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Many of us balk at the idea of storytelling being something of a clinically constructed device, but everybody has their own methods; ways of writing that work best for them. Long before I studied media I was a ball of chaotic creative energy with little conscious method beyond the dialogue and the description.
I can look back and both cringe and revel in my disorganised train of thought, laughing at how bad some of my work was, while wishing I still had the same creative energy. I was like a child in a fairground, running unchecked without thought of consequence. That's an important part of a writer's formation, but we must move on and learn how to harness the best and discard of what holds us back.
Now with further education having become a part of my creative instinct, I have more at my disposal when it comes to keeping my audience engaged. But it's not like I employ a million tricks every time I want to bash out a short story.
I am formulaic in my own ways – personally I believe we need to be - and I don't clinically construct everything as I may have formerly suggested that I do, but I have more understanding of different formulas at my disposal which help me to be constructive so that I can push my own boundaries.
The following may help you to find new ways to improve your own craft!
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THE ELEMENTS OF STORYTELLING:
DIALOGUE is what's spoken by and between characters, though you might pass a First Person narrative off as dialogue at the least. But through dialogue we gain direct insight into a character's psychology and I'll be damned if I was ever entertained without the use of the spoken word when it wasn't a piece of music!
ACTION is the occurrence of events and the literal actions of characters. They do more than get us from beginning to end. They can set events in motion and bring them to a close. If you have a story that ends without some action or other, the way you close the deal on your plot may be construed as anticlimactic.
DESCRIPTION is very important in storytelling for the sake of immersion and experience. We have five basic senses and then some. And in fiction, extra senses – be they the result of science-fiction or the paranormal – are still relative to what the reader is happy to believe in, even just for the duration of a well described story. Ever wondered how a psychic employed their powers and what that felt like?
EXPOSITION is the overall craft of telling the story; conveying it in the practice of writing; processing information to the audience and the style in which you do it. This opens us up to the modes of narrative, of how we approach the story and from what direction etc.
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NARRATIVE MODES:
These are forms of storytelling. There are many and they can be combined to help maximise the impact of what happens in your story and what drives the plot.
LINEAR is the mode of storytelling that travels simply from beginning to end. This is not necessarily to say that the story is chronological. It could begin in 1990 and end in the present day and still be linear because it moves forward.
It could follow simply one character or a group of characters in the same boat headed in the same direction and with the same goal. Some of the most effective stories have been told this way, such as Jaws. Those guys were literally in the same boat and always on the same page when big ol' Bruce was on the prowl.
NON-LINEAR every story has a beginning, a middle and an end, and not particularly in that order. Some stories make it clear that they take place between the past and the present, or sometimes, like in the case of James Cameron's Terminator movies, the present and the future. Others cleverly shuffle events of the present day around for more effective storytelling, such as Pulp Fiction.
PARALLEL is not necessarily the best name for this mode of narrative as it covers multiple narratives that are either destined to head in the same direction, never meeting in the middle, or to come into conflict at some point, or to head off on completely different paths.
Parallel narratives may tell of people destined to become star-crossed or to become enemies, or maybe to affect each other's stories indirectly. Take your pick of the stories out there that tell of several heroes taking their own journey to the same outcome for instance; Lord of the Rings, The Stand, or Game of Thrones...
There was a great Korean film called Brotherhood of War where two brothers grow apart from each other, taking different paths through the Korean War, and who eventually end up on either side of the conflict, fighting each others' sides. That's another perfect example.
CHRONOLOGICAL is simply to state that a mode of storytelling is linear in sense of time without flashbacks to days long gone by. We all love a progressive story that keeps moving forward.
NON-CHRONOLOGICAL stories like Stephen King's IT or Dreamcatcher tend to be caught between two eras or more indefinitely. It's important to note, however, that they had a tendency to zigzag back and forth between past and present day. Sleepers also used this narrative mode in the recalling of crimes before the court. Crime dramas and thrillers especially love to use this narrative.
FIRST PERSON puts the writer in the shoes of the protagonist – or if you're wicked, maybe you'll play the antagonist – and speaks directly from the horse's mouth. It's a popular form of narrative as it remains purely diegetic whilst allowing the writer a mainline to the mind of the lead character, which in turn makes it easier for the audience to know who they're rooting for.
E.g.
"I looked in through the bakery window. There sat the saddest looking stale old loaf. He'd seen better days. But judging by my reflection? Jesus Christ, was I losing an ugly face contest with a lump of old bread? I suddenly wanted to put my head back in the oven."
The First Person Perspective is a great narrative to run with when you want to be more direct and yet introspective of a character's psychology.
SECOND PERSON is when the writer speaks directly to the reader and makes it your very own experience. They refer to the character as 'You'. This puts the writer in the position of narrator (of sorts) and HIS story is YOU. The interactive role-playing books from my childhood utilised this well.
"You're walking down the shadowy corridor when a sudden explosion shakes the building violently. You dive instinctively to the ground, covering your ears when in through the window leaps another ISIS Suicide Chimpanzee. You wonder how many virgin bananas they told him would be waiting in primate heaven. As if to answer your question, he grins fiercely and charges you with a shrill whooping scream..."
As I mentioned with those RPG books, the Second Person Perspective is like a game. And if you look to FPS (First Person Shooter) video games, where all the characters tend to do the talking and interacting, the Second Person Narrative is like the paperback version of FPS games. Any in-depth personality will belong to support characters around you, as the writer may be able to drop you into the shoes of a character, but they can't rewrite YOU.
THIRD PERSON is the most obvious use of he/she and they in relation to lead characters.
"Charlie the Chimp crashed violently through the window in an explosion of splintering glass, landing expertly on his feet and bent into a cautious crouch. Surveying the apartment corridor, there lay one of the humans, hunched over with both hands protecting his head, face down. He looked up, his eyes widening with terror. This was it. Lost in the death grip of his bloodlust, Charlie rigged his little chimp body to blow, fiercely bared his teeth, and launched himself at the human, screaming "ALLAH DA BANANAS!!!"
What I believe to be the most favoured narrative perspective, the Third Person POV is the most strategic and allows you to leap naturally from one character's mind to the next.
This allows us a broader spectrum of story with plenty verses and chapters belonging to other important characters and offers them a more rounded personality. It also allows us to invest more emotionally in them. This is where the Parallel Narrative comes into play.
You have the whole world in your hands!
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CROSSING NARRATIVES:
It is very possible and acceptable, when you are confident enough to experiment like a true artist, to cross narratives, just as we cross genres. Like I say, the outcome is just a matter of how many you do cross. Sometimes we take too much on board and it can fail to thrill. Other times a story will essentially write itself and you've ended up with a very complex piece that actually works.
A basic story would be a Linear Chronological Third Person tale, looking into the life of a character whose story progresses from beginning, to middle, to end. Just because it's basic, it doesn't mean it won't be a good story.
On the other hand, a Non-Linear Non-Chronological Parallel Narrative wouldn't necessarily be more difficult so long as you plan first. But audiences aren't so different from their favoured writers. We all go from Novice to Expert in many respects. How many people do you know who choose not to read because they find it too time consuming and/or taxing on the mind?
Don't let that put you off, though. You'll get there if you aren't halfway there already. Anyone can do it badly. But the more you try, the better you'll become in your approach and application.
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THE METHOD OF EXPOSITION:
As previously mentioned exposition is about how you write your story and convey it to the audience. Don't forget that there's annotation and then there's connotation. The diegetic elements of a story are what remain firmly in the fictional world you create. These are your characters and all that they encounter. The more you reflect on your real life, even just describing your way around a cheeseburger and fries gets a response.
In the movie industry they have a little French term. It's called Mise en Scene. Literally all this means is "In The Scene." Watch a movie and ask yourself what makes a scene. How the lighting brings out the emotions on somebody's face, the colour of the paint on the walls, the type of furniture, the books on the shelf, the food in the fridge – ALL OF IT – impacts the scene and makes it what it is.
We Anderson's movies are all colour coded and therefore carry a sense of place and time and attitude!
Before going into the story, having a clear sense of character helps to build the mood and the atmosphere. Is your home vibrant, mildly pleasant, reflective of the seasons, reflective of your hobbies, your compulsiveness or your disdain? Even frustration can come through in colours and textures and clothing and smells.
PREMISE can be accomplished in a number of ways. All you have to do is to look back to the elements of storytelling and the narrative that you chose. Do you explain everything at once or do you release it slowly? We need a hook to reel us in, though, so the first few paragraphs are essential.
Think of how you find yourself with a dilemma in reality and how you respond do it. Does the premise kick off with an action or a conversation, a physical conflict, a psychological one or a desire to seek something that you need or want?
ESTABLISHMENT goes for character, premise and fictional world. We must have some sense of character to begin with and your character must have a sense of living. In establishing your first scenes, think of these and begin as you mean to go on.
