new day, new information

My daughter is starting a college short story course this week. Her first assignment was "what is a good story." She asked me to tell her. While I could give her my ideas right off the top of my head, what for me constitutes a good story, that wasn't exactly what the I believe her professor planned. So, I put it back to her. I began interviewing her, made her think about stories and novels I knew she liked, and had her come up with her own list of what makes a good story in her reader's world. I wasn't surprised that what she ultimately came up with was nearly identical with what I felt myself. She's grown up in my world, after all, so of course our ideas would mirror each other. But more importantly, her answers were universal, because a good story is a good story because it has all the elements reader look for in a timeless work--regardless of the genre.

Here's her list. For her, a good story--

1. ends in an action that keeps the characters alive, and keeps her thinking about what likely happened after she's run out of pages and closed the back cover.
2. breaths life to everything relating to the work, and keeps a reader believing long afterward.
3. offers a full sensory experience, with all five senses addressed throughout each scene.
4. offers a valid conflict, with characters relatable on some level to the reader.
5. shows change in the character, as no one can go through any level of conflict without changing in some way.
6. gives a beginning that hooks a reader, a middle that keeps the story going at a strong pace, and an ending that not only gives climax, but offers satisfaction and believability. The ending doesn’t have to be “happily ever after” but it must show the characters acting true to the way the writer has portrayed them throughout the story.

Call me an indulgent mom, or a writer who wants to share market information with her peers. But most importantly, I am a happy writer who sees that even a young college student can see the things I try to put into each of my works, and looks for those same things in the works of others. The only thing I would add is:

7. Provides surprise(s) for the reader.

Other than that, I'm running slow but steady with my JaNo project, having to fit in work that will hopefully bring paychecks soon, and help me pay my heating bill. But since it's freezing cold outside, I don't want to go anywhere, and that always helps me write. Especially when I can keep my warm laptop on my lap to fight the chill. Unless the cat wants my lap instead, of course.