is the correct use of this method? Well, it is to use other methods to connect the dots! This method is less a method and more a shell of a method. The actual methods need to come into practice in connecting the dots. But remember, these other methods will many times mandate something that I’ve repeated and will continue to repeat in this lecture: Sacrifices will have to be made for your story to flow smoothly. When you choose which parts to include in your story, they need to make sense, fit naturally in the course of events, and pertain to the story at hand. The parts that don’t fit this criteria must be sacrificed.

Method #3: World Building
This method of story creation is actually quite simple with a little imagination, and can create some of the most interesting stories, and inspire some of the best story ideas.

This method is, in essence, the process of creating a world, or even just a situation, and then finding a naturally occurring story in it. No modifications need to be made, no characters need to be manipulated outside of their own personalities. They just happen, and we authors are just observers, recording the occurrences as they play out. The story literally writes itself.

Now, the kinds and quality of the worlds and/or situations that you start with will definitely affect the kind of story that comes out of it. Something that can be done is to slightly modify the world, or the situation, and then see what differences it makes, and continue changing and manipulating until a satisfying story pops out of it.

It’s different from the first method because in the first method you’re allowed to manipulate and add things as the story progresses in order to make it interesting. In this method, you don’t add anything or manipulate anything, you just let it happen as it naturally would.

One way to think about this method is starting with a situation point, a position in time, and then letting it move forward naturally.

Method #4: Stepping Backwards
This method is the exact opposite of the above, and is a little difficult to master. In essence, you start with a situation point, a position you want to reach, and work backwards from it to see what kind of starting position would be required in order to reach it in a logical sequence of events.

This method is rarely used because a lot of the time it means sacrificing plans that have already been made, but this method is one of the most useful for connecting the dots in your story if you believe that a certain ending point is important enough to reach.

It creates very interesting stories, but sometimes, very predictable ones, unless certain things are excluded from the reader’s knowledge about the situation up until the big reveal, in which case, the plot twist not only is surprising, but makes amazing sense. Of course depending on what you exclude, the ending could end up being a 'deus-ex-machina', which is bad.

Nevertheless, this is the perfect method for writing mystery novels, and adding a few high-quality twists to your story, where the characters can’t see what’s ahead, and neither can the reader, and the only logical outcome is the one desired by the author.

Now, while this method seems to be all good things, it is really hard to work with, and it will almost inevitably end up in conflict with many of the other story points you have in mind. So what do we do?

Method #5: The Hybrid
Yep. Method number five is really just the first four put together.

What we as story tellers need to do is learn to balance our control and manipulation with the ability for the story to naturally occur without these manipulations. Methods #1 and #2 are methods involving heavy manipulation for the sake of keeping things interesting. Methods #3 and #4 are methods that intentionally exclude all manipulation for the sake of the story’s natural flow.

The pinnacle of story telling perfection is getting these two kinds of methods to work perfectly together, to both keep things interesting, and let them flow perfectly together. This is what every story teller strives for.

I don’t have much advice for achieving this balance other than the advice I have already given.

To sum up:
There are methods for manipulating stories together, and methods for letting them naturally occur. Start with the creative and free methods, and then use the other methods to shape them, and fit them together. Be willing to sacrifice the things that don’t fit, even rewrite the entire story if necessary, but remember to keep things interesting. And in the end, remember that your top priority is a good story. Anything else is less important and can, and many times should, be sacrificed for the sake of the story.

I wish you all well with your stories, and if there is anything you guys want me to touch on, feel free to ask me in the comments or send me a PM.

Have fun!

Fuzzy Socks,
PiercingSight

PS: I would have included examples, but that would have made this post massively larger than it already is. So instead I'll just encourage you to make your own examples!

3921124 Eh, usually I used #3 #2 and #1 for my writing. Either for essays or stories.

The most concerning thing I would to say is that sometimes new Writers (and still happens to me) would be lost in their story. By Lost, I mean when we reached a certain point during our writings, you would get stuck in that certain point in the midst of the chapter and you'll ask yourself. "Where will I go from here?"

If you reached that point, I recommend you to rewrite the whole thing, and either use another Idea or wait until another idea popped up.

If you forced your way through, it will be either good, or just felt, well, forced.

3921594
Well, I knew there was a reason I started this group here.

Thank you so much. I'm tired of groping in the dark.

Actually, I'm still much in the dark. I hope that the next lessons will be one for each of the methods. An in-depth analysis of every single method stated.

As it is, I'm going with the flow, with an ending in mind. Wish I could do "Stepping Backwards" but is that even applicable now at this stage of my writing?

Problem with many beginners is that, they think they have a plan, then that plan just gets bigger and bigger and....well, bigger. It then turns into one massive "On The Fly" with no clear direction. Ouch.

Soon enough, it'll be a "Hybrid" thing. We don't even know much about these methods.

3921594
Oh yeah. Preach it brother.

3922012 That said, when I write, I would do it until I reached a cut, after that I would self-edit, and spend the rest of the day lazing around, then I'd write the next cut the next day. That helps in giving in fresh ideas.

3922049 Dude, that's what I do too!

Is this what happens to newbie writers? o_O'

3922052 Nah, I don't think so. When I was new, I would just rush it on. Look how'd that end up :\

3922054
Well I'm new, and I'm doing what you're doing.

I want to finish a story...

3922060 if you write a cut, don't do it just 800 words or 1000. At least do 1500 to 2500, an before you realoze, you'll be reaching 9k words.

3922068 I don't think I have a problem reaching cuts. It's just that it takes so much time to really get a fic done (even the editing and cover art) and even then, you don't know if its good.

I mean, I have finished fics, but not edited. So, won't be posting those. And until my editor and I get to work again like we did before, I don't think I'll be able to publish a fic anytime soon.

The fic I have published is like one big giant pseudo-intro thing worth 20,000+ words or something. And that's the only one so far with which I could ask people to gauge my skills by. I have to get it's "sequels" out soon, otherwise it just looks like...that. It's not meant to stand alone.

I've reached the point wherein...what's the point of writing when you've hit so much cuts, but what needs to be done is editing and proofreading. That, plus the methods above was just learned today so...could I still apply them to what I've already written...?

I could definitely apply the lessons above to future fics, but that entails making a new fic that will need to be pre-read, edited, and proofread, again!

I just want to finish a fic.

3922071 If you read it, and you felt it's good, then it's good. At least, as long as your sense of literature isn't impaired. Though to be honest, i rarely use cuts, and I only use them when it's flashback time. And, oh, don't edit after you're fully done. If you finished say, 2000 words, and then that's it for the day, you should edit it right then.

Makes self-edit a whole lot easier.

3922075 Hmmmm...makes self-editing a whole lot easier.

Interesting.

3922081 Also, you shouldn't care too much about whether the fic is good or bad. As long as it is readable, the readers will decide. If it's bad, well, that means there's a room for improvements. If it's good, then it's good. Congrats.

3922133 Thanks.

Yeah, I guess that's true. I did have other comments and critiques that indicated that I'm on the right track with the story, that Pip's POV in Book 1 is doing it's job. I just hope it's not too late to apply the above lessons (especially Method #4: Stepping Backwards) to the stories I have finished, finished (but not edited), and stories that are works in progress.

Oh, Teacher PiercingSight, I hope we get to go in-depth with the methods one at a time! Pleaseopleaseopleeeeeease?

3923027
Well, I'm not exactly sure what you need more from these. My purpose was more to outline each method and it's purpose. The application of the method is up to the author, whether they do it in their heads, write it down, use it to plan the entire story, or mix and match methods to get a story to fit together. It has nothing to do with the actual writing, it's more about how a story is planned so that when it is written, it makes sense, and flows well.

Is there anything specific you want to know how to do?

Well this is quite helpful. Sorta use the hybrid method myself. Though, putting things in words like this makes it a whole lot better for remembering.

3923295

Well, see...how should I put this...

"Ideas are easy. Writing is hard." I saw that saying somewhere regarding writers. And now that I am writing, I tend to agree.

As an outline, the lesson is a good overview. But I feel like, if I start acting on an overview, I might end up doing a lot of guesswork. Example: "So, is this how Stepping Backward works? I have an outcome in mind, and now I have to make the details on how the characters ended up with that outcome...hmmmm."

That kind of guesswork is what got me in a jam in the first place. I had a scene in mind. The climax. Now, how do I arrive there? I type away, and end up free-flowing. The story is now soooo long. Soooooooooooooooooooooo super duper long. Well, it was supposed to, but it is getting longer. I have an ending in mind, and have a general idea how to get there....uh...uh...I free-flow towards it, ending up with scenes and scenes that were totally unexpected. Oh dear. So now I have to sacrifice. Is that normal? You just type away and if its too long, you snip some off? Is that the writing process? My first published fic is like one giant 20,000+ word introduction to an entire series. Mind you, it was fun writing it.

You know, that sort of thing.

3921124
Interesting lecture. I usually go for #1, #2 and #4. Though I do it literally on the fly. Got a five minute break before my science lesson? Go onto GDocs and write a couple of sentences! Forgot your clothes at the PE lesson again? Open your IPad and write. That's how I do it most of the time. I got short attention spam and hard keeping my concentration sometimes, so writing when ever I have the time on the go works wonders for me, often better than sitting down and attempting on dedicating hole afternoons to writing.

3925271
Well, you're really supposed to use your own judgement calls when it comes to things like that. Having ideas is easy and writing is hard because when you're writing, you many times have to change ideas, expand them, contract them, or get rid of them and replace them altogether. What I mentioned above are just some concepts for how to do this. The rest will be up to you depending on what you want to do with your story.

Here's a quick example of working backwards from an endpoint. Say I want the outcome to be that Applebloom sacrifices herself for AJ. First, there needs to be a situation where that will happen. The barn crumbling and AB pushing AJ out of the way, or a monster lunges at AJ and AB jumps in front to intercept, etc. Pick one, then work backwards from there. If I pick the barn crumbling, then I'll look for something that will cause the barn to crumble, then I'll look for something that will cause that thing to cause the barn to crumble. I also have to have something that causes AJ and AB to both be at the barn at the same time, etc. Make sense?

Something that I don't recommend doing is "Free Flowing" towards your ending, because what tends to happen is the story either becomes extremely long as you search for a connection to the ending, or you have to pull some sort of deus ex machina in order to get the ending to come together, things that aren't exactly desirable if you're trying to keep your audience interested and keep the story natural. Sometimes it can work out if your story just happens to work out that way, but that's leaving it to chance (not recommended).

Learn what you want to present, what is good to present, and what isn't, what tropes and cliches should generally be avoided, and which ones are safe to use. Read a ton of others' fics, and learn what the audience likes. If you don't know what kind of story you want to present, then you won't know how to use the tools I spoke about here. Once you know how you want to present it, then the methods and how you should use them will become clear to you. Until then, keep reading, keep writing, and keep learning. Nothing can replace the value that comes from reading the work of others and finding out which ones are well written and which ones are not, which ones work out well, and which ones do not. That's what you should learn first before trying to be more specific with your story planning tools, because you're the one who has to decide how and when to use them.

I wish you the best of luck with your writing!

Sincerely,
PiercingSight

3925799
Thank you. This helps a lot. Too bad one cannot bookmark comments here in FimFic. So I'm taking this and putting it in my FimFic Blog.

I have been reading a lot of other fics. Surprised myself that I tend to go for the short one-shots, just like a lot of fic readers. That was quite a discovery, and the reason is fairly obvious. I've also been editing other people's work when I read them. So far, the authors of those fics were happy to receive editing, even if it is after publishing. Figured that, since I myself am hankering for editing, that I'd do my little contribution to other authors.

Thanks again. Really looking forward to the next lessons, Teacher. :)

3921124 Thank you for suggesting this to me through my comment. I appreciate the hard work you did here to teach us newbies a thing or two about writing!