How to Write a Good Story

Strange Horizons: Stories we've seen too often (I)

As you'll read in the article to follow, this list below is not an exhaustive or conclusive list of "don't write a story with this plot". I chewed on whether or not to post this article for a while because I wasn't sure how useful it would be. Still, every time I read it I am entertained, and I'm sure there are people who use the same ideas too many times (let it go, guys). I have used one or two of these too, in fact. The point of this article is to help us think outside of the box. Note that much of the stuff below is sci-fi or general fiction related, and in particular NOT horror.

This list is part of the submission guidelines for Strange Horizons, an online speculative fiction magazine.

STORIES WE'VE SEEN TOO OFTEN

(List last updated 10 March 2012)

This is not a canonical list of bad stories or story cliches. This is a list of types of stories that we at Strange Horizons have seen too often; it's not intended to be a complete list of all types of bad stories, nor are all the items on the list necessarily bad.

We often receive stories that match items on this list but that have cover letters saying "This matches something on your list, but I've done something new and unique and different with it." Such stories almost always turn out to be very similar to other stories we've seen. If your story is a close match to one or more items on this list (especially if it's a close enough match that you feel the need to include a cover-letter disclaimer), you may want to consult some friends who are well-read in the genre before deciding that it's probably different from what we see all the time. (And by the way, we often don't read cover letters until after we've read the story.)

One more thing: We know it's tempting to look at this list as a challenge. Please don't. In particular, please don't send us stories that intentionally incorporate one or more of these items.

THE LIST:

1. Person is (metaphorically) at point A, wants to be at point B. Looks at point B, says "I want to be at point B." Walks to point B, encountering no meaningful obstacles or difficulties. The end. (A.k.a. the linear plot.)

2. Creative person is having trouble creating.

      a. Writer has writer's block.

      b. Painter can't seem to paint anything good.

      c. Sculptor can't seem to sculpt anything good.

      d. Creative person's work is reviled by critics who don't understand how brilliant it is.

      e. Creative person meets a muse (either one of the nine classical Muses or a more individual muse) and interacts with them, usually by keeping them captive.

3. Visitor to alien planet ignores information about local rules, inadvertantly violates them, is punished.

      a. New diplomat arrives on alien planet, ignores anthropologist's attempts to explain local rules, is  punished.

4. Weird things happen, but it turns out they're not real.

      a. In the end, it turns out it was all a dream.

      b. In the end, it turns out it was all in virtual reality.

      c. In the end, it turns out the protagonist is insane.

      d. In the end, it turns out the protagonist is writing a novel and the events we've seen are part of the novel.

5. An AI gets loose on the Net, but the author doesn't have a clear concept of what it means for software to be "loose on the Net." (For example, the computer it was on may not be connected to the Net.)

(more in next chapter)