I’m always slightly offended when people claim that they can see what I was ‘trying’ to do with a story or character, or when they imply that I’ve replicated this or that literary device, mostly based on incorrect assumptions.

I mean, some of those comparisons are positive, which can be a compliment, I guess. But often, the suggestion seems to be that I don’t know about literary theory, that I don’t understand the machinations of story, and that maybe I’ve just read a few pop-culture novels and tried my hand at the same.

Make no mistake, it’s incumbent on any writer to do their research, and to understand the writers that have established the foundations of literature, so that they can then apply, and even bend the rules as they see fit. 

This is one of the main reasons that I’ve always been hesitant to try crime fiction, or a fantasy story, because I need to have read widely within a genre to be able to competently create within that space. And while you might be able to add a different take, I think you do need to know the building blocks of any story or creative type, at least in basic form, in order to be able to maximize your creativity. Otherwise you may well be headed towards replication and cliché, without even knowing it.

If you haven’t read Shakespeare or Hemingway, you definitely should at least delve into each a little, and get a sense for what was so great about them. The same for all the classics in whatever genre you want to write, you should be able to analyze and assess some of the key writing elements of the greats, and get a feel for how their stories tick.

You should understand the difference between narrative styles, and writing styles as well. You should be able to identify minimalist writing, and understand the nuance of exposition within the context and style of a bigger narrative. 

And definitely, you need to have a grasp of The Hero’s Journey, which is the foundational pathway for every story throughout time.

Understanding how stories have been communicated, and the common elements that contribute to a satisfactory narrative, in alignment with how we all understand such, is key to ensuring that your narrative touches on all the emotional pay-offs, and feels complete.

It’s the key formula, if you want to call it that, of fiction, and if you don’t understand it instinctively, it’ll show throughout your work. 

Every story that you’ve ever loved aligns with Joseph Campbell’s research into narrative structure, and once you see it, story writing will make a whole lot more sense.