I think storytelling is a skill apart from being a good writer. I know many people who can write excellent, beautiful prose and snappy dialogue- but the number of writers who can plot a book that keeps me turning the pages are very few. I would say that a really good writer can hone in on the details while managing to keep the bigger picture of the story clearly in their mind as they write. Everything written is there (or not there) for a purpose, whether the reader realises it or not.

I studied creative writing and screenwriting, which is very heavy on structure and plotting. I ended up writing novels (10th published last month!) and I do mlthe majority of my plotting before I evem begin writing the book, but I will often change and the plot will evolve as I spend more time with the characters. I don’t initially worry about the prose. I worry about telling the story. You end up developing a kind of sixth sense for when to stop a scene, knowing when a character’s action (however minor) becomes something that will impact later events, etc. I don’t sit down and write lists of adjectives to describe my characters, but I can tell within a few seconds of writing a line whether it’s something they would say or whether it’s just convenient for the plot to have them say it. Editor meetings are exhausting because when she suggests a change to a particular moment, I can see instantly the knock-on effect it will have on other sections of the text and it’s a rush to record all of this so I can go back and edit later.

I don’t study plotting conventions beyond the basic Aristotlian 3 act structure. I’m only vaguely aware of tropes and current trends in publishing. A lot of storytelling comes from having simply read hundreds and hundreds of books over the years and absorbing what works and what doesn’t in terms of plot and style. It’s rare I’ll actually put it into words, (unless I’ve been asked to review a book), but it’s there regardless in the reference library of my brain.

I know it’s an unpopular opinion in the writing community, who would like to believe that anyone can learn to become a great writer; but I do believe that some of us are just born with a brain that makes storytelling inherently easier. For some people our information retrieval mechanisms, capacity for abstract thought, vivid imaginations, linguistic skills etc all just come together to make telling stories and writing them down easy - then it’s largely a case of perseverance and good luck. I’m friends and acquaintances with many writers and although they all talk about how much self-discipline is needed to write, none of them find it particularly challenging. It has always felt like something I’m meant to do and something that brings me pleasure, even as I was practising putting the nuts and bolts together. We enjoy doing it, so it doesn’t really feel like hard work.