how do writers communicate ideas through stories

Honestly, the saying “ show, don’t tell” is overused. Nothing destroys drama like over-sharing. To do this well, you need to carefully restrict the flow of information to the reader. A dramatic question is something like, “Is he going to make it?” or, “Is she going to get the man of her dreams?” By putting your protagonist’s fate in doubt, you make the reader ask, what happens next? To create suspense, set up a dramatic question.

Suspense isn't just for thrillers it's a plus for any type of story.

You also need suspense for a compelling story. But don't forget about internal conflict! This is the process of your POV character warring with themselves and is what sets up the crisis point of the story and the character arc. External conflict is the action of your story, the thing everyone sees on the surface. If there is no conflict, your reader will be bored, and there is no story. Conflict is what drives your characters and what keeps your readers reading. Create Suspense and ConflictĬonflict is essential to every type of story. Note: Character development isn't just for fictional characters! You need to have a well-rounded character if you're writing memoir/personal narratives (you're the perspective character) or certain types of nonfiction as well. Some kind of character sheet is essential for your POV character at the very least. This will help you make more believable characters and keep you from getting character details wrong. It's a good idea to develop a character profile for every single character. To further develop your protagonist, use other character archetypes like the villain, the protagonist’s opposite, or the fool, a sidekick character that reveals the protagonist’s softer side. As Victor Frankl said, “A human being is a deciding being.” Your protagonist must make a decision to get themselves into whatever mess they get into in your story, and likewise, their character arc must come to a crisis point and they must decide to get themselves out of the mess. The essential ingredient for every protagonist is that they must make decisions. Stories are about protagonists, and if you don’t have a good protagonist, you won’t have a good story.

How do writers communicate ideas through stories