A. Does your piece engage the reader by establishing a context creating a point of view, and otherwise developing reader interest? Did you use one or more of the following strategies to make the reader want to read your story?
1. Dialogue –Even if the piece is the internal monologue by a single character, stories where the characters communicate directly with the reader in their own words are more interesting.
2. Snapshot –Creating a quick picture of the situation as if taking photograph of a scene draws the reader into the writer’s vision.
3. Setting –A clear image of the scene in which the story takes place helps the reader create a mental picture of what the writer is trying to communicate. Setting can enrich the picture of a character or create a world so entrancing that the reader wants to immerse themselves in it.
4. Actions –Is the piece all talk or is there movement? Even in character sketches the physical movement and actions of the character pull the reader in. Action scenes capture the reader and heighten the tension, pulling them through the story.
5. Flashback –A story set in the past is not a flashback. A flashback begins in the present and then moves into the past, before slipping back into the present. A word of caution: Too much movement between time periods can be confusing to a reader who may have trouble telling when the setting changes.
6. Repeated line –The use of a line or the beginning of a line in a paragraph helps create a continuity and a rhythm that is as soothing to the adult reader as it is to the child reading a picture book.
7. Importance of event –This is the indispensable element. The connection between the reader and the events being described must be developed early on. If your reader cannot grasp the importance of the event you are portraying, they will quickly lose interest and move on.
B. Establishes a situation, plot, point of view, setting and conflict. This is a quick check to make sure there is a point to your story.
1. Establishes a situation. Something is happening, something is about to happen, something has happened. There must be a something.
2. Establishes a plot. Similar to a situation, but the plot requires a conflict that exists in one of many accepted forms: Man against Man, Man against Nature, Man against Machine, or Man against himself.
3. Establishes a point of view (POV). Who is telling your story? Who is seeing it unfold? Are we seeing the events through the eyes of a single character or a pair of characters in an alternating POV? Are we seeing it through the eyes of a third person, an omniscient other being who knows all and reveals all? The decision you must make here is how much do you want revealed and at what point. Seeing the story through the third person POV of a character means we know what he or she knows when they know it.
C. Creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context. This makes sure that your story is well organized and easy to follow. Not all organization styles work for all types of stories.
1. Chronological Order. The most common organization of narratives, this tells the story in the order in which events happened.
2. Flashback. Ground your story in now, take your reader back to an earlier point, and then return them to the now.
3. Then vs. Now. Draws comparisons between two time periods in the lives of your characters.
4. Problem/Solution. The focus of this organization is to show the problem or conflict faced by your character and how it is over come.
D. Includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character. Your character development and plot can be enhanced and communicated through the use of sensory details and concrete or vivid language.
1. Selectively chosen facts, sights, sounds, smells and experiences. Focusing on the sensory experiences of the characters or on the sensory details of a setting, presents a clearer picture to your reader.
2. Descriptive language. When a character ambles down the lane it is a very different picture than the character who strides or stalks. This tells the reader a lot about the story you are writing and the people (or other beings) you are writing about.
3. Figurative language. Using a variety of symbolic or figurative language forms keeps the pacing of the piece and can prevent the descriptive scenes from becoming rote and clichéd. Similes, metaphors, alliteration and personification among others add interest and style while enhancing the descriptive nature of the work.
E. Excludes extraneous and inappropriate information. Selectively chosen information an details advance plot. Dialogue and description for the sake of verbiage weighs down a story. Dialogue and scenes that do not move the plot forward can lead to a reader’s loss of interest.
F. Develops Complex Characters. A story is only as good as the connection your reader makes with your characters; they don’t have to like them, but they do have to connect with them. There are several ways to develop your characters:
1. Physical Description. Louisa May Alcott noted that readers like to know how people look in her book Little Women. To that end, she spends several pages describing the characters that girls around the world have loved for many years. A good physical description doesn’t have to be overly detailed, but needs to capture the essence of the character, focusing on those traits which make them unique.
2. Revealing behavior/actions. “Show, don’t tell” is a fundamental axiom of character development. If your character is generous, don’t tell the reader he is generous, show the reader occasions where your character displays this trait. If they are selfish and nasty, let the reader see them at their wickedest.
3. Characteristic dialogue. Also in the vein of “show, don’t tell” is letting your character’s personality speak for itself from with in him or her. A character who is afraid of forming close bonds with others might toss out in conversation that he or she thinks people can’t be trusted. They might, while speaking to another character say something like, “The best thing you can do is depend on yourself, ‘cause no one’s gonna take care of you in this world.”
4. Monologue. One of the best examples of this is The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. The narrator begins the story with the simple words, “I never meant to kill the old man.” The monologue that follows paints a clear picture of the character and his descent into madness.
5. Reactions of others. Showing the conversations of others about the character or showing how they respond to him or her also can create a clear picture of the individual you are portraying. Characters maintaining a respectful tone when speaking to or about another character tells the reader that this person is important and powerful. If the young heroine cringes at the sight of the villain, we know he is a dastardly fellow who must be viewed with caution.
G. Provides a sense of closure. All narratives must have three parts; a beginning, a middle and an end.
1. Solution to the problem. The conflict is resolved happily or unhappily. This can also include the ending where there exists no solution.
2. Ending circles back. The story comes full circle to the beginning in some way. Stories that begin and end in a certain place or time use this strategy. Irene Hunt’s Across Five Aprils does this. She begins with the planting season and comes full circle five years later. Stories told in flashback must do this.
3. Occurrence of big change. Some great transformation or transition occurs in the characters or setting, bringing an end to the conflict.
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