Wednesday's Writer's Tip - What is a story? #MFRWauthor #Story #Swain

For the next few weeks I'll be using Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain to share some tips. This was the first book on writing I discovered many years ago when I decided to write novels. This book made sense to me.

Mr. Swain says, "A story is experience translated into the literary process."

But learning how to do this is a process. Mr. Swain believes you can learn to write and sell stories. Will you make the big time? Maybe or Maybe not.

I agree and what you need to learn first are the techniques of writing a story. But will they make you a best-seller. That takes a special talent. Things like intelligence, passion, determination and how you can manipulate the language. Also how you put your feelings into the work. Those rules you've learned while studying to become a writer are subject to interpretation, Yours.

Twenty writers could be given the same situation and the same characters and in the end there would be twenty different stories.

What really helps you learn what a story is , is to practice, practice. Slowly the elements will make sense and suddenly you have a story. Maybe not a great one but the next one will be better. So learn the elements of a story and then practice employing them.