Tomorrow I begin another term at the community college where I teach. This term it’s Memoir writing (the catalog says Creative Nonfiction) on Tuesdays and Novel on Thursdays. As always, I’ll be trying to enliven and excite a bunch of students. My biggest question is usually: What’s the story? This appears to be the most difficult and yet the simplest means to ensure a writer’s progress. As you venture down the writing road, you’ll hear things like, “Better be able to describe your story in 25 words or less.” While it panics some student writers, it’s also very rewarding to see how your story stacks up against the archetypes and standard plot lines. The surest way to go nowhere with a story is to pattern it too closely after real life. Start defining your story today.
Writing Tip for Today: Take your story and think about the stories you know. Does your story fit any of these classics? Is it a “Romeo and Juliet” tale? Or is it a “Three Little Pigs” saga? Most stories fall into around a dozen plots. Try to identify which type of story you are writing.