Hello, writers. Recently I heard someone say something that kind of annoyed me. He said that if you want to get published, you'll do okay if you're a bad writer, but can tell a story. But you won't do okay if you're a good writer, but can't tell a story.
What bosh, I thought.
Then I thought, no, it's not bosh, is it. Sadly, it's probably true.
When I pick up a book in a bookstore or library, read the first page, and put it down again, my usual reason for putting it down is that I don't like the writing. And since you're a writer, too, it's quite likely that that's often a reason you put a book down.
But consider the success of... well, I won't name names. Let's just say that there are certainly some highly successful authors who appear to have trouble putting together a sentence.
Writing and storytelling are different skills. And really, you need both. Because while [insert name here] may have managed to get published on the strength of his/her storytelling skills alone, that's something of a fluke. Sure, it's a fluke that's happened several times. But it's still a fluke. And this business is just so competitive... nobody should be relying on flukes unless they are a whale.
I think the reason that it took me years to get published is that I had honed my writing skills, but not my storytelling skills. Stuff like developing character, knowing where to start and what to leave out, and writing believable action scenes all came to me pretty late in life.
Think about the people you know, writers or not. Some of them really know how to tell a story. They can tell you about something that just happened to them at the drugstore, and make it interesting/funny/exciting/touching.
Then you probably know other people who can't. They start the story too soon. They start out by describing their route to the drugstore, or telling you why they decided to go. They give you unnecessary details-- what they could have done instead of going to the drugstore, what their spouse said about their going. They overdo the backstory, telling you when the drugstore was built and by whom. Or they start with the climax of the story, rendering the rest of it pointless.
(Of course, lest I be accused of posting pico-bait, I hasten to add that done right, these kinds of details can be a story in themselves. And a well-digressed digression can be a tale worth hearing. Or reading.)
Anyway, you can probably see where this is going...
Tonight's challenge:
Write a monologue in which a character tells about something that happened to him/her at the drugstore.
Try to limit yourself to 100 words.
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