Components of the story: How the style impacts the which means of 5 parts of the story
Have you ever wondered how the elements of the story affect the genre of your book? Do some elements of the story have more meaning in a book because of the genre of the book?
I can imagine several times when I went to a restaurant and took the time to slowly chew my food so that I can experience how each of my senses is influenced by food: from taste to smell to sight.
The meaning that the elements of the story have for the genre is not that different. We all have different tastes – factors that appeal to us in different ways – and so do our reading preferences. I understood this in depth while working on our local library system that I want to share with you today.
Readers crave certain “flavors” and the genre helps them define what they like and discover more of it.
How different the five elements of the story are based on genre can affect your perspective – and in a good way for writers trying to please their target audience!
See genre from a different perspective
In my last article, Book Genre: Why Figuring Out Your Genre Makes Your Story Successful, I explored why the genre is so important to readers, writers, publishers, and marketers. I also pointed out a few resources to help you learn more about the genre.
An excellent way to study the genre is to focus on the mandatory scenes and conventions inherent in each genre.
I remember how excited I was when I discovered Shawn Coyne's book The Story Grid. By the time I finished the first chapter, I knew that my life as a writer was going to be wonderfully changed. The podcast is fabulous too.
As much as I recommend studying these aspects of the genre, in this article I'll take a different approach by looking at the genre in terms of the components of the story.
Five Elements of History to Include in Your Book (and To Consider When Determining Your Genre)
In this article, I'll be focusing on five components that go into any story.
1st plot
By plot, I mean the sequence of events that will cause tension to rise and fall as the story progresses. These mandatory scenes are displayed here.
Ask yourself: What is the plot arc of my plot and how does this advance the plot of my story?
2. Setting
The attitude must be well developed through the five senses, opinions, and emotions of the POV character. The setting is also one of the elements of the story that is important in making your story unique. Think about how the surroundings of your character's world can affect their actions and decisions.
You may also be interested in sketching settings in Scrivener, which we teach in this post.
Ask yourself: How is my story similar to others in its genre but different in setting? Why does this attitude attract readers of my genre?
3rd character
The important characters in the story must be memorable and awaken the feelings of the readers. Furthermore, the reader shouldn't be in any doubt about whose story it is – knowing the difference between a protagonist, an antagonist and supporting characters can also be directly related to the genre.
Character development is crucial to any story and is undoubtedly one of the most important elements of the story. This is what gets readers of your genre interested in the book.
Ask yourself: How does the story arc challenge my protagonist and why are the wishes and needs of my protagonist in direct conflict with the antagonists?
4. style
How to put words on paper. It has to do with factors like sentence length and structure, thick or thin texture, vocabulary, types of details and images, etc.
Style is one of the elements of history that is difficult to teach, but a good trick is focusing on varying the length of the sentence. For example, Dr. Seuss an extremely unique style that made his books timeless which you may want to learn more about by reading the linked post.
Ask yourself: How do your sentences vary in length and how does this support and develop a voice for your genre? For example, thriller suspense books usually have shorter sentences as there is more action and readers of this genre naturally look for quick readings.
5th voice
Here I mean the character voice rather than the author voice. Surprises you! Don't i have
I believe you can create the character voice in a number of ways, while the author voice comes out best when you don't try to control it at all.
Voice, like style, is one of the elements of history that is difficult to teach.
Ask yourself: How does each of my characters sound different? Why do their unique voices add to the tone and depth of my book genre?
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Have you ever thought about how to prioritize the elements of the story for the genre of your book? When you know the important legacy you can write and edit your story!
When you look at the genre of your book, these five elements of the story come into play in different ways. Now let's look at some popular genres to see how they add up.
romance
Romance is probably the biggest genre in terms of sales, number of books, and the readers who read them. It produces a huge amount of bestsellers and has a wide variety of subgenres that can easily adjust the balance of these components.
In the romance genre, character comes first by far.
Readers need to fall in love with the characters as the characters fall in love with each other.
The second component is the presentation. Skip an important mandatory scene like the “Meet Cute,” “First Kiss,” or “Proof of Love,” and romance readers will get the pitchforks out.
Readers of your genre want these moments, and it is your job as a writer of that genre not only to understand the important elements of the story such as the mandatory scenes and conventions of the plot, but also to apply them to the plot and structure.
Next comes the setting, followed by the style and voice. These last two are roughly interchangeable in terms of importance. If you are determined to write romance, be careful not to overemphasize your attitude, style, or voice. When you do this, your romance will be transposed into a different genre such as literature (which is strictly defined by its descriptive, melodic prose) or historical fiction (attitude and plot towards something real in the story).
Example: the notebook
P.S. One more thought: romances have to have a happy ending. Do not forget that!
secret
As in romance, character comes first in Mystery.
It's an important component as the character and reader work closely together to solve the puzzle.
The setting comes next and includes the crime. You need to involve the reader directly in the story with sensory details, opinions, and emotions. All of this is clearly defined by the genre's target readers, all of whom expect some benefit and excitement as they uncover the whys of the mystery and the crime.
The action in a mystery is also hugely important as this is where most of the clues lie. Voice and style can be almost neutral and, depending on the subgenre of the mystery, are kept very reserved.
The end must offer a solution – or at least a satisfactory solution – to the crime.
Examples: Agatha Christie books, Sherlock Holmes books
thriller
Thrillers live and die in style. That's number one, and it encompasses the pace it takes to be a successful thriller.
Next comes the plot. Most thrillers have a complicated plot with a lot of danger, but make sure that the good guys win in the end.
Character, voice, and attitude have roughly the same important positions and can be adjusted up or down based on preference, as long as they don't overpower the style or plot.
Examples: The girl on the train, Gone Girl
fantasy
As you can imagine, the number one setting of the imagination is the setting.
The story takes place in a fictional world and it is extremely important to draw the reader into that world.
In positions two and three there is action and character. You can bring these two elements of the story up or down at will, but never emphasize them with a higher meaning than the unique, fresh contribution of the attitude towards the story.
Style is important but not critical and the voice may or may not be kept neutral. But if you want your book to sell, you should make sure that the good guys will triumph in the end.
Examples: The Name of the Wind, Harry Potter Series, Uprooted
Science fiction
As in fantasy, the setting is the most important part of science fiction – and can in some ways include style. Again, you are pulling the reader into a strange, new world, and this attitude is crucial in telling your story.
Next up is the storyline, the mechanics that come into play and propel the story forward.
Third is character, followed by voice in fourth place. These are notable elements of the story in science fiction, but they support the setting and plot rather than dominating the story.
And the style can float up or down the scale depending on how you want to write it.
Example: Star Wars saga
Historical fiction
It's pretty obvious that Setting will take the lead in the historical fiction genre.
Style and plot are closest and interchangeable in terms of importance.
Last comes character and then voice, as the characters often support the historical event on which the plot is based and a somewhat literary tone is expected from the voice.
Of course, the lower-ranked components can slide up and down depending on the subgenre and author preference.
Examples: The Nightingale'Water for elephants before we were yours
Literary fiction
The literary fiction genre demands voice and style to the utmost – since prose is an acquired and important taste.
Readers and writers of literary stories love to be mesmerized by luscious language, compelling characters, and exquisitely beautiful twists and turns. However, the voice and style of these books is expected to encourage further discussion, and it is therefore not surprising to find these titles in the curriculum.
Character and attitude follow voice and style, with the plot occupying the last position in most of the literary fictional elements relevant to the story.
However, remember that ALL elements of the story are needed to make a good book, literary fiction, or any genre of books.
Examples: The catcher in the rye to kill a mockingbird
Young adult
The character is the most important component in a book for young adults – the character must be of a certain age – which is why most of these stories also show an arc of growing up.
But Voice runs for a very short second. Very rarely will you find a YA book that is not limited to the first person, as the character's attitude is critical to its uniqueness. Remember, YA Fiction readers love a character with a strong, fresh, interesting voice and an opinion on everything.
Attitude, plot and style move up and down the spectrum, but never trump voice and character.
Examples: The flaw in the stars, The hatred you give, New child
How to use story elements for your book's recipe for success
The next time you're enjoying a novel, think about how the different components come together – like the ingredients in a recipe – to satisfy your target reader's craving for a particular type of story.
As a last reminder, these are:
- plot
- frame
- character
- style
- voice
They are all critical to defining the unique aspects of your books. While the meanings to defining your book (by genre) vary, you need ALL to polish a book that your audience will love.
For a more detailed study of this topic, consider the genre structure workshop offered by WMG Publishing.
In my next article, we'll look at how readjusting the amounts of these five critical components can change the outcome from one genre to another, to give the story a different flavor and appeal to a different audience.
Until next time!
How do the elements of the story work in your story? Do these model the level of importance for the genre of your book listed in this post? Tell us about it in the comments.
WORK OUT
Today you will practice figuratively writing one of your own stories about your literary language to see if you can determine the ingredients and amounts.
Pick a story you've completed and take a close look at it using the five elements of the story covered in the article.
Then write how you ordered the elements of the story and describe a little bit how you used each element. In which genre would you classify your story?
Write for fifteen minutes about the recipe and genre of your story. When you're done, post your work in the comments and don't forget to give feedback to your co-authors!
Have fun writing!
Joslyn Chase
