Writing Your Premise for an Argument

Creating a great structure for a story is oft forgotten by authors who just want to jot their ideas down on a piece of paper or on their laptops. But if we want to keep our readers interested, creating a solid story structure can go a long way!

When writing a story, it’s always best to learn how to create an excellent sentence structure. Constructing sentences is easier nowadays, since you will always find a list of story premises online that’ll help you in writing. Even in other forms of media like in films, sentence structure (for screenplay, in this case) is vital. Movie premise examples essentially speak of what the films are all about. Short story structures follow the same principle.

Writing a solid story structure takes time and practice. There are aspects you need to take into account before coming up with one, and they are included in the process of conceptualizing the overall plot.

So what is structure in writing? How exactly do you create a solid structure for the sentences in your story? And what do you need to write a story? Below are steps you can follow to keep your readers engaged in your story writing.

Come up with a solid premise

Before even writing your story, create a foundation to base your plot on. What will your story be about? Who are the main characters? Who’s the antagonist? How about the love interest? What’s your story’s setting? How does the conflict start and how will the story end? A premise will help you begin and end your story on a strong note. You can also make a story premise worksheet to aid you. It’s helpful whenever you’re torn with how to write a plot outline.

Use active sentences

While it’s alright to use passive voice in writing for certain lines, it’s good practice to write in active voice, since writing passively, for the most part, entails laziness and would get your readers bored. Passive voice takes responsibility away from the doer, making sentences vague.

Don’t overuse adverbs

Author Stephen King once said, “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” And he has a point (considering he is an expert on how to plot a novel). Adverbs are an indolent way to describe something. In writing, therefore, use a stronger verb that’s specific to how you’re trying to describe a certain action. For example, instead of saying walked calmly, you can just use sauntered.

Have physical goals for your characters

Any character in your work must have a certain goal to achieve, as it is the foundation of your story. When a crisis arises, your characters will need to deal with it, having a solution as their main goal. Whether they may be focused on such goals or not, having specific ones that exist help in creating a robust structure for your story arc. It’s important, therefore, to learn how to write a story outline for your characters.

Beware of purple prose

Adjectives, like adverbs, have their uses when there isn’t a specific verb defining how you want to describe a certain action. Overusing adjectives and using unnecessary words can result in purple prose, which makes a paragraph too extravagant, drawing too much attention to itself, instead of the message it’s trying to convey. A good balance of detail and brevity will help you avoid purple prose.

End the story with great force

Readers can tell if the ending is weak, especially when you start with good story plot points. An underwhelming ending will make your story less memorable and people won’t be able to get anything out of it, if that’d be the case. Authors may end the story with a thought-provoking chapter or a plot twist. You can do what’s best for you from there.

Creating a story structure to embed in your readers’ minds isn’t as difficult as it looks, that’s why authors don’t have an excuse for not coming up with a solid plot and structure. If you’re ready to write down the story you have in mind, consider the factors above and you’ll go a long way.