Do you read in bed in order to fall asleep? Here is how to guarantee that happens.

Gary and I are both avid readers. Movies are nice, but a good book is what we live for (besides writing, of course.)

Have you ever opened a book or your Kindle and gotten into say the third or fourth chapter and asked yourself — is there a story here? Or become kind of bored or even impatient with it and were not sure why.

We spent some months doing Beta Reading through Fiverr. That is the service of reading a story from the viewpoint of a reader and letting the writer know what you thought of it. We added how we thought it could be improved and did a creative edit, which usually costs hundreds of dollars. Well, we didn’t do it for the money, and we learned a lot.

Nine times out of ten, I had to write in the critique: What is this story about? That is because the writer did not work out the Story Question, which is the core question to be answered in the story. That is the element that engages the reader to find out how the character/characters overcome obstacles, and that keeps the reader turning pages. This is something that should be worked out right after you have an idea for a story, and before writing it.

Dramatic Question with leads to the Story Question, also called the Story Problem:Will Scarlet win Ashley? (Gone with the wind)
Will Indy obtain the legendary Ark of the Covenant? (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Will Clarice catch Buffalo Bill? (Silence of the Lambs)
Will McClane free the hostages? (Die Hard)
Is Odysseus going to make it home from Troy? (The Odyssey)
Will Romeo and Juliet ever be together? (Romeo and Juliet)
“Who/what is Rosebud?” (Citizen Kane)

I think it needs to start in the first chapter, and then to solve the story problem, the protagonist has to fix something, find something, prevent something, do something. Each chapter contains an element of that problem. Here is an interesting article about developing the story problem.
https://theeditorsblog.net/2016/10/15/the-story-question-is-vital/

One of the stories we read had lots of interesting characters, scenery, events, and situations, but I never did know what the story was about, except that a lady goes to Italy to get away from things, she experiences some pleasant events, has a good time, goes places, goes to the beach. At the beach, she saves a lady from drowning. While she saves her, she runs into a mermaid. And … well you see. A mermaid????

I just bought a western. I haven’t read one in a long time, so I was excited. The whole story was about the life of a mountain man and a Cherokee brave. It seemed to be about their friendship, and it was I think. But that, the gratuitous violence and sex, and the struggle of the Cherokee against the white man were just not enough to create a great story. It was this happened, then this happened, and then this happened. I started turning pages all right, but quickly just to get to the end. I supposed the Story Question was: Will the Cherokee Nation survive the expansion of the white man? Or Will the friendship between the mountain man and the brave survive the conflict around them?

In the Romance genre, the reader already knows from the beginning that the characters will live happily ever after. That is a rule of the genre. They have to pretend to not know the outcome because they want to participate in the journey to get there.

To solve the story problem, the protagonist has to fix something, find something, prevent something, do something. The story question arises out of the story problem. Will our character—let’s call her Sally—find the murderer or the kidnapped child? Will Sally fall in love with John? Will Sally prevent the overthrow of the government, find the treasure, find herself?

Story events and character thoughts and dialogue should be all about solving the story problem—from the characters’ point of view—and answering the story question—from the readers’ point of view. All the elements of the story should serve the story problem.

Take any book you really liked, and you will see right away it was because you cared about what the character/characters needed/wanted or a problem they were trying to solve.

Okay, so there is my rant.
Thanks for listening.
Lee Jordan