Tag: genre

Writing Tip of the Week: Communicating Your Story

Posted on by Ian Dawson

Has something crazy ever happened to you, and you want to tell someone, but you need to figure out the best way to present the story to them?  This is what being a writer can feel like, more often than not.  We have a great story idea, all the elements, and an outline, but we’re not sure how to best communicate the story.

Let’s talk about it.

Structure

While most stories have a beginning, middle, and end, the way each story travels that path varies based on how the events are presented.  As you develop your story, decide if you want to communicate the storyline linearly, jumping back and forth in time or using flashbacks as a story device.  

POV

Whose POV are we getting the story from?  This character will be the conduit through which the reader is given information about the events in the story.  Are we getting one character’s POV or several POVs?  How does each character’s POV give the reader new insight into the story?  

Medium

Decide the best way to convey the story and its elements.  Does the story have enough material to be novel, or is it a novella or short story?  Could it be a screenplay or a play?  Each of these requires a different type of communicative style that uniquely delivers information to the reader.

Genre

How have others handled stories similar to yours?  What genre would it fit into?  How have those authors effectively communicated their stories to readers?  How can you apply that information to your story to communicate it better?

Put It Out There

If you’ve written out an outline or a draft, give it to someone to read.  Let them ask questions.  Find ways to communicate the story that keeps them wanting more.  Are there points where they lost interest or were confused?  Ask them why?  Then you can work on fine-tuning those areas to make them stronger and more effective.

Learn From Others

We’ve all seen at least one movie or read a novel where the idea is there, but how it’s communicated and presented fails to capture our interest.  Why did this happen?  By learning from others, we can strengthen our work by avoiding mistakes.

Final Thoughts

We often talk about the basics of writing: who, what, where, when, and why.  But the final element, how, is just as important when you set out to communicate your story effectively.  Deciding the best way to present the narrative can help strengthen your story and give it a greater impact.

Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!

Writing Tip #3: Genre Experimentation

Posted on by Ian Dawson

When I was a student at UC Davis, I wrote a very wacky, very goofy play called The Amazing Inspector Pleaseleeve.  We had auditions in September and the show didn’t open until February, which meant we had about five months of rehearsal.  With a joke-heavy show like this and with lots of rehearsal time at our disposal, the cast and I would pitch new jokes, try new comedy bits, and re-write sections of the script all in the interest of making the show funnier.

But at some point over the course of that five months, I got kinda burned out on jokes, puns, one-liners, and sexual innuendos.  I needed a break from comedy writing in some capacity for my own creative health.

So, while we were working on the show, I started to write a drama-based play, something I had never done before, but felt was a needed antidote to the other project I was currently working on.  And I enjoyed working on it.  It wasn’t about punchlines or zingers, it was about real people and real emotions. 

When we write, we often pigeonhole ourselves into a specific genre.  “I’m a comedy writer;” “I’m a sci-fi writer;” “I’m really good at writing fantasy stories.”  This is what we do because once we find a genre that we are skilled in and can write with ease, why would you deviate from that?  After all, the ideas and stories flow out of you, so why change?

Sometimes, even if just for one story, consider writing in a different genre.  You can still utilize your skills as a storyteller over there, but the challenge may give you a new perspective on your own writing that will only enhance it going forward.

For me, writing a drama was a refreshing change of pace.  I had always been a comedy writer, but a change in genre helped me discover new ways of telling a story.  I couldn’t rely on a punchline to get me out of a scene, I had to find another way for the characters to communicate and grow.  It was an effective exercise that showed me that I could do more as a writer than I had allowed myself to do in the past.

Don’t let yourself typecast yourself as a writer of just one genre.  Experiment.  Consider this: think of a basic premise for a short story.  Now, write that premise as a Western tale, a fantasy story, a horror story, a mystery, or a comedy.  Allow yourself to try new genres and you may be surprised with the results.