A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I have a slightly contrarian streak as a writer, and one of the things I was interested in was how distilled could I make a life, and how I could cross what is kind of trivialized as a domestic novel with a novel of ideas, a philosophical novel.
You can't write just anything. Your story needs structure.
Good stories flow like honey. Bad stories stick in the craw. A bad story? One that cannot be absorbed on the first time of reading.
Stories are hard. I have friends who knock out stories on a weekly or monthly basis, like they're running on medicinal-strength Updike. But for me a story is as daunting a prospect as a novel.
I will not go into a story unprepared. I will do my homework, and that's something I learned at an early age.
A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.
A novel captures essence that is not possible in any other form.
If you are having trouble with a story, it may not be an issue with the quality of the writing - there may just be too much of it.
You find most of the interesting stories are the ones that are slightly harder to get made.
A good story is a good story, whatever the medium.