Those stories of fiction I like best feel discovered not
created.
I know you’ve been there, reading a book or watching a movie and
you think: "Why don't they just call the police?" When that happens
you are no longer in the story; suddenly you are on the outside looking in.
As a writer there are things I’ve learned to avoid. In an early
version of the Spear Bearer novel I
once had the villain explaining what motivated him...you know the drill: a 30
minute speech with the villain laughing a wicked laugh at its conclusion. But
this isn’t natural—bad guys generally don’t feel the need to explain
themselves.
If an author is writing non-fiction, then the story he or she
tells will literally be discovered. Fictional stories should have
the same discovered quality, I believe. A story shouldn't feel
manufactured. The events that happen should make sense; the character's actions
and dialogue should always conform to the nature of that particular character.
A good example of a discovered story, in my
opinion, is The Fault in Our Stars by +John Green. The
characters act in a believable manner; the events sometimes seem random, but
they are always within reason.
Fantasy and science fiction stories also can be discovered stories.
Although you know that space battleships don't really exist, within the context
of the science fiction novel they do exist. As long as the fiction writer is
true to his world, and his characters act according to their nature, the story
will still feel discovered. A good example of a sci-fi discovered story
would be The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
I'd like to hear your suggestions on what you consider to be discovered stories.
If you've read a story and you've become involved with the characters and
you've seen the world through their eyes, then you have read a discovered story.
If it feels wholly real, even though it may take place on another world in
another galaxy, then you have read a discovered story.#TheFaultinOurStars
#TheHungerGames
#HungerGames
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