This is it, the most basic information you need to write a story of any kind, in any genre. I am referring to the very foundation of writing, the structure. If you don’t know this stuff, and you don’t understand it, your writing is going to suffer horribly.

I’ve tried to make this guide as simple as possible, as I want it to be accessible to writers of all ages. However there are numerous books on the subject which go into much more detail. I recommend searching for them at your local library if you would like further information.

 

1. The sentence.

A sentence is the smallest of the building blocks in a story or novel. Some people might dismiss them individually, but in good writing every sentence should impart some new information to the reader.

Essentially a sentence can be two words, as long as those words are a noun and a verb: ‘Mountains dance.’ ‘Skies echo.’ ‘Monkeys sing.’ ‘Bob dies.’ ‘She jests.’ All of these are complete sentences. I wouldn’t say they are good, or even very logical, but they are complete sentences.

‘Rolling, bouncing, falling; tumbling over and over.’ This example, however, is not a complete sentence. There is no noun. Keep looking, you won’t find it. Stick the words: ‘He fell’ in the front and you have your sentence. However ‘He fell’ can be a sentence of its own. The rest is just window dressing.

You can use sentence fragments in writing. They can be used to affect the atmosphere of the scene and if used in a consistent manner can define your ‘style’. However you have to know the rules to break them. What atmosphere are you adding? Why do sentence fragments do that best and not, you know, complete sentences?

 

2. The paragraph.

The paragraph is a group of sentences places together because they have a common idea. Paragraphs begin on a new line. In primary school I was taught a paragraph could be as few as two sentences, and as many as you liked. However keep in mind the layout of paragraphs makes reading easier for your reader.

Huge unending blocks of text give most people a headache (or a minor heart attack), so depending on the style and genre, page long paragraphs should be avoided. This tutorial is carefully broken up into reasonably short paragraphs to make it easy to read on a computer screen. Please keep your readers in mind when spacing paragraphs.

Like with sentences, these rules can be broken. A single sentence on a new line can add emphasis and impact to an idea. However this is not a device to be overused as it is akin to a teenage girl ending every sentence with ten exclamation points.

 

3. Scenes.

A scene in a story is much like a scene in a movie. It starts in one place and in one time and ends when you move to a different place or time. Scenes can move from once place to another with the characters; however a jump to a new place or time is a new scene.

However it’s more important where a scene goes than where it starts or ends. Scenes are like mini stories in themselves. They need a start, middle and an end. Or, if you prefer; an introduction, a climax and a conclusion.

Something has to happen in your scenes! I’m not making this up. Every scene in your story or novel needs to not only have events, but progress the plot. This is important; make a note of it somewhere.

 

4. Chapters.

Short stories probably don’t have chapters, so short story writers can skip this bit. In a non fiction book, chapters are used to introduce a new topic; however in fiction they play a slightly different role.

Chapters break the story up in equal parts to make it easier to read. If you are writing for several characters the change in chapter can be a good place to change the perspective. It is also a good idea to keep chapters length reasonably consistent.

A lot of people ask me ‘how long is a chapter?’ A chapter can be however long you want, but realistically the genre and target audience should play a big role in your decision making. Young Adult books will have shorter chapters, probably between two thousand and five thousand words. I personally think five thousand is a very comfortable length for other genres as well. However if you want to write chapters that are ten thousand words, go right ahead.

Keep in mind; people usually stop reading at the end of chapters. You don’t want to make a chapter so long people can’t stop reading at a comfortable place or they may put down the book and not pick it up again.

It is also worth noting, it’s a good idea to finish a chapter in a place that compels the reader to pick up the book again. I rarely recommend dramatic cliff hanger endings, however avoid letting chapters end on emotionally vacant cords.

 

So there you have it: The structure of the novel. Now you have no excuse for sentence fragments, excessively long or short paragraphs, scenes that don’t go anywhere and chapters of inappropriate length.

I wish you many years of happy writing.

 

Copyright. Talitha Kalago. 2006.