How to make your story interesting- Tips

G.K. Chesterton says ‘A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but, a bad novel tells us the truth about its author’. A writer may be able to write an article on any subject matter, running into several pages. But, if it fails to hold the interest of the reader in the first two hundred words, few will read any further.

Most authors try to follow a journalistic pattern of news writing, adhering to the formula of 5W’s and one ‘H’. However, an interesting piece of writing should have a strong theme and exclusive style of its own. It should clearly indicate what is to follow and should conceal the climax till the end of the story. It is essential to maintain direct link from one part to another to ensure continuity of thoughts and to focus on the chosen theme.

To sustain the interest of the reader, a writer, while writing on the subject matter he has chosen, should pay attention to the theme, style and language used in his work. He should give importance to the clarity, freshness and depth of the ideas expressed.

The language adapted should be simple and easily understandable. William Wordsworth has said that the language used must be purged of impurities such as slang, vulgarity, coarseness, archaism and so on.

All in all, a good piece of writing is that which has a clear objective of entertaining and educating the readers.

DO’s:
Always keep your eyes and ears open to new ideas and situations.

Keep a writing pad and pen, jot down points immediately as and when they occur.

Choose a strong theme, which is in fact the heart of the story.

Create a definite plot, which forms the skeleton of the story.

Stick to your own style of writing; do not imitate other writers’ style.

Introduce genuine characters, which are true ingredients of the story.

Throw in a dash of humor and little twists here and there, but maintain continuity of the story.

Create logical sequences; they should appeal to the readers.

Give more importance to the climax; it should be gripping and effective.

Read lots of books.

Practice different styles of writing and keep honing your skill.

DON’T’s:

Avoid controversial themes like religious, political ---etc.

Keep away from sex, porn and erotic language.

Do not create out of the world and artificial characters.

Do not preach.

Do not throw challenges.

Avoid expressing your strong opinions regarding any subject.

Accept criticism patiently.

Please do not revert to plagiarism.

Following some simple set of rules one can definitely produce interesting piece of literary work like short stories, humor articles, human interest stories and etc.

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Article by Jyothi Prabha.