What's the story?

If I were to ask you, ‘Do you know what a story is,’ you would probably feel a little put out. After all, you’ve probably been writing stories for a long time, in fact, you might even make your living from writing stories. Honestly, he’s asking me that? The cheek!

‘Story’ is a common term d’art in the world of creative writing. Everyone knows what a story is, right? You would think so, but, alas, this is not the case. So don’t be offended by my question, because what we’re about to discuss is something that is not taught in writing classes, post-graduate degree programmes, or written about in most writing-craft, how-to books. Knowing how to tell that you have a story, and that it can survive the long story development process from beginning to end, is not some random bit of knowledge you pick up off the grass. It is skill that can be learned, like riding a bike. And once learned, it can lift your storytelling craft to a level of mastery that will save you time, money, and months of frustration writing yourself into literary corners and blind alleys.