What makes a good story?

[Hentai-chan]

People who have come across some of my posts are well-aware that I am putting together a story (more like stories) of my very own.  And I confirmed this when I expressly stated it in my "Are Vampires Overused?" post. Now I want to ask the community: What makes a good story?

 

In the past three months or so, I have been hearing comments about games that I like (that have good or at least acceptable story, in my opinion) that other people say it's not. Reading such comments led me to this very question: What makes a good story? I know full-well that it is a subjective issue. It's about one's own perspective. Where one might say "It is good", someone else might up and say "It's not!" Then what is it that people look for in a story? Drama, blood-pumping action, psychological instability... writing, complexity of the message, character depth... betrayal, death, god... what is that people look for?

[Cynical Misanthrope]

As you say, it's very subjective and it's about one's own perspective.

 

But the best stories (in my opinion), are those who grabs you and drags you in and makes you feel connected. Those with a deep emotional touch is sure the best ones.

A story that makes you care about fictional characters, and forces you to makes choices and also to deal with the the consequences, goes a very long way, in my book.

[Regallag the Perv]

I've never been good at expressing why I like what I like, so I'm just going to list what I like in a story.

ACTION:  The clash of blades, the thunder of guns, or the smack of fist against flesh.  Action is a surefire way to catch my interest.

CHARACTERS:  The characters have to be believable and act in ways that make sense.  Otherwise I won't be able to suspend disbelief.

DANGER:  One of the things I like so much about A Song of Ice and Fire is that no one is safe; anyone can die at any time.  If all the good guys are always saved somehow, and you know they will be... It just makes feel like, "Who care, they'll be fine."

MORAL AMBIGUITY:  I like stories where there's no clear good guy(s) and bad guy(s), this sort of ties in with believable characters (no one is all good or all bad).  Yes, the protagonist has to be sympathetic, but he or she doesn't have to be good.  Yes, the antagonist has to be opposed the one you're rooting for, but he or she might have a very good reason for that.

 

One other thing, you mentioned depth and complexity of message.  Those are fine, but be careful.  You want to make people think, but if you get too deep and too complex you'll just leave everyone wondering what the hell you going on about.

 

Good luck, and I hope that helps.

[jxm]

Well, its a good story if you like and ejoy reading it, I'd say. For books, A Game of Thrones is widly praised, but there are people that think its garbage-writung (not me). Or Lord of the Rings: a masterpiece, yet I have to admit while the actual "plot" I like its not very engaginly written.

 

More examples to confuse you? Movies: Matrix 2 and 3 ... I heard some people think these movies are great and thoughtprovoking in storytelling/plot, I think they are a total waste of a great concept. Equally with the Nolan-Batmans: Totally convoluted and misguided storytelling and weak characters, yet universally praised it seems.

 

Or take games. A lot of people criticize Dragon Age Origins due to its rather oldfashioned plot etc, I love this! At the same time, I have nothing else than HATRED for the story they attempted to tell in the Mass Failed Trilogy. But some misguied (*cough*) people really belief the story , plot, character-development is good (don't ask me why).  Though there are some universal rules of writing to be followed, good or bad story are to a large part subjective opinions..

 

So as I see it you simply CANNOT just sit down and decide to write a "good" story, following just a simple checklist.Checklist for a story/basic writing, sure, but to make it "good"? No. However, what I prefer in a story to enjoy is not so much the actual plot. It can totally be the old "Stable boy flees evildoers, finds out he is the prince, becomes a knight, kills the evil sorcerer and marries the princess in the end"-plot. Far more important for me is that I actually like the chars involved.

 

If the main- and sidechars leave me totally cold, if I do not care whether they die or live on, or if they get a happy end, then the story has failed. Yet it also fails to me if the chars are awesome, but the way the story unfolds makes no sense whatsoever, or just adds some plot-twists for the sake of trying to be edgy or unpredictable or "dark" (best example again: Mass Effect 2-3)

 

I am no writer, though sometimes I tried for hobby. In that regard, for me the most important thing would be to have at least a basic idea of the main char and supporting cast, and what kind of trouble you want them go through. Everything else will develop as you go. though one should try and not get led astray on the way. If thats a "good" story in the end, well, only the readers may judge this I'd say

[Symon]

I've always thought that the very best stories have at least one protagonist the reader can identify with.

A book can be well written, but if you don't care about, or worse, actually hate everyone central to it, you probably won't be able to finish it.

Similarly, the central characters have to have motives for what they do that are comprehensible.

[Guest xthejester]

1. Solid characters. You need at least 1 protagonist, and 1 antagonist with more than one dimension. Supporting characters can be less in-depth without causing much harm to the overall narrative though.

 

2. An element of risk tied to a dilemma or conflict.. It doesn't need to be danger to life and limb, it can be something as simple as losing your job if you run late one more time...but the bus driver is a prick who enjoys skipping your stop.

 

3. A clear arc. A good narrative has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Too much these days, fan fiction is a sloppy mess of flash-backs, and characters discussing "what-if" scenarios. And in the "end" there isn't any real resolution because the writers are too in love with leaving things open-ended for "sequels".

[Mord Sif]

It's tough to nail it down (if I could, I'd be nicely well-off from my own stories by now!) but one of the key things is Conflict:

 

- Every scene has to have conflict. Not necessarily two-guys-hacking-at-each-other-with-swords conflict (though that can work.) It can also be a lot more subtle than that.

 

Each character in a scene, no matter how minor a role they may play in the story, needs to have a goal, a motivation. For every character you should be able to look at his or her own story, where they are the protagonist (even if they're little more than extra in the story of the actual protagonist) and know what they want, why they want it, and how they try to get it. And their goals and motivations should always be in opposition to those of another character in the scene.

 

As an example: say the heroine of the story is a detective trying to solve a crime, and she needs information from a witness - a minor character who only appears in this one scene. It would be really boring if the witness just told the detective everything he knew without fuss. But if he has a reason to withhold information that makes it interesting. Maybe he knows - or suspects - who the criminal is, and wants to protect them. Maybe revealing what he knows would cast suspicion on him, or someone he loves. Maybe he's a sexist pig who thinks women should be in the kitchen or the bedroom and just wants to be an arse. If she has to work against him to get what she needs, it makes it a much better read.

 

There should always be someone or something working against a character, making things more difficult. Barriers, obstacles, "forces of antagonism"... that kind of thing.

 

That's probably stuff you already knew, but it's something I sometimes have to remind myself of when my own writing feels stale.

 

"Hmm. Why isn't this working?"

"Needs More Conflict!" 

[ShardsOfEldritch]

The thing that gets me into a good story is character development. It's one thing about backgrounds, but it's also another how they act within that story according to what they've done in their past. I couldn't expect a serial killer to just one day up and stop killing without some kind of development. Not only does it give a reason for a shift in dynamics of said character, but it also shows the changes that they went through, the things that we remember. Some people may find it boring, and that's okay. It's purely subjective in context of it all, but they do yield a better understanding of how said character works. This would also tie in with conflict. Having a character struggling with something or with someone else. Whether it be physical, mental, what ever. But how they develop before and after said conflicts I think bring more to the table, at least in my opinion.

[Myst42]

It... depends on the story?

If you want action, then make it fast moving

If you want love, slowly discover feelings, perhaps even put a barrier that makes them think they hate each other at first

For a deep story... you have to go derper

 

Make it smart. Readers are not idiots, surprise them with unexpected turns

Reveal mysteries when the time is right, not a moment sooner.

Leave clues so the reader can imagine what's coming but not be sure, then feel smart too. But beware the difference between an intentional clue and an obvious and predictable storyline

 

Watch and learn from people for characters. Who are they?

And I mean WHO, not their job, their family or their money

What drives them

Jobs, money and even if good or evil is only a consequence of who they are

 

Make them evolve from that too

[Sarathis]

Characters, characters, characters. That's it. You can write a story about a guy selling bananas and it'll still be interesting if the characters in it are well thought out, behave realistically, and develop in some way. Even stories without any truly sentient characters can be interesting if the protagonist is described in a way that intrigues the reader. Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" is a good example. The main character is just a house, yet the story still draws one in. 

 

Everything else is tertiary to writing a good story. A good plot line will only take you so far if the characters are shallow and cliche. Richly described settings are great but it's just gravy. Unexpected twists and surprises are fantastic but if no one cares whom the twists are affecting then they're wasted. Humor and sharp dialogue is important but if the reader doesn't like or can't identify with the characters then their receptiveness to them will be dulled.

 

Concentrate on making your characters interesting. They don't have to be deep or mysterious or overly complex, they just have to be intriguing on some level and identifiable. Think about stories you've read or games you've played or movies you've watched where the characters popped out at you. What made them interesting? Think about those qualities and try adding them to your own characters. Flesh them out, give them history, think about their likes, dislikes, habits, hobbies, interests, past mistakes, everything. When you map out that stuff, writing about them will be easy. And don't just do this for your main characters, put thought into ALL of them.

 

I like using the film The Fifth Element as an example of interesting characterization. If you watch that movie you notice that EVERYONE in it has personality. Even the nameless cops and aliens that should all look the same aren't. They each have their own reactions, their own way of behaving, even if they only have two lines of dialogue. They're realistic and behave that way. Even if you didn't like the story you still identified with the characters. 

 

So, yeah. Know your characters and love them. Sure, you may create them AFTER you come up with your storyline idea but take the time to make them real. It makes a huge difference. Draw people in with your plot synopsis. Keep them reading with your characters.