How does one write story? Most authors have their own recipe. As a rule, you need a problem along with the solution. Every Story consists of showing what is normal. Then and event happens. The rest of the story is the journey back to normal or to a new normal. For example, the main character gets lost and must find their way home. A murder occurs that then must be solved. There is an alien invasion that must be stopped. In the classic dystopia story, the main character discovers that what is normal is a lie and must escape to a better place.
There needs to be obstacles in the main characters path to a happy ending. If there are no challenges, it will be much of a story. There is no suspense if the main character cannot fail. As I am not a fan of the plot line -- everybody is miserable then they die -- their should only be a sad ending if there's a powerful meaning behind it.
The author needs to imagine a setting. Is it the neighborhood you live in, or historical or a fantastical setting? If the setting is very interesting, the reader can get a lot of enjoyment out of exploring this interesting world as the plot unfolds.
A popular Hollywood plot construction calls for the problem and solution to be evident to the audience near the beginning. Say, no later than one third of the way into the story. Near the end, a new unexpected and more important problem surprises the reader. A new solution is needed. With little time left, this new critically important problem creates the suspense.
A story of any size needs to grab the readers attention right away. There needs to be a hook in the first two paragraphs. There needs to be action in the first two or three chapters. Modern audiences don't want a long drawn-out description of the setting and characters before the event happens that propels the story. If your story demands a long set up time, a prologue can give the reader a taste of what the book will eventually deliver.
If you found this interesting, you might like my book, The Independent Author's Handbook, 2nd edition. It is available on Amazon.com (ebook), Amazon.com (paperback) and Smashwords.
