How to write a satisfying story

AuthorAppleton on August 6, 2018

Recently I read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card for the first time. Truly it is a fantastic read. Deep characters that stick with you from page to page, interactions that keep you hooked, and concepts that are epic on a galactic scale. But other than thoroughly enjoying the story, I recognized something about the writing that was instructional for me as an author. Orson Scott Card crafted such a complex set of characters and events that it would have been easy for him to leave some story threads hanging… instead he managed to satisfy all threads, leaving me fully sated and eager to pick up his other books.

Many editors and writers refer to loose story threads as cliff hangers. It is the tendency of fresh out-of-the-gate writers to use cliff hangers at the end of every chapter, sometimes almost every scene. I’ve even heard that recommendation made on stage by professionals, and I’ve read it in some well-meaning books and on some blogs.

Don’t get me wrong! Cliff hangers are a powerful story tool. However, it is taxing on the reader’s brain to leave a million story threads unfinished. The trick is to leave enough threads hanging that it sucks the reader deeper into the story when you are writing a series of novels, while also wrapping up enough threads to satisfy them.

My recommendation is to treat the story as a mixture of completed threads and of loose ones. This way the reader is pulled in, finishes the first couple of chapters, feels satisfied and intrigued, and is able to go to sleep without that frustration of, “But why did this part of the story happen? It was the middle of a scene! Shucks, now I can’t sleep.”

Have you noticed that television series of today rely on serialized storytelling instead of the older Twilight Zone type of stand-alone episodes? Television is (many often forget) written before it is produced, making it worthwhile to compare not only books but also television and movies. While it is wonderful that series like Stranger Things can develop such well-written stories that leave you on the edge of your seat, I personally find it exhausting. I want to know the end, so I have often binged on the series I enjoy. But the result is this lasting angst that it took that many hours of my time to understand all of the threads in the story.

If you ever watched Star Trek: The Next Generation you will understand the power of episodes that contain a satisfying story arc. They still carried you on to the next episode, but they did not require a cliff-hanger to do it. Instead they relied on great characters whose lives you wanted to follow. They didn’t force incomplete stories on the audience because they were confident of the mood, message, and concepts.

Q: Which books, movies, or television series leave you feeling uplifted and most satisfied?

eBooks and increased literacy

AuthorAppleton on April 11, 2016

Buying a new iPhone that actually has a decent screen-size and far better memory reminded me of why I love ebooks. Kindle and iBooks are now more readily available to me (because I can’t have my iPad at work) and for a working father of four the ability to snatch bits of reading time when and where I can is invaluable.

Now I imagine you are a little surprised to hear me say that because I so often celebrate print books and decry the negative aspects of reading in the digital age. But though I am an ardent fan of collecting books in print I do recognize that ebooks are a wonderful opportunity for both writers and readers.

The benefits, I believe, are best summarized in one word: Accessibility. Accessibility is the key to literacy.

For writers: it is now incredibly simple to take your finished book and upload it to Amazon’s Kindle platform. It is an unprecedented means of delivering more content with more consistency, in a short span of time.

For readers: eBooks are instantly downloadable, most often cheaper to purchase, and offer out-of-print works that are often difficult to find in paperback. My wife has acquired many books free through Kindle and I have found some great bargains as well.

I have a collection of tiny books, most of them around a hundred years old. They are titled The Workman’s Library. No more than a few inches in width and height these books were designed to fit in the lunchbox or pocket of an average working citizen so that, in the previous few moments he had to spare, he could read Dante’s Inferno, Shakespeare, or Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Digital books today are the equivalent of those tiny paperbacks. They can be brought anywhere, read in sweet snippets… But eBooks are superior. Within the palm of my hand I hold hundreds of books all accessible in an instant.

While I still prefer print books, eBooks are a wonderful asset to me both as a writer and as a reader.

Q: What are your thoughts on the advantages of eBooks?

When books were shorter and excellent

AuthorAppleton on March 21, 2016

A few years back I approached my publisher with a proposed new fantasy series that would tie in with the previous one I wrote for them. They turned it down. Not because it wasn’t the type of story that they liked but because the manuscript did not exceed their minimum word-count requirement. That book was Neverqueen and I subsequently released that title through my own company. The word-count guidelines are something that I totally understand publishers need to have guidelines on, but what I find interesting is that seventy years ago shorter books rocked the publishing world.

Two prime examples of short works of fiction are a couple of my absolute favorite titles: The Time Machine and The Wizard of Oz. Other examples would be several of the Chronicles of Narnia titles. There’s an old saying that bears bringing back to life: “Short but sweet.”

I would like to make the argument that shorter works are needed. In fact, there is a nearly untapped market of readers out there who love to read but have very little time for pleasure reading. High school and college students are immersed in homework and textbooks. And fathers and mothers of young kids are swamped with work, life, and all that it entails. Picking up a four hundred page novel is not practical for them. But if they could find some shorter reads that were nevertheless just as fascinating as the longer works, I bet they would pick them up.

Neverqueen was my first test of this theory and it has proven to be accurate. Readers are snapping that book up and their responses have been overwhelmingly positive.

Years ago when I established Flaming Pen Press I intended to release an entire line of fantasy and science fiction novellas, mostly from new authors. But unfortunately we suffered a major financial setback and everything had to be scrapped. But I have not lost that vision. In fact, I have been plotting bringing back Flaming Pen Press with a line of new titles. There are details still to work out, but what I’d like to do is release the next line of short books that will capture the imagination just as The Time Machine and The Wizard of Oz did for me. Currently I know of only one publisher that is successfully doing this (TOR) and I am pleased to see the result is positive for them as well.

Q: What do you think of novellas?

Reading Cinderella to my son

AuthorAppleton on January 25, 2016

There are so many wonderful ways to create timeless memories with the people we love and care for. I was recently reminded of this one Sunday night after work. Typically I get home, eat one of my wife’s delicious dinners (she is a good cook) and then we let the kids watch an episode of an old show before getting them to bed. But, desiring to make more valuable use of our time this evening, I dug through my library for an antique edition of Mother Goose printed in 1901.

I do love old books. The tales you find in there are truer to their original form instead of edited for modern readers. Modernizations tend to simplify the fairy tales and also the prose to such an extent that they do not stimulate greater intelligence in children. They are not “dumbed down” for young readers. I am often reminded that some of the most famous of historical figures actually learned to read from the Bible. Can you imagine a child nowadays tackling even half of the Bible before they reach ten years of age? Sadly, I don’t know of any.

The first story in the Mother Goose book surprised me, for it was the tale of Cinderella. It varied slightly from the versions I have seen previously. Most notably, in this version Cinderella wholeheartedly forgave her stepsisters. She forgave them fully, not just in word but by her deeds as well. Cinderella brought them to live at the palace after she and the prince had been married, and she arranged for each of them to marry affluent men in the kingdom.

At first, when I saw the first story in this little book was Cinderella, I glanced down at my son and thought perhaps I’d skip it for the next one. Find one more suitable to a man. But I thought better of it.

Children need stories of princes and princesses. Classic tales told in a traditional manner reinforce family values, instilling in them codes of conduct and virtue that strengthen them in life. Cinderella’s story shows my son what kind of a woman to admire and what virtues to look for in his future wife. There is wisdom to be gleaned from these old fairytales. Wisdom that is often neglected and forgotten in the modernization of story that we often see today.

Q: Do you make a point of sitting down to read to your children?