What makes a good story? The answer is both simple and ambiguous at the same time. A good story is one that touches people’s heart in some way. Most important goal of a story teller is to involve the readers in the story.
Plot
A remarkable story is one that has a strong theme, fascinating plot and memorable characters. The theme does not need to be anything profound but it should be something that moves the reader/listener and helps them to identify in their own lives. The plot is usually about conflict or struggle that the protagonist faces and how he/she overcomes them. It is the hook that catches the readers.
Conflict
The conflict maybe internal or with another character, it can be either physical or psychological and in trying to resolve this conflict a character grows and learns about life and finally achieves some sort of redemption. It is the author’s job to make the conflict more exciting and tense as this is what keeps engages the readers’ interest. The author carefully doles out clues and hints through out the story without divulging the climax.
Climax
As the tensions builds up to a high point, the readers are hooked for they want to know what happens in the end. As the story reaches its climax all tension is resolved.
Imagery
Another important aspect of good story is that it creates vivid images through words. The challenge before the author is to make the reader imagine their own images and settings and relate them to their own life experiences as the story progresses. This is the way to get the readers interacting and relating with the characters, so much so that sometimes they begin to seem real to them.
Moral
A good story will inspire the reader to share the story with others as they will come to relate closely with the story and characters. The art of good story telling means the ability to transfer the reader to a particular place at a particular time. From the readers point of view a well written story makes us feel we are there experiencing and feeling what the characters are feeling. We cry, laugh, despair, and live with the characters. A good story therefore makes us feel emotionally. So if a good story is one that talks to us at a deeper level then the art of story telling is really an art of communication.
Alls well that ends well!
Ultimately a memorable story is one that we read over and over and feel the need to tell others about. It is human nature to share with others anything that moves us deeply. The author tries to engage our emotions and imagination. So ultimately I guess what really makes a good story is human imagination. The author presents his world to us and if it moves us then it slowly becomes a part of our world as well. The characters become our friends or enemies and we too grow and learn with them.
A good story involves, inspires and ignites a passion that till date the listener might have been unaware of!
