5 Qualities in a Good Story

Hey everyone! It's Ashlyn and a new post I've been dying to show you guys! Please follow and support my blog on Twitter, @Ashlyn_Shore and don't forget to comment and tell me your thoughts!

5. An interesting storyline: It's the main thing a reader is going to look at to decide whether to read the book or not. You must have an interesting storyline which means that the more imagination and ideas you have, the better. Try combining two stories you've thought of together and shine the spotlight more on one to create a definitely unique storyline. This is HOW your story will be told, the plot in other words. Don't be afraid to write what your heart is telling you! Maybe there was something you were inspired about and want to write about it. Your storyline is the main attraction after all.

4. Suspense and plot twists: VERY important! What if in the Hunger Games Peeta had eaten the nightlock and died? Katniss would have been in a totally different place in Mockingjay, if there would have been a Mockingjay! Plot twists are when something sudden happens and there's a twist added into your plot. Suspense is also vitally important as well. You're not going to tell all the important details in the first chapter of your story, it would be like spoiling the entire thing! You want to keep things nice and easy in the beginning and then add some suspense, then BAM! Plot twist!

3. A good bad guy: Your antagonist. In an earlier post, we covered some of the things that made the antagonist important or special. If your antagonist is always helping your character or frequently apologizing, how is he or she an antagonist? Every antagonist shares the same similiarity: they are against the protagonist. But why, though? Remember in the Percy Jackson series? Luke was a likable good guy in the beginning. Later, he became one of the main antagonists until the very end of the series. Maybe you're a fan of happy endings and want to make your character somewhat like Luke. Good in the beginning, conflict, then villain.

2. How your protagonist thinks: This is important, for science fiction and first-person stories especially. If you aren't writing first-person, sci-fi, dystopian, or even fantasy, feel free to skip this part. The way your protagonist thinks is key. In Matched, Cassia Reyes trusts the Society completely until after a while, (I'm not actually sure what happens, still in the middle of it XD) and in Divergent, Tris thinks that the factions are what keeps their society together, but in Allegiant, well, I'm pretty sure she's not going to, since it was because of one of the factions that a war started. So yeah, this is pretty important, especially if your protagonist is humorous or shy and quiet.

1. The protagonist: Kinda obvious right? Very important though. What if Katniss was really bad at archery and was from District One? No one would care about Katniss like they do now if that was so. In one of the previous articles, "How to Think Up a Good Protagonist", their are many key details that could determine your protagonist entirely. Check it out later to get a better idea of a good protagonist, but for now I'm just going to summarize. The name, outer appearance, and weaknesses of your protagonist are probably the most important. But WAIT! This is also very, very, important: personal growth. Maybe you've taken your protagonist on a long meaningful journey. He or she isn't just going to come back empty handed! Maybe your protagonist learned a valuable lesson, or maybe he or she learned a secret or achieved something.

So, I guess this concludes my article. Tell me your thoughts! What are some other qualities that make a good story?

- Ashlyn, Aspiring Author of Today