Dear Data, from story

Dear Data,

I hear you.

But this is what I feel.

Word after word after word is power, said Margaret Atwood.

And I could not agree more. Words are all I have to take my readers’ hearts away. And they should be enough, really.

Let us start right at the beginning. Imagine the powerful opening lines of some of the best novels ever written.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four sets the tone of dystopia in the novel right from the very first line.

Or experience this magical line, “Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way.” From Anna Karenina, written by Leo Tolstoy. It immediately foreshadows the fact that the book will share the unlikely story of one such uniquely unhappy family.

Or this one, where author Terry Pratchett brings out the salient wit and humour, "They say the world is flat and supported on the back of four elephants who themselves stand on the back of a giant turtle."

Words that set the mood for the story right from the first word.

From the opening lines that hook our attention, let us delve into each aspect of creation of a story.

What is a story without characters? Characterization – peeling away the cardboard cut-outs and cliches and detailing out the layers and the motivations of each character that inspire us to connect with their journey in brilliantly crafted stories. Some of them stay with us, for life. That is true craft.

For those who believe in the power of the plot, there is the craft of the conflict that stops our characters from reaching their goals just too easily. Conflict gives us reason to believe in a story, in a character. Sometimes, it shapes up as an external conflict like a battle, and in some cases, it could even be an inner battle. The conflicts take the stories forward and help us stay rooted to our character’s struggle.

The craft of building a story has many such minute nuances from use of right language to creating the right setting and from in-depth research to memorable dialogues.

Where would stories be without these elements of the craft of storytelling?

Of course, I know what you must be saying. That people do not have time to read long novels anymore. The depth of War and Peace is lost to those without the patience for words.

But then, look at the power of short-form fiction. If brevity is the soul of wit, it is the essence of life of 6–10-word flash fiction stories.

A few I love include:

“For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” Ernest Hemingway

“Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.” Vernor Vinge

“TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …” Harry Harrison

“Tick tock tick tock tick tick.” Neal Stephenson

They may be short, but they still focus on the various aspects of story crafting.

Building a story, a narrative is a delicate craft. The drama of emotion, a pinch of humor, a taste of thrill.

How can storytelling be imagined without the depth and the creativity of words and the technicalities of story crafting? This is the heart of the story.

I know the argument continues. Let us hear your side of the story.