Fiction, whether short stories or novels, depends heavily on three things for publication: plot, theme and characterization. Missing just one of these three elements usually results in a rejection. So let’s look at them and how to be sure you have each thing.

PLOT

Plots DRIVE. They push forward. Plots are like sharks, they can’t just stop and be still…they are propelled forward by the force of the pressure you have built into them. Lets consider some things you might think are plots, but are not…

Luke wakes up and runs downstairs for breakfast. He’s happy because his grandparents are coming to visit. He goes fishing with his grandpa. He makes cookies with his grandma. He listens to great grandparent stories until he finally falls asleep, dreaming of what fun he’ll have the next day!

Why is this not a workable plot? Because it contains no pressure. Luke is just bobbing through a happy day. He has no goals. He has no problems. He has not challenge. He is just going with the flow. We might love days like that, but a story needs more propulsion than just the movement of time. Any story that starts with waking up and ends with falling asleep should be examined closely to be sure a plot lurks between those two periods of time. Time cannot stand in the place of plot.

Luke doesn’t want to go to the beach. It’s hot. It’s dirty. And he always has to go with his teasing girl cousin. When they get to the beach, Luke plops down under the umbrella until his mom makes him go play with his cousin. He finds his cousin down on the cooler sand near the water, building something. He discovers she’s making a sand monster and he joins in…soon he’s having a great time. When his mom calls for them to help pack up, Luke is sad to go since he had such a great time.

Why is this not a workable plot? The main character has a problem – he hates the beach and is being forced to go. Doesn’t that mean it’s a plot? ONLY if the main character is so pressured that he does something about it. What does Luke do about his story pressure? He is made to go play with his cousin and has a good time in spite of himself – that isn’t a plot that propels. Luke needs a little more chance to DRIVE in his own plot.

Do examine your own plots. Are they just stuff happening? Have you built pressure for the main character? Does he act because of that pressure? Is it important to him that he do something to change the situation and relieve the pressure? Does the end of the story depend heavily on the choices and actions of the main character? All of those things should be answered with a “yes.”

THEME

This is why a story theme is best presented through the struggle and action and effects upon the main character. As the main character struggles through the plot pressure, he is almost sure to change. Struggle tends to result in change for humans. It makes us stronger. It makes us change our direction. It makes us think. It makes strengthens our beliefs, or makes us rethink them. And as the reader lives through that struggle with your main character, then the reader will also be thinking…thinking about what the main character is experiencing.

This is one reason why editors HATE stories where wise adults pop in to lecture the main character. If a side character comes in and lectures the main character into change, then you’re short changing the value of struggle. And you’re telling the reader WHAT to think, and thus distancing the reader from the story.

Theme is not the same as “the moral of the story.” Theme explores. Moral just tells. If you explore themes of friendship – how can you tell if someone is a true friend? How can you be a true friend? How much do we owe our friends? Should friendship be more important than obedience? Then the reader must think about these things. And that can cause the reader to think about friendship in his own life.

But a “moral of the story” is a package already thought out. The reader reads the stated “moral” and moves on. It doesn’t require thought. It doesn’t require puzzling it out or connecting with your own life. It’s handed to you neat and clean. And you can then forget about it. And kids do.

CHARACTERIZATION

For instance, suppose I create a plot where a boy finds a kitten stuck in a storm drain. To know what the boy will do, I need to know that boy. Consider the following three boys:

Joey is shy and thoughtful. He’s slow to try new things and a little cautious. He has a kind heart but hates conflict.

Zack is bold and impulsive. He is easily frustrated, and emotionally a little stormy. His nature is optimistic.

Michael is hyperactive and has a little trouble making friends since his impulsive actions sometimes result in catastrophe. He doesn’t trust his own instincts. Someday, he hopes to be a fireman. He has absolute faith in his family.

Now, how would each of these boys deal with the problem of a kitten stuck in a storm drain? Which one would stick his arm down the drain first? Which one would be most likely to create some kind of rig out of the stuff in his school backpack? Which one would look for the kitten’s owner? Which one would immediately decide to keep the kitten?

Different people respond differently to the same problems. By not creating ANY personality for your characters, it is easier to make them do exactly what you want. But the end result is less satisfying. Your reader will be less likely to believe in the story and be less moved by it. It’s hard to relate to a flat paper person, but if you make your character multi-dimensional, then you’re reader is much more likely to respond to the character emotionally – and whether they love your character or hate your character, the one thing you definitely don’t want is for them to just not care about your character.

So consider this trifecta of good story telling. It takes all three elements to build a story that grabs the reader and makes the reader think, long after that last page of the story is turned.