Here are a few helpful hints on storytelling that I've learned over the years.
What is a story? I suspect that you could ask a half-dozen writers and come away with a half-dozen different answers. We each have our own thoughts on how to define the elusive concept of story. Stories are about people, of course, but more to the point, stories are about people with problems, people who are searching for solutions to their problems, and in romance-writing, stories are all about people who find love, usually when it's least expected.
Good stories have strong characters, but that's only a starting point. Good stories also need structure, and satisfying stories tend to follow a basic pattern:
Something happens to cause a problem for someone. As a result, they set a goal and choose a course of action to pursue.
They encounter obstacles, but they persevere because the stakes are high. They can't afford to give up.
They reach a point where things look bleak, indeed, but then, they learn an important lesson.
The goal is now close at hand, but before they can claim the prize, a decision must be made. It's a difficult decision, and the character must make the right choice.
In romance, of course, the character does make the right choice, and this leads to the happily ever after ending readers are looking for.
The character's deepest needs are satisfied, problems from the past are resolved, and the reader smiles, knowing that things turned out just the way they should.
I think one of the greatest problems many new writers have in story-telling comes from the instructions we were all given back in grade school. We were taught that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Well, it's true, so what's wrong with that?
What's wrong is that it makes us think we should divide up our stories into three neat little pieces.
Good stories, however, actually take the reader through four different stages, and each stage serves an important purpose in the storytelling art. I think of these stages this way:
The Problem
The Decision
The Reward
The Set-Up
The set-up phase does just what it suggests. It introduces the characters, shows the setting, and establishes the mood for the story to follow. I think of it much like setting chess pieces on the board, getting all the players lined up, and figuring out how they're going to move. Now, here's a little tip I've learned about the set-up. IF SOMETHING DOESN'T APPEAR IN THE SET-UP PHASE OF THE STORY, YOU CAN'T USE IT TO BRING THE STORY TO A CLOSE. In other words, the seeds of the ending are planted in the beginning, and if you don't include that handsome hero at the start of your story, you can't have your heroine riding off into the sunset with him at the end and expect your readers to be satisfied -- at least, not unless there are additional circumstances that tie him directly to the story's opening. It's during the set-up phase, too, that the reader first becomes aware of what the main character wants to do. That, in turn, leads to the second phase.
The Problem
We all have problems. Sometimes things just happen to us. Other times, we're the source of our own problems. The same is true for the characters in our stories. Now, here's what I've learned about this phase: THE PROBLEM YOUR CHARACTER FACES MUST BE A PROBLEM SHE/HE HAS CREATED. Bad things might happen to your character, but those external problems won't drive your story where it needs to go. What gives a story its motive force is the internal conflict that comes from flawed, imperfect characters. In this phase of the story, we show what the problem is, and we can develop it in different ways. Maybe it's important to show how the problem began; maybe we just need to show how it unfolds. Most likely, we'll want to do a little of both. Keep in mind, the character is causing the problem. Obviously it can't be resolved until the character learns to change. That brings us to the third phase.
The Decision
In every story, there comes a low point. It's sometimes called a black moment, a bleak moment, or the point of no return. It's the point at which your character is ready to give up. The problem looms larger than ever, time has run out, and there seems to be no way out. But then, from somewhere within, a little spark of hope gleams. Your character seizes it, and it bursts into a brilliant grow of truth. This is the celebrated epiphany of storytelling, that Gestalt-like "Aha!" that puts all the pieces into place. Armed with this new awareness, your character then faces the moment of truth. The big decision. Here's my tip about this phase of the story: THE DECISION YOUR CHARACTER MAKES IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF YOUR STORY. Everything hinges on this moment of time. This is the whole purpose of your story, the moment your story has been building up to, because this is the moment at which your character makes the right decision and thereby proves that she/he deserves happiness. Like it or not, romance stories are morality plays. Good characters are rewarded; evil ones are punished. Your character must make the right decision, because it's that decision that brings about the happy ending your readers are hoping for. Don't disappointment them. Whisk them away to the fourth and final phase of your story, and give both your characters and your readers what they need.
The Conclusion
Romance stories have happy endings, of course, but only because the characters learn lessons and make crucial decisions. Now, they deserve good things, and at this point in the story, miraculous things can happen. Problems are resolved, love is realized, and a glorious future awaits. A good conclusion is short, sweet, and to the point, but not so short that it feels abrupt or leaves loose ends dangling. Be sure to wrap things up and put a pretty bow on the box. (More about this in a moment.) Here's a tip about ending your stories: YOUR CHARACTER MAY NOT ALWAYS GET WHAT SHE/HE WANTS BUT WILL ALWAYS RECEIVE WHAT SHE/HE NEEDS. Remember, your character has learned a lot over the course of the story. Because of the new knowledge gained, the old goals may now be inappropriate. Give your character the reward that will provide true, lasting happiness, and give your reader the assurance that the character will live "happily ever after".
Now ... what about that idea of wrapping up the story and putting a pretty bow on it? The first part is easy. Wrapping up a story means just that. We end the story with all the loose ends tied up, the problems resolved, and everything explained -- at least insofar as the storyline requires. It's fine to show that the ending of your story is actually the beginning of a happy future for your characters, and sometimes all that's needed is a promise, or even a suggestion that the couple will live happily ever after.
To put a pretty bow on your story, look for a way to bring your characters and your readers back to the beginning. Go back to your set-up. Where did the story begin? What was said? What specific actions occurred? Now, find something from the set-up that you can repeat at the end.
Example: In my story, "Grandma's Garden", the opening lines of the story show Ellie strolling through her grandmother's garden. The ending tells of her marriage to Josh -- set again in her grandmother's garden.
This is referred to as "coming home", or "coming full circle", and the technique can provide an ending that is fully satisfying to a reader. It just "feels right" somehow. It feels right, because we're showing a "before" and "after" image. Things have changed over the course of the story, and by looking back to the starting point, the reader can recognize and feel good about the changes.
