All books must contain things that are the essential buildings blocks that make a story work and allows your characters to come to life for the readers. A book about a blade of grass still has a character and a setting. Though, baring any magical intervention that blade of grass will remain inanimate. It won't have goals and certainly won't get into any conflicts with the other blades of grass around it. The story would be incomplete because it doesn't contain everything that is essential to the story.
So what are some of the basic building blocks to create a good story?
Theme: This is the spirit of your your story. What makes it up? Is it the ambition for your character to seek revenge, maybe an epic quest that tells a coming of age story? Whatever it might be, think it through and make certain you understand it clearly. There are a lot of themes and more than one might apply to the story.
Characters: Your characters don't have to be larger than life but they do need to face challenges that force them to step outside their comfort zone. No one goes through life without conflict or tragedy so your characters shouldn't either. They need things that will help them move toward whatever their goal is. They also need opposition, someone who will step in and attempt to thwart their efforts to reach their goal. The readers needs to see through your character's eyes and live the story.
Setting: Where and when does your story place? Think about your setting in its entirety. Where do your characters hang out, work, shop, and live? What time period does the story take place in? Is this the real world or a fantasy world you created? If you can't show your readers the world where your character live then they lose an important part of the story.
Conflict: Your characters need conflict. While they can certainly deal with mundane, every day issues, there needs to be a larger looming issue that threatens their world in some way. Something like an argument between roommates about who will take out the trash can usually be solved rather quickly and wouldn't carry through an entire book. There must be something at stake for the conflict to carry throughout the book before it's finally solved. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, broken dreams, shattered hearts, or even life and death, maybe the looming end of the world. Whatever the conflict might be, your characters must face it and deal with it.
Genre: The list of possible genres is long. If you tell yourself that your book doesn't fit a genre you're probably lying to yourself. Every story fits into some genre. Do some research and try to find books with similar themes as yours and you'll find your genre. Study up on your chosen genre.
Outer Journey (goal): Your characters need a goal to shoot for. What do they want and how will they go about getting it? Do they want revenge? To find the love of their life? Start a business? Figure out what motivates your characters.
Inner Journey: Your character must learn and grow. What will they have to overcome or accomplish to obtain their goal? What will they learn on their journey and how does it change them? If your characters remain stagnate and never change they aren't realistic. The changes don't have to be huge, it can be something as little as attempting to begin to trust other again, changing jobs, or learning a new skill.
Know it all: This means that you should have a good knowledge of the subject you're writing about. The book can be based on your life experiences if you choose. If you're planning on including things that you aren't familiar with then do a lot of research. If you can talk to experts in the field them do so.
No matter how you go about writing your book, do your research. Not everything will work for everyone and writers have been breaking the writing rules for as long as those rules have existed. Not every rule should be broken but you can certainly push the boundaries.
Know your subject, your genre, your characters, your settings, and the world you're creating. If writing an outline works for you then do that. Think things through and know what you're getting into. Even those of us who write by the seat of our pants do research.
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