Reading Responses: Telling True Stories

In "What Narrative Writers Can Learn from Screenwriters," Nora Ephron spoke about the structure key to narrative, which are three questions a storyteller has to answer: Where does it begin? Where does the beginning start to end and the middle begins? and Where does the middle start to end and the end begin? I think this a great and much easier way to think about when outlining any story I write. I think it is easier than using Jon Franklin's outline method in "Writing for Story."

One thing I do agree with is Franklin's thought of sometimes needing to come up with an ending before the complication, because that way, one can know their point of their story and maintain it throughout the whole story.

In "Endings," Bruce Desilva talks about endings and how they should do four things: signal to the reader that the piece is over, reinforce your central point, resonate in your reader's mind after he or she has turned the page, and arrive on time. Desilva also says that writing an ending is a lot easier to write because then you will know where you are going with your story, which is what Franklin mentions in his outlining chapter.