By:
Paula Munier
As a reader, a writer, and an agent, I
read thousands of stories a year—or at least the opening pages of thousands of
stories. And, all other things being equal, the reason I most often stop
reading is a lack of narrative thrust.
Narrative thrust is the taut building of
story , beat by beat, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, using the complexities
of plot and character to propel the story forward in a dramatic arc that peaks
at the climax. You must write each scene so that it leads logically to the
next, as if you were connecting a model train, car by car, presenting story
questions as you proceed down the track, pushing the action forward to its
inevitable, if unpredictable, ending.
A lack of narrative thrust occurs when one
scene does not logically lead to another.
You need to connect each scene, as readers
need to know what the protagonist’s motives are, and what he wants in every
scene. Only then will they care about what happens next. Otherwise your story
will read as a series of random scenes strung together—rather than as a
compelling narrative.
Narrative thrust provides momentum for a
story; it’s the gas that fuels your story’s engine. You can also think of it as
the magnet that pulls the reader through the story. You know it when you
experience it—just think of the last story that kept you up all night, the last
novel you couldn’t read fast enough and yet didn’t want to end.
But recognizing narrative thrust as a
reader and knowing how to create it as a writer are two very different things.
So let’s take a look at how you can enhance the narrative thrust of
your story—and how you may be unwittingly sabotaging it.
The Art of the
Story Question
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~*~
If
you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they
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- Positivity and Protagonists http://ow.ly/V23dv
- 11 Things You Need to Know When Writing a Memoir | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/V23h4
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