Today, I am going to analyse what I think makes a good story based on the fiction that I have consumed so far. This should enhance my ability to think about fiction as a whole. Previously, I would simply refer to individual works and what I like about them. However, it definitely is the case that there are principles that apply to them across the board! Thus, I’m looking to do an overall review here.
The first element of fiction is worldbuilding, I guess. However, let’s not use something as basic as who what when where why here. In my opinion, worldbuilding can be set into two main categories. A pretty essential thing in any story is to ‘set the rules of that world’. For instance, this world is one where the law of the jungle reigns supreme. Slavery could be rampant, for example, in which case liberation would be an ultimate goal in the plot. Say the story utilises the plot device of time travel. In that case, there must be rules that a story must abide by. For example, can the future be changed? Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings lead to a tornado elsewhere or is an easier, more direct cause-effect thing used? In a more modern society story, does the author find that people are corrupt? Ultimately, the author’s worldview is sure to seep into this tale. Thus, the author dictates the rules of this world based on their conception of this external one. Some people may resonate with it, while others seriously can’t empathise with it. Whatever the case, the essential thing is to abide by these rules, implementing a sense of realism. Indeed, once you give a world rules, that is reality for it however wacky it might appear. Do not break these rules! Otherwise, it’s basically admitting that your story is nonsense (no consistency, breaks immersion).
The second category of worldbuilding would be setting up for stuff that will happen in the future. In other words, foreshadowing. This feeling of everything clicking together nicely brings about much fulfilment for both the author and the audience, especially so when said foreshadowing happens a long, long time before it finally pays off. This is especially satisfying for the author who has been pushing things in that overall direction all along. Some authors forget about what they wrote before, which is pretty sad. Some authors have no real need to do worldbuilding because their novel is all about wish fulfilment in the first place, with the MC being overpowered as he has the power of the Deus Ex Machina readily at hand. Thus, one should really appreciate authors with really creative minds, who manage to make everything click together nicely and in a very satisfactory manner.
As mentioned earlier, some works of fiction lean greatly towards wish fulfilment. Of course, this does not automatically disqualify them from being good, though that can indeed be the case. A somewhat useful way of seeing if a novel is good, a litmus test of sorts, is to look at the other characters besides the MC themselves. I mean, it doesn’t mean if the MC is overpowered that the story is no good! Sometimes, overpowered MCs are great too! Still, if this MC alone is the main focus of the story, everyone else then becomes foils in the background. Which is fine if the MC still experiences growth (combat, personality, whatever). But otherwise, if a story lacks growth, to the point where you can predict that everything will just go the MC’s way, it’s stale! There’s no point following it anymore unless one is cognisantly okay with these feel-good pure formulaic things.
Speaking of formulas, they are not all that bad. The most standard one I know is really the fighting genre. Excepting stories in which a character is already powerful from the get-go, most fighting stories follow the same pattern. MC plus nakama (comrades) start out as weaklings. They fight the weakest enemies, maybe surpass their power levels to do so, defeating them in the process. Over time, growing stronger, they get to defeat even stronger enemies with their horizons widening as they get to see a whole new world that they never knew of before…now, doesn’t this sound familiar? Yeah, probably rings quite a few bells! However, despite use of common formulas, one cannot deny that these can be great works! Of course, I believe that non-formulaic stuff can be super great too, depending. What makes a work great, really?
All stories have an overarching mood and worldview. Whether or not people like a story depends on how well this mood and worldview resonates with them. Human beings both think and feel as well. Consequently, authors should provide for both these aspects! For feeling, they can provide heartwarming feels from all the interactions between characters or hot-bloodedness from sticking to one’s ideals and never backing down. Then, on the thinking side, we have all the intellectual stuff. Personally speaking, I feel that the classic detective stories from the 20th century lack appeal because they fully neglect the feeling aspect…
Regarding thinking in stories, the most common trope I observe, I’d call outwitting. Everything seems to go downhill for the side that an audience is rooting for, but it later turns out that some contingency measure was in place or it was part of someone’s plan all along. Of course, in realistic stories, people can just thoroughly mess up and get owned, taking a real loss in the process. When that outwitting occurs, I often feel that it was just too convenient that things just happened to align in one’s side favour to make it possible! When creating a story, however, one writes the world into existence! An effect of this is that all the variables are determined by them. Thus, the calculations can easily go this way or that – just a tweak here or there solves the problem. Consequently, novels where bad things do happen can be a breath of fresh air, just that sometimes one can be so invested in a character that their death makes you straightaway rage quit (just an example). Characters can make calculations for whatever purposes! It’s just that it’s best to add in a dose of reality to it – sometimes, characters are blinded by emotions; being human just as we are, characters cannot know know beyond their own subjective viewpoints; once some things have happened, they are irreversible. It is when all this is abided by that, in my opinion, the best fiction arises whatever the medium. Basically, something that’s well thought out is the most satisfying.
Back to worldview… in works of fiction can be found the perspectives of authors on the external world. For example, some authors feel that reality = people speaking vulgarities plus sexual innuendos! A faction that’s like-minded thus forms around them. Some authors feel that a youth should be hot-blooded and get into fights! Where some might yell immaturity! they instead have a sense of romanticism + nostalgia about it. Personally, I subscribe to the latter more, really. I don’t get the former at all. But some do, of course! Anyway, another aspect readily visible from fiction is sexism – all that gender stuff! If the female characters are strong, feminists will jump out calling it empowering!!! By the way, I believe that a stereotype isn’t a bias. Really, it’s normal when characters follow a certain mould! It’s quite similar to formulas. Rather, a bias is when one tends to portray all those in their ‘in-group’ as being a certain way. If you notice all, literally all the characters in something you are reading giving innuendos (sexual), that means that it’s the authors problem already!!! (It’s literally true in some VRMMO novel on WW). Regarding characterisation, I do not particularly believe that one must incorporate social issues into their story since it is ultimately their project and their choice. However, I would say that I find tales lacking if I cannot emotionally invest very much into their characters at all.
Finally, due to circumstances that the author makes befall them, the characters in a good story will surely have their personality change! The change can be for the better or for the worse or for the worse first and then for the better… the story moves. Whatever the case, the personality of a story’s character, just like its worldview, is also important for the audience to decide whether they like a story. If a character is locked in self-denial, crying and whining like forever, I find that I can never start the story even though they will improve later on. If a character just needs a push from their surroundings and the warmth of other human beings to start improving, I would surely follow that story! If someone starts to veer off the right path due to circumstances and needs somebody to guide them back to the light, okay! But if they happily treat others badly!! after having earlier been treated terribly themselves, not okay! Where’s their guilt! Now, all this is really my personal preference. Other people have their own personal preferences too! It again all depends on their worldviews… But then again, I feel that fiction brings people together. It’s pretty empowering for people to write according to their worldviews, thereby potentially bringing like-minded people together!!!
And that’s basically it! Let me summarise the above in point form to make it easier to refer to:
Fiction
1: Set the rules of the world and abide by them (else it’s nonsense)
2: Prepare foreshadowing well beforehand (makes people go wow)
3: Develop side characters as well (to invest emotionally in them)
4: Formulas are okay (but non-formulaic fiction can be great too)
5: Heartwarming feels and hot-bloodedness (feeling aspect)
6: Do not make everything too convenient (too liberal with variables)
7: Add a dose of reality (a breath of fresh air)
8: Stories naturally carry their authors’ worldviews (unifying force)
9: Stories are biased when all the characters seem similar (worldview)
10: People follow the personal growth of characters (appeal to this!)
That’s all for this post!