Q: What do you think makes for a good story?
A: A good story needs compelling characters, an interesting plot, a captivating setting, and prose rich with action or detail. Those are the easy parts. Who wants to stop with a merely good story? I’d much rather read a great story. Greatness requires one more layer: a meaning that fills and overfills the bounds of the story, reaching beyond the characters and confines of the page. Every author dreams of writing stories that leave the reader with a new understanding – conscious or otherwise – of their self, society, or humanity.
Benjamin C. Kinney’s story “Shiplight” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 9 September 2016. Subscribe to our e-mail updates so you’ll know when new stories go live.
Yes, I agree. Well said. As I say, “A story should never be ‘just’ a story. ”
Keep up the great work!