Intro
I talked last month about how I use inspiration from other creatives’ work, but inspiration isn’t the only way that other people’s stories have helped me as a writer. Reading—and experiencing stories through any other sort of media, for that matter—is also possibly the best way to learn how stories work. From basic plot structure to what makes a good character, experiencing stories can teach you how to write just about anything—as long as you pay attention and know what to look for.
In today’s post, I’ll share how I analyze certain aspects of a story to try to figure out what makes them work the way they do. I’ll also talk about what sorts of things typically catch my interest enough for me to try to dissect.
How I Analyze a Story
I’ve never actually read a book for the sole purpose of studying it. I read for fun, so I don’t really want to make it work. (Not to mention that I’m usually reading something I’ve never read before, so I don’t really know ahead of time if there’s going to be anything worth learning from it.) And, luckily, you don’t have to read with the conscious goal of learning something to get something valuable out of it.
The first thing that kicks off my analysis process is that I stumble upon something that I think is really well done in a book I’m reading. It could be anything from a shocking plot twist, to a character that I really empathize with, to a dramatic fight scene. Anything that catches my interest and that I’d like to figure out how to pull off better in my own stories.
What I do after I find something like that isn’t always exactly the same. Sometimes I pause my reading to think about what made whatever it was so successful right away. (I’ll go into details about how I break it down in a minute.) Other times I take note of the thing that caught my interest, but keep reading. I think about it again later, after it’s had some time to settle, and that’s when I start dissecting it. Neither one really seems to be more effective than the other, at least not for me, so I just kind of do whatever I feel like in the given moment. (It’s a casual process.)
Then I start asking myself questions about it. Obviously, the actual questions I ask can vary a lot depending on the specific thing I’m trying to learn from, so I’ll give a few examples.
First, let’s say I’m trying to figure out what made a plot twist so good. (Plot twists are probably the things that I analyze the most, so we might as well start there.) I usually start by thinking back to any foreshadowing that happened earlier in the book and how it subtly hinted at the twist, making it so that it didn’t come totally out of nowhere but also not giving it all away. I might also think about any red herrings (if there are any, of course), and why they were so effective at keeping me off the trail. And, of course, I think about the actual scene where the plot twist happens, and try to figure out what sorts of things the author did that made it so dramatic and impactful.
Next, let’s do one for a very vivid and realistic-feeling character. What made them seem so believable? Was it their personality? Their motivations? Their flaws? A lot of the time, it’s a mix of those three things, but sometimes it’s something else, like the believability of their emotions or the general complexity of their character. Maybe I find the character relatable, which makes them feel more realistic to me. Whatever it is, trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes a character jump out at me can be great for making any characters of my own who I want to have a similar effect on readers.
And, last but not least, let’s say I’m looking at a cool fight scene that really got my heart pumping. What made it so awesome and exciting? Maybe it was the fast pacing, or some flashy swordplay. Maybe it was the stakes and the drama. Maybe the visuals that it inspired in my mind were very vivid and immersive, pulling me into the scene. All of these things, and many more that I couldn’t possibly name, could have helped make the scene as good as it was.
These are just three examples, but I think you’re starting to get an idea of what sorts of questions I ask. By answering these questions, I can learn a lot from just the books that I read for fun, without having to devote special time to a more focused study.
Don’t Worry About Being “Wrong”
Sometimes, you might analyze something you read, and think you’ve cracked the code for writing something similar yourself, only to find that it doesn’t have the same effect. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your conclusion was wrong.
If you find that, say, your own character isn’t nearly as believable as someone else’s, it could mean that you’re missing something, yes, but it could just be that you need to practice what you already know more. Knowing that something works doesn’t necessarily mean you immediately know how to pull it off yourself, and the only way to make it so that you do know how to pull it off is to practice and get comfortable with it. It can also be super beneficial to have someone else read what you wrote and get their opinion on it, because it’s usually really hard for you as the writer to judge how effective any aspect of your story is on your own. You might find that, when someone else reads it, they seem to think that what you wrote has the effect you wanted after all, and you don’t have to change a thing. And, if it turns out that they agree that something isn’t working, then you can brainstorm ways to make it better.
It’s also good to keep in mind that different people might have different thoughts about what made something work as well as it did. You can use or discard those different opinions as you see fit—just don’t expect everyone to feel the same way as you do. A lot of the reading and writing experience is subjective, and different people might perceive the same scene or character or whatever in a different way. So they might have different opinions about what made the thing so great, based on their own perceptions and outlook. Nobody’s wrong; they just see things differently.
Sometimes it can be useful to consider these other opinions, because they could point out details that you didn’t notice or consider. Like, say that you’re talking with someone about a specific character—Leia Organa from Star Wars, maybe. (Though, of course, this would work for anything in fiction, not just characters.) Maybe the thing that you think makes her such a good character is how tough and no-nonsense she is. But the other person disagrees, saying that they think it’s her kind heart and compassion that makes her so good. Now, if we’re talking online chats in the comment section, this would probably result in a heated debate, but remember that we’re writers, and being able to stop and see things from another person’s perspective is arguably the most important part of the job. In this case, you might realize that the other person has a point: Leia’s character would be very different if it wasn’t for her compassionate side, to the point where she wouldn’t even really feel like Leia anymore if you took it out.
How can this be useful for writing? There are a few things. A more obvious way it can be useful is if you’re trying to write a character who you want to have a similar vibe to Leia, and you’ve been writing them as only a tough and no-nonsense character. You might want to consider giving them a softer side. It can also be interesting to see how different sides of a character might appeal more to different people and, as you get more opinions, you’ll probably start to see trends that can help you see what sorts of things people typically like to see in characters. This can help you guess what aspects of your character people are probably going to like, and give you an idea of what to put into a character that you want people to like.
And, if you don’t agree with someone else’s opinion about what makes Leia—or any character—so great? Well, then you just ignore it. It’s an opinion about fiction; it literally doesn’t matter whether you agree with it or not.
Outro
I focused mostly on books in this post, but I’ve applied this strategy to all sorts of storytelling mediums to try to learn more about what makes their stories tick, from movies, to tv shows, even to video games; if it’s got a good story, characters, whatever, you can find something to learn from it.
That’s all for today. I hope you found this interesting—and, of course, that you’ll check back later this month for the next book recommendation. Thank you for reading!
