Right now I’m writing a story that honestly had no direction when I first wrote it. Now I’m re-writing it, and I’m finding it hard to make it interesting. The story is a long one, but is inspired by Cinderella, and basically is Cinderella except I go deeper into the concept and kind of put into it everyday life of someone living in medieval times. Besides showing the MC growing up, I’ve realized that I don’t have a direct goal on how to end it. The MC was supposed to be the one to save the magic in the kingdom (like bring it back) but now that just sounds corny and bad…
I’m also wondering about story pacing as this plays into all of this.
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Story pacing is a massive part. My advice: don’t start writing until you know the end at least. If you know the end, the middle will start figuring itself out and you can work with the end in mind.
If you work with your end goal firmly in your head, you’ll find that your story will have a point, which is super useful when you wanna make your story interesting.
It’s all about character arcs. Where do you want your MC to be at the end of the story? Better off than she was? Worse off? Neutral? Now how do you get there? Remove any of the stuff that doesn’t either serve your goal of getting there or hinder it.
Pacing is going to be a massive part of that. You need a big event to happen in the story that throws the MC out of their comfort zone. An event that takes them out of their real world and starts to shape a new reality for them. If you don’t have that, your story will fall flat.
In the original Cinderella, it was the ball and possibility of escaping her awful real-world life — whether by marrying the striking the interest of and marrying the prince, or just for one night. That then leads onto the conflict: she can’t go. She’s not allowed. This is resolved by the Fairy Godmother. She had a great time. But wait! More conflict! She had to leave early but she’s not allowed to express who she is!
Stories are all about conflict. And for a story to be interesting, you need to have some conflict that drives the plot
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I would suggest you to make the MC’s daily struggles relatable. There must be a lot of obstacles she must face that should be relatable in a way. This includes the way she talks, and skills she must master to be a proper woman, and the way she has to dress. (Introduce a bit about her daily routine)
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The MC has to be lovable. She must have some outstanding traits (can be good or bad) that strongly shows her personality. That way, you can persuade the readers to love your character. There’s once drama called Yanxi Palace and it was once the world most popular chinese drama. The secret behind its popularity is because the MC isn’t like other dramas. The MC in the show is a savage and not sweet and kind like other MCs. You can make the MC a bit silly if you want, but character development is extremely important.
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You must be very clear of the setting. The story must be carried out in a specific time of the Medival Times. You have to do a lot of research during about the Medival Times. That way, it’s easier for you to describe the setting, and who knows? It may trigger you to add an interesting sub-plot.
- Just like what Shannii has mentioned, you must create a problem to the story, and think of a solution to the problem. A problem can lead to another and eventually, it becomes worse. Your readers shouldn’t able to predict the solution to the problem, or have no clue about it, which will make them curious to know what happens next. Therefore, snowballing the problem is also the key.
I hope this helped you, feel free to PM me anything you need help with about this story! Happy wriitng!
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