11 quick ideas to tell better stories
Without any hard rules
I used to think of story in terms of rules. Now I think of it as a collection of small skills, principles, and practices.
11 quick ideas to help you become a better storyteller:
1. If a story feels boring, the writing quality is not the problem. It needs more conflict.
2. Specific almost always wins. I read a great idea from Alice Lemee recently. She says, “Use verbs that elicit a particular physical movement.
Fight → Clawed
Drank → Sipped
Ate → Scarfed
Take → Scooped”
One has dozens of possible meanings, the other paints a particular image.
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3. Write the end first. That way you know what you need to achieve, what you need to mention, and what matters throughout your story. The end drives the beginning and middle, not the other way around.
4. Treat your hook as a Promise. A hook is not only about capturing attention. It’s about capturing attention while setting accurate expectations around tone and plot. Ask yourself, “What promise am I making my audience?”
Bonus: Watch Brandon Sanderson’s Youtube video on Promise, Progress, Payoff.
5. Read a Swim in a Pond in the Rain. George Saunders close reads 7 Russian short stories and, in the process, teaches you more about how stories actually work than any craft book I know. It’s less “here are the rules” and more “here’s how a great storyteller thinks and executes.” That’s more rare and more useful.
6. Causation > chronology. “This happened, then this happened” is a timeline. “This happened, therefore this happened” is a story. Every scene should cause the next. If you can rearrange your scenes without consequence, you don’t have a story yet.
Bonus: Watch this 2 min video from the creators of South Park on the idea of “But, Therefore.”
7. Make your characters want something. If you want to create characters people care about - not necessarily like, but actually care what happens to them - they need to want something. Anything. Can be a hamburger, self-actualization. People like people who are striving for something.
8. Write the ugly first draft. The story in your head is perfect. The story on the page will be worse. That’s the deal. Accept it early.
9. Try copywork. Take your favorite author (or other storyteller). Find their best work. Copy it, word for word. Do it by hand.
Something funny happens. Your brain starts to pattern match.
Oh, that’s how to write a great hook. There, they built tension. Ah, that’s an open loop.
Over time, you pick and choose bits of style from each writer to create your unique blend. Your hand gets used to what great story feels like.
Please excuse my messy handwriting.
10. Keep a story-log. Steal this idea from Matthew Dicks’ excellent book Storyworthy. Every night, write down one moment from your day that might be a story. Not a whole story, just a moment. Most won’t become anything. But after a few months, you’ll have a catalog of raw material, and you’ll start noticing moments as they happen.
Noticing is the skill.
11. Leave people wanting more, not wanting less. If you’re debating if something can be deleted, it can.
I’m curious which is your favorite. I’ll do a full newsletter dedicated to the most helpful ones.
In the meantime, here are three more ways I can help:
A quick primer on the 4 tenets of story structure.
A free, 5-day email course breaking down everything you need to generate endless content ideas, write online with ease, & attract an audience of loyal readers.
My upcoming novel, The Pendulum Swings. Think of it as science-fantasy, Mistborn meets Red Rising. Technology falls, magic rises, an Age breaks. A story about deeply flawed people making questionable choices when the lights go out and the old powers wake up.
Cheers,
Nathan
This is gold, Nathan, Thank you!
Super helpful - there is so much here that I can apply to my writing habits to make it better
I loved all of them
Picking my words e.g sipped v drank and have you character want something are very helpful reminders on getting specific on the page - the nuance is in my head - I need to slow it down and capture those moments in my writing