Working Out a Story -- Composition

III. Composition

We now come to the actual work of writing the story.

1.  Write your conclusion first. If you can not write a good conclusion your story will fail. It is better to discover this weakness if it exists, at this point than after you have the bulk of the story written. Besides the whole story must be keyed to fit the climax and this can be done only when the conclusion is definitely in mind before the other parts are written.

2.   Write your opening sentences or paragraph. This must be something that will catch the eye, excite interest and curiosity, and promise something worth while.

3.  Write out the dramatic and important incidents and conversations, each by itself, and as effectively as possible as if each were a theme for a class in composition.

4. Write the story in full, not copying the parts already written, but incorporating them in the body of the story as well as possible from memory, with such modifications as the continuity of your narrative demands. It is best to write the whole story out at a single sitting if possible, for the brain gathers momentum as it works.

Please link to the following sections to continue: