Knowing how to start a story in first person will help you make readers curious to know more about your characters. Try these 8 tips.

A plot is not a story, nor does every story have a strong plot. Good writers know the importance of both plotand story, especially before they dare to write a story with a “weak” or “thin” plot. Any plot can feature a love story; that illustrates the difference. Plots are events, stories reveal how characters react to those events.

Because the writers, editors, publishers, and producers with whom we work target mass market audiences, we make no apologies for what might seem a formulaic approach to story structure. Producers and publishers know that audiences have expectations writers need to meet. If you want to write literary fiction or experimental cinema, this guide is not for you. Also, aftere you have sold a work that follows the rules, it is slightly more likely that you can bend or break the rules.

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Good fiction is comprised of many parts: plot, characters, setting, scenes, and dialogue. But we rarely talk about theme, even though it’s critical to good storytelling.

There’s no clear and easy way to define theme. It has been called the worldview, philosophy, message, moral, and lesson within a story. However, these labels, taken alone or together, don’t quite explain theme in fiction.

We can think of a theme as an underlying principle or concept. It’s usually universal in nature. Some common themes include redemption, sacrifice, betrayal, loyalty, greed, justice, oppression, revenge, and love.

Themes can be philosophical; they can ask questions or pit two ideas against each other: science vs. faith, good vs. evil, why are we here and what happens when we die?

Themes in Storytelling

You need look no further than some of your favorite stories to explore and identify themes. Keep in mind that most stories have multiple themes. For example, in Harry Potter, I would say the most significant themes are good vs. evil and the power of love. However, there are also themes of friendship, sacrifice, and redemption. One theme might stretch across an entire series while other themes appear at the novel or chapter level.

And themes are not unique to fictional literature. Any form of storytelling can (and should) contain thematic elements, including movies, television shows, songs, and poetry. Themes will also be present in nonfiction, and in some cases themes will drive a work of nonfiction, whether it is a memoir or documentary. For example, a documentary about the lives of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton will focus on the theme of justice in the context of a woman’s right to vote. Such a documentary won’t look closely at their personal lives but will focus on their founding of the women’s suffrage movement, keeping to the theme.

Today’s fiction writing exercises encourage you to explore themes by identifying them in some of your favorite stories.

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Stories have plots or storylines, by which the stories are told.

One of the ideas in storytelling is that there are a limited number of plots. Here are some of them (or maybe all -- who knows?), with commentaries on many elements:

Different plots

The story structure

Here are expositions of the classic heroic storyline, which many similarities, plus more general structures.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary's definition, theme is "the subject of a piece of writing."

Now, that might be factually correct (who am I to argue with the dictionary people?), but I still don't believe it is helpful to anyone just starting out in novel writing who is trying to work out what theme actually is.

The "subject of a piece of writing" suggests "subject matter" - and, for me, a novel's subject matter is something concrete and definite. So the subject matter of a horror novel, for example, might be vampires and spooky castles.

A literary theme, on the other hand, is not concrete at all. It can usually be summed up by a phrase like "grief" or "unrequited love" or "blind faith" - something intangible like that.

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In the beginning, I do not like:

Premature flashbacks. Suggestion: Don't tell me about the past until I am worried about the present

Action or dialogue in a vacuum Suggestion: In the opening paragraph unobtrusively tell me where we are, whether indoors or outdoors, the location of people and important objects, particularly doorways, windows, stairways, furniture which will be used, important props, etc., and most vital of all, how the scene is lit.

Characters I can't visualize. Suggestion: Immediately after each character's entrance, begin telling me his or her age, sex, social class, major mannerisms, race, physical type, etc., feeding me everything in little bits, not all at once. And make sure I know, at least in a general way, how the character is dressed.

Narration in the present tense. Suggestion: Though some modern writers use it, they pay for it in obtrusiveness. Stick to the simple past tense unless you have a very good reason not to.

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Writing is hard work. It’s your job to string together words in such a way that readers will effortlessly understand your meaning.

If you’re writing a novel or poem, of course, you can break the rules and indulge in strange twists of phrase. But if you want to write a crisp blog post, persuade someone to buy your product, or explain how to do something step-by-step, your writing must be crystal clear. In fact, clarity is your #1 job, no matter what you’re writing.

There’s no formula for writing clearly, but there are techniques you can use to improve your prose.  Below, I list seven tips for making your writing simple and direct.

1. Put the reader first.

Your purpose is to communicate, not to show off your writing prowess. Words are the medium you use to transport the meaning in your head to the head of another person. You must ask yourself, “Who will read this?” Picture a real person and write directly to him or her.

2. Organize your thoughts.

You don’t need a detailed outline for most writing. If you’re comfortable with the sort of outline you learned in school, use it. Generally, all you need is to jot down the important points you want to make, and arrange them in the order you want to make them.

3. Use short paragraphs.

Look at any newspaper and notice how short the paragraphs are. That’s done to make reading easier and faster, since our brains take in information better when it’s broken into little chunks. Short paragraphs also look easier and less intimidating.

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Always start your story planning with a well thought out premise.

The premise is the most important aspect in  planning your story. Without it, you lack direction. You could end up with a half-finished story and nowhere to go.

The following formula can help you create your premise:

[event] [protagonist] [goal] [action] [conflict] [change]

Throw in some action, personality, and emotion to make it sparkle.

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Nobody gives a fuck that you wrote something.

Every internet-savvy person writes enough text messages, emails, blog posts, or forum messages to fill out multiple books per year. Producing, in-and-of-itself, is not an accomplishment worthy of praise and monetary reward. The truth is nobody but your therapist gives a fuck that you wrote something. And in your therapist’s case, she’s getting paid to feign interest in your output.

Let’s dissect a few of the most common assumptions made by new writers.

Soul Destroying Assumption #1: “People need to read my book”

Most new writers have delusions about how successful they will become as published authors. “Sure, the odds of professional success to the level of sustaining a median lifestyle are terrible. But,” says the naive optimist, “my book is something that people needto read.”

Who the fuck cares? To make a living as an author, you have to forget what you think people need to read and instead focus on what people want to read. This basic rule of economics is precisely why Author is not my primary job title. I write what I want to read. When other people like it, I’m ecstatic. I feel like I’ve found a like-minded community. I’m connecting. All good things. But none of these things are commercially viable on the small scale. I’ve learned this hard lesson, and you should too.

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1. Temper cruelty with moral uprightness. Be cruel to the world, but kind to your characters. Be kind to your readers, but cruel to your characters. Be cruel to your readers, but have the world’s best interests at heart.

Take some responsibility for the horror of being a human being. You didn’t ask to be born, but you have asked for a fuckload of other things since then.

2. A safe guideline for rule-breaking is: For every four literary conventions you follow, break one. Too little rebellion is as boring as too much. Break this rule as well, but not just for the sake of breaking it.

Actually, don’t break this rule, just be subtle in how you follow it.

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