Tag: dramaturgy writing

How to Create a Great Prologue and Epilogue for Your Story

How to Create a Great Prologue and Epilogue for Your Story

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In addition to the many narrative techniques and characters we have discussed in bibisco blog, there is one fundamental aspect of any narrative. Create a great prologue and epilogue. What is the difference between these two? There are specific characteristics they should have. Let us look at the details of the prologue and epilogue together.

Create great prologue and epilogue: differences between them

Before speaking about how to create a great prologue and epilogue, we have to clarify what they really are. First of all, the prologue is the antecedent, it is the introduction to the narrative. In fiction, the prologue may have the function of introducing the action or anticipating it. It can also act as an initial explanation or even, in some cases, anticipate the ending of the story.

The epilogue, on the contrary, is the ending of a novel. This is also the moment when the reader leaves the imaginary world created by the writer and returns to the real world.

Create great prologue and epilogue: characteristics and roles

Many authors recommend writing the prologue at the end of the writing process when you have a clear idea of the novel. Others, however, believe that the prologue should be written earlier because it helps the author in writing the story.
In any case, it is good to remember that the prologue must add something to the narrative. It must not be superfluous or repeat elements that are already contained in the narrative. As we have anticipated, its purpose is to interest the reader and anticipate the narrative.

Concerning epilogues, to write good endings, you can recall images, details, and symbols that you have previously included in the story so that the prologue, development, and epilogue compose a solid and homogeneous structure. An author can, as Tarantino did in Pulp Fiction, end by linking back to the opening scene.

Why create a great prologue and epilogue for your story

The prologue, when present, has specific purposes. It must immediately interest the reader and anticipate the story.
It is, therefore, a very useful element, especially when the story is very complex, has many facets, or if the author uses a complex narrative technique such as one that requires the use of several time plans, or many characters.

The epilogue, on the other hand, which corresponds to the ending of the narrative, should surprise the reader. It must aim to leave the reader satisfied, and melancholic at the departure of the story and the characters. It must be unexpected, but in the end, the only possible ending.

Some examples of the prologue

There are in fact, two types of prologue: one that is part of the story and one that is external to the narrative and has an autonomous function.

An example of a prologue used very often, also in the world of cinema, is the flashforward. This consists of anticipating an important event that occurs later in the story. Usually, after inserting this type of prologue, the story should begin with the words ‘tot. hours before’ or ‘tot. years before’.

Another very frequent example is the ‘zero point‘ of the story. That is the explanation of the triggering event. Usually, this prologue involves secondary characters or characters who do not play a significant role in the story.
After inserting this prologue, the story begins with the words ‘tot. hours/years later’.

Some examples of the epilogue

There are different types of epilogues. On one side, the closed epilogue answers all the questions that were posed in the plot, and every character finds its square. Everything is explained by a cause. On the other side, the open epilogue leaves certain doubts in the mind of the reader, who will be forced to guess based on the events and clues in the plot. It is suitable if a sequel to the story is planned.

The author can use other two types of epilogue. The circular one takes the reader back to the starting point. It ends the novel with the same concept, image, or words used at the beginning. Finally, there is the In media res epilogue.

This is increasingly adopted today. The novel ends when the story is not yet finished, for instance, with a gesture, a description, or a dialogue. There is the feeling of a suspended, ambiguous ending, which is meant to give the impression that the story is much longer (it starts earlier and ends later) and we are only spectators of a segment.

The key to the ending of any story lies in giving the audience what they want, but not in the way they expect.

William Goldman

Use bibisco to create a great prologue and epilogue for your story

The prologue and the epilogue have two particular roles, as we have explained. However, they are not easy elements to write and create from scratch because they can lead to confusion, in the case of the epilogue, or fall into the infodump (overabundance of information) in the case of the prologue. Take advantage of bibisco‘s story planning software to write your narration, prologue, and epilogue.

bibisco allows you to keep track of any element, note, and characteristic. You won’t leave anything to chance, and you won’t risk repeating information. You will then have fantastic help!

bibisco's chapters' section - How to Create a Great Prologue and Epilogue
bibisco’s chapters’ section
DOWNLOAD BIBISCO FOR FREE NOW!

Conclusions

How to create a great prologue and epilogue for your story? The prologue and the epilogue are two fundamental elements of narration. But it is not as easy to write them, as it may seem. They have specific characteristics and roles in narration, and they have to be written with attention to be a great prologue and epilogue.

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

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Have you ever noticed that Disney-Pixar cartoons also have a narrative pattern, just like the narratives we have discussed in previous articles? Indeed, there is a recurring pattern. Rules compose the way Pixar tells the story to its viewers. This is our Dramaturgy series with Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling.

What are Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling?

Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling can be a useful outline to follow in constructing your own narrative.

Storytelling, or the science of storytelling, is a methodology that uses narrative as a means created by the mind to frame events in reality and explains them according to a logic of meaning.

It differs from simple storytelling, however, because it starts with the purpose of achieving a communication goal. It is not limited to a simple chronology of events (chronicle), but its goal is to lead users to empathize, feeling the story as their own. In doing so, the message pierces all barriers because it becomes the viewer’s personal narrative.

Beginning with the first film produced by Disney and Pixar in 1995, Toy Story, the elements of storytelling that Pixar has often followed can be grouped into a list of 22 rules.

Pixar’s rules of storytelling

  1. The viewer admires a character for trying more than success: a character who makes attempts and fails, showing that they are able to improve themself and turn the situation around, is an honest and sincere character to whom one becomes attached.
  2. You have to think with the viewer’s head and create a narrative that entertains the audience, not just the writer of the story.
  3. Starting with a theme is essential, but the most important and interesting part of the story develops only at the end of the narrative. Once you get to the ending, reread the story and rewrite it.
  4. There are structures that are repeated in Pixar storytelling. Expressions that are also part of the world of fairy tales such as “Once upon a time there was…”, “One day…”, “Because of that…”, and “Until finally…”.
  5. Less is more. Simplify the characters, make them interact with each other, and avoid any kind of digression that is unnecessary. A story with few elements is much better than one with too many details, which is confusing.
  6. Think about the character you created and what they are good at. Don’t make them feel in their comfort zone. Otherwise, they won’t have a chance to make mistakes and make the audience fall in love. Put your character to the test.
  7. Don’t get caught up in the narrative, not knowing what the ending of the story will be. That is the most important part, the part that will have a moral and that will stick with the audience. The advice is to think about the narrative and already the ending, then to write aiming for the ending you have in mind.
  8. Perfection is difficult to achieve and is often not the goal of good storytelling. There are imperfect narratives, however, that are beautiful and remain in memories.
  9. Writer’s block happens to everyone and is something that can stop a narrative. In this case, make a list of things that would not happen in your storytelling. Often inspiration comes from just something you would have never initially considered.
  10. Read a lot and take inspiration from many stories. Make what you like your own and think about how to bring it back into your narrative.
  11. Think of as many ideas as you can think of and write them down. Seeing your inspirations in black and white will help you not to forget them and incorporate them more easily into the storytelling.
  12. As we have said, little is always better. Once the narrative is written, start eliminating one thing, then a second, a third, and so on, until you arrive at a basic but essential narrative.
  13. The audience likes characters who have their own opinion and character. Indifferent and impassive characters, on the other hand, bore and appeal to no one.
  14. For what reason are you telling this story? What is the reason you started writing it and want to make it public? Express it.
  15. Think about your characters. How would you behave if you were in their place? Put a little bit of you into the narrative.
  16. As mentioned, the audience likes to see the attempts rather than the successes of the characters. However, it is necessary to make it clear what is at stake, and the purpose of the attempts; otherwise, the viewer may feel lost.
  17. If you get stuck at a standstill, don’t push it. Move on; think of something else. It may be that what you wrote down that stuck you initially will come in handy later.
  18. Writing a story is a test of oneself. Often hidden sides of a writer come out that one did not know. Sometimes they don’t even fit into the story and don’t make it perfect. Don’t think that, in this case, your narrative needs to be rewritten–storytelling tests a writer and allows him or her to get to know themselves more deeply.
  19. Write about coincidences that test your characters. These are the elements that make a narrative interesting. Those, however, that get them out of trouble are much less interesting.
  20. In item 11, we suggested writing down the ideas. Similarly, try to think of a movie you did not like and write down why. Take these elements you didn’t like, fix them and make them interesting in your storytelling.
  21. After thinking about your character and whether you would behave the same way, also try to explain why. Provide explanations for your characters’ behaviors.
  22. By now, you must have realized that the more essential a story is, the better. However, try to convey what is the heart of the narrative and its essence. The elements that surround it are outlined.

If the conflict in your story merely allows your character to show their skills, or to stretch them, you’re only halfway there. Try cranking up the discomfort, forcing your characters to dispense with whatever baggage is hindering them, and build themselves anew, to deal with the threats you’ve created.

Dean Movshovitz- Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films

bibisco and the rules of storytelling

Using bibisco’s novel writing software can provide several benefits for writers who want to apply Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling. Here are a few ways in which bibisco can help:

  1. Organization: keeping track of the 22 rules of storytelling and the basic elements of storytelling can be overwhelming. However, bibisco’s software provides a structured framework for writers to organize their ideas and notes in a way that makes sense.
  2. Planning: bibisco’s software includes tools for outlining and planning a story. This can help writers to apply Pixar’s storytelling rules in a deliberate and strategic way, ensuring that each element of the story contributes to the overall narrative.
  3. Character Development: Pixar’s rules emphasize the importance of well-developed characters. Bibisco’s software includes features for creating detailed character profiles, allowing writers to flesh out their characters and ensure that they are consistent throughout the story.
  4. Revision: one of Pixar’s storytelling rules is to “simplify and focus.” Bibisco’s software can help writers to identify areas where their story may be too complex or unfocused, allowing them to revise and refine their work.
Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling- bibisco's chapters section - bibisco blog | useful resources by your novel writing software
bibisco’s chapters section

Overall, using bibisco’s novel writing software can be a valuable tool for writers who want to apply Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling. By providing a structured framework for organization, planning, character development, and revision, bibisco can help writers to create more compelling and effective stories.

DOWNLOAD BIBISCO FOR FREE NOW!

Conclusions

Each narrative is different and should not reproduce the same elements as the previous one. These rules, however, are a great starting point from which to begin building storytelling that captures the audience and allows you to create characters that the viewer will fall in love with.

How To Craft A Perfect Scene For Your Story

How To Craft A Perfect Scene For Your Story

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When you come up with a new story to write, what is the first element you start with? Maybe the characters, maybe the setting, and almost certainly also the story.
However, when does the moment come when you start to create the scene? Read our guide to find out how to create a perfect scene.

What is a perfect scene?

A story consists of a set of scenes. Each scene represents an element in itself, which must be conclusive in its own way. The scene, with the fabula and the plot, are among the building blocks of a narrative.
You can divide any literary production into scenes (descriptive, dialogue, introductory, and so on).

Dividing the novel into scenes can help to draw up the outline of the work and accompany the author in both the writing and revision stages.

One can also decide to write the whole story in chronological order and then move some scenes earlier or later, thus creating more movement in the narrative rhythm.

Be careful, however, not to write superfluous scenes. These not only disperse the rhythm of the narrative but also risk confusing and boring the reader.

How to create a perfect scene: suggestions

There are 8 different steps to create a perfect scene. Here is the list:

  1. Purpose
  2. Climax
  3. Conflict
  4. Change
  5. Point of view
  6. Structure
  7. Beginning and End
  8. Details

Let’s now see every single step in detail:

Purpose: Everything must hinge on the concept of action-process-decision-new action. Reflecting on this concept is what we unconsciously do in our daily lives. It is, therefore, important that each scene captures this concept, even if only with a few lines.

The purpose of the scene is then crucial because it shows what the author wants to express. If the intention is to show a part of the character of the protagonist, this is the right time to devote a space to him and think that the purpose of the scene is just that.

Climax: A scene must have a peak moment, a moment of maximum tension. We speak of climax in narration. It is the moment in which the scene reveals its true intention.

Conflict: Each scene must convey tension to the reader to capture his attention and keep him glued to the book. Writing about conflict is the key. The author can think of a conflict between two characters or an inner conflict of the protagonist. As long as one understands what is at stake.

Change: The characters change in the course of the narrative. They learn, face situations that challenge them, and change their attitudes. Another characteristic of a perfect scene is to show character change.

Point of view: A scene can be seen from the point of view of the reader, another character, the author themself, or the character experiencing the described scene. This is generally referred to as the point of view. This step is to be defined while thinking about the first step, that of the purpose of the scene.

Structure: Every single scene consists of a structure. If the author starts describing the scene from an accurate but too long description of the environment, there is a risk of losing the reader’s attention and some basic elements of the scene (such as the climax).

A good suggestion is to start from the middle of the scene or from the end, creating a reversal of events.

Beginning and End: We have said how important it is to start a scene well. Equally crucial is the conclusion. A scene must conclude and have an end so that it is not left hanging. If it ends with a special event or a punchline, even better.

Details: Now that we have sketched the scene, we need to spice it up with details. A scene without any description, without details, would be bare. So think of meaningful details that can enrich the scene.

This is the squalid, or moving, part of the story, and the scene changes. The people change, too. I’m still around, but from here on in, for reasons I’m not at liberty to disclose, I’ve disguised myself so cunningly that even the cleverest reader will fail to recognize me.

J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories

Need some help to craft a perfect scene for your story? There’s bibisco!

Have you read the list above to create a perfect scene but are afraid of getting lost in some detail? No fear! bibisco comes with this innovative writing software that helps you keep track of everything. You can enter your characters, their physical and character traits.

You can write the scenes, insert the objects of your story, decide the chronology of events.
With bibisco you will not miss a thing and you will have a valuable helper when writing your narrative.

how to craft a perfect scene for your story- bibisco's chapter' section - bibisco blog | useful resources by your novel writing software
bibisco’s chapter section

Conclusions

Scene construction is fundamental to the structure of the narrative. It is not something that can be easily invented but there are elements that must be taken into account.

In this guide you learn how to craft a perfect scene for your story.

How To Apply Time Travel Theories In Your Novel

How To Apply Time Travel Theories In Your Novel

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There are many novels about traveling through time, into the past, or projected into an imaginary future.
What, however, lies behind these theories of time travel? We explain that in this new article on our bibisco’s blog.

What are time travel theories?

Time travel theories directly link to quantum physics.
According to scientists, time travel is possible because men have created the concept of past and future, but no one has ever scientifically proved it.
In fact, if we go and check Newton‘s studies, we find nothing about this. Even in Einstein‘s Theory of Relativity, we find no laws of quantum physics that deny the possibility of time travel.

Therefore, the most recent discoveries in physics show that time travel, at least at the subatomic level, is already happening.
Think of the time anomalies that researchers periodically discover all over the world. We had already read reports of scientists discovering objects or skeletal remains of men and women millions of years old before humanity evolved on the planet.
How could objects, or people, who did not even exist at that time, have ended up there?

Time travel: why it attracts the reader?

Time travel is a theme that has inspired the imagination of many writers. Indeed, the possibility of traveling into the past and future opens up endless opportunities for the characters in a book, such as changing the course of events, becoming part of history, or exploring past and future eras to interpret them with the mindsets of another period.

Books about time travel have also entered the imagination for their ability to take readers of all ages out of the present world for a few moments, involving them in a compelling story, and then take them out again through one or more time jumps.

When you want to get away from the present moment, reading a book about time travel can be a great way to relax.

Few rules about time travel narration

Like every other narrative technique, there is always a downside.

Time travel is a strong attraction, as we have written. However, it is also challenging to set up precisely because it consists of a jump within the timeline.

You have to organize the narrative and the characters well and avoid indulging in too much time travel. The risk is to confuse the reader, not to relax him. Instead, the main aim is to make them feel so much a part of the narrative that they cannot stop reading.

Time travel narration: some examples

Writers started telling stories about time travel as early as the 1300s. They were also already writing about magical objects capable of time travel, wizards, and spells.

Many examples of books and films base their narrative on time travel.
One of the most recent and famous is “Tenet” by Christopher Nolan. Also, in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban“, time is traveled using a magical element, the time wheel, which Dumbledore gives to Hermione at the beginning of the school year.

Then let’s not forget a Christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, where the three ghosts of the past, present, and future visit the rich protagonist Scrooge on Christmas Eve.
Finally, we cannot fail to mention the film “Back to the Future“, where the two protagonists, Marty McFly and Doc, travel through time aboard a special Delorean-DMC12.

bibisco and the time travel theories

Do you want to write a story about time travel? It is always better in these cases to have the support of good software that can help you maintain a logical thread to avoid getting lost in the narrative as you travel between the past, present, and future.
Thanks to bibisco writing software, you can create an imaginative narrative without fear of confusing your reader. You can keep everything under control with this powerful and helpful tool.

bibisco's timeline - How To Apply Time Travel Theories In Your Novel
bibisco’s timeline

Conclusions

Do you want to write a story about time travel? It is always better in these cases to have the support of good software that can help you maintain a logical thread to avoid getting lost in the narrative as you travel between the past, present, and future.
Thanks to bibisco’s innovative writing software, you can create an imaginative narrative without fear of confusing your reader. You can keep everything under control with this powerful and helpful tool.

Do You Know The Difference Between Fabula And Plot?

Do You Know The Difference Between Fabula And Plot?

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Two fundamental elements of any story are the fabula and the plot.
Without these two elements, it is not possible to create a narrative. It is from here, therefore, that every writer starts to construct their narrative.

What are the Fabula and Plot?

The fabula is the narration of the events in the order of their logical-temporal sequence.

It is, therefore, clear that the fabula is a fact; it represents what happens (and things happen in chronological order, causes before effects).

An example of a fabula is the Divine Comedy. Dante‘s journey is essentially linear. Each stage is necessary to access the next scenario and set the events in the correct chronological order.

On the other side, there is the plot. The plot is when the author can establish how the individual events of the story are to take place. In other words, it is the mode we choose to narrate the facts.

The author is, therefore, free to choose which way to tell the facts.

There are different types of plot

  • resolution plot: the transformative action concludes a concrete crisis (a meeting, a marriage, …);
  • revelation plot: the characters carry out a revelation process, increasing their knowledge or consciousness.
  • unified plot: in which the plot unfolds over successive, closely connected episodes;
  • episodic plot: individual episodes present weak links to one another while carrying a single narrative corpus.

Plot and fabula: where to start?

Some writers prefer to start and define the fabula and then concentrate on the plot. This allows them first to define the events and then think about how to present them to the reader.

In other cases, on the contrary, fabula and plot do not coincide. To make stories more compelling and exciting, authors often disregard the chronological order of the fabula and construct the plot of their texts with time lags.

Two narrative techniques allow you to reverse the story’s events: analepsis and prolepsis.

  • The analepsis (or flashback or retrospection) consists of a jump back in time, whereby what happened previously is recounted.
  • The prolepsis (or flashforward or anticipation) is the opposite technique to flashback, which consists of a leap forward in time, whereby one anticipates what will happen in the future.

When the plot does not coincide with the fabula, it is up to the reader to reconstruct the chronological order of events after reading through an operation of personal abstraction. By reading the story, they will mentally put the pieces back together, restoring their logical-chronological succession.

bibisco can help you to choose the fabula and the plot

As anticipated, the fabula and the plot are among the two main elements to think about before creating a narrative.
However, the writer has the choice of whether to create a coherence of events or not.
bibisco, thanks to its innovative writing software, helps you in this difficult choice and to identify the events of the fabula so that you can present them in the plot without the risk of forgetting something or confusing the reader.

Dramaturgy Series #6: Fabula and plot- bibisco's architecture of the novel & narrative strands - bibisco blog | useful resources by your novel writing software

Conclusions

When you want to start writing a novel, you should avoid writing without an outline, not knowing the events you want to include in the narrative.

Each author has the freedom to choose the order to present the events narrated in their text: they can describe the events scrupulously following their chronological order, or they can decide to anticipate certain future events or explain past events.

In short, he can organize the succession of their narrative by playing with fabula and plot.

What Is The Story’s Premise? It Is The Safe Compass That Will Guide Your Narrative Into Port

What Is The Story’s Premise? It Is The Safe Compass That Will Guide Your Narrative Into Port

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There is a crucial part of writing a novel besides character creation and narrative techniques. It is about the premise.

The premise is a fundamental element of the narrative that should not be overlooked because it represents the compass that guides the narration for the writers.
Let us see what it is about in detail.

What is the premise?

In simple terms, the premise contains the entire novel in just one sentence: conflict and its resolution. The premise is your guide when you write your book: the conclusion must start from conflict.

It is the soul of the story. It is the premise we give ourselves in working out the different scenes, not something the reader/viewer knows beforehand. A common thread of the story to design it better.

How to write the premise?

The greatest difficulty in creating a premise lies in understanding that it is impossible to notice where the premise ends and where stories and characters begin in a well-written story.

No one part must override the others; the whole must blend harmonically.
The premise must be honest, transparent, and forthright.
The premise should be formulated with the “Theme-Conflict-Result” structure. It is essential that the premise be expressed with a cause-and-effect formula and should be constructed according to these three elements, of which the first should suggest the protagonist (i.e., something inherent in his fatal flaw or winning endowment), the second should present a possible conflict, and the third should tell us the outcome.

Premise: some examples

Let us give some well-known examples to understand the premise better.

Let us think of “The Godfather“, a film by Francis Ford Coppola. The film’s premise is “The Godfather: Loyalty to one’s family leads to a life of crime.“

On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet’s premise is “Romeo and Juliet: great love conquers even death.“

While again, to stay with Shakespeare, Macbeth‘s premise is “ruthless ambition leads to self-destruction.”

Moral of the story and premise: What is the difference?

The premise is not something rationally provable, but it is what the author will argue implicitly throughout the story.

That is why the premise must be something you believe in or have believed in the past long enough to be full of ideas, situations, reflections, and nuances to deal with so that it flows naturally from you.

The moral is what a story might teach us.

The narrative premise, on the other hand, is what the writer wants to demonstrate with their story.

Often the premise is not something you decide at the table before you begin, but something you discover as you design the story, when situations and characters marked by your stylistic fingerprint start to suggest what the story will be about deep down. You may even fully understand your premise only after the first draft.

A princess’s life is in danger and a young man uses his warrior skills to save her and thus defeat the evil force represented by the Galactic Empire.

Star Wars premise

Write your premise with the help of bibisco

Have you ever thought about using an innovative tool that could give you a hand in creating your narrative without making you miss the steps?

bibisco's premise section - What Is The Story's Premise? It Is The Safe Compass That Will Guide Your Narrative Into Port. | bibisco blog useful resources from your novel writing software
bibisco’s premise section

bibisco, with its innovative writing software, can help you with that. Discover this innovative tool’s functions that facilitate you while writing your novel and even your premise.

Conclusions

The premise may sound cliché or a silly little phrase, but it is the element that sums up a good story and hundreds of other similar stories. The whole story must serve the premise, with carefully chosen scenes to support it. The premise makes that series of scenes a unique and coherent story.

Therefore, the premise must be correct, transparent, and truthful so as not to confuse readers while reading the novel and confuse them.

How To Exploit The Power Of Five-sense Descriptions To Create Engaging Stories

How To Exploit The Power Of Five-sense Descriptions To Create Engaging Stories

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Often when people talk about starting to write a story, they immediately think about the description of the characters, the events, and the story. We have told a lot about this in our ‘dramaturgy series‘.

Writing an engaging story, however, also involves the talent to evoke emotions through the five-sense descriptions. But how does that work?

What are five-sense descriptions?

A good author must know how to stimulate readers by describing the five senses. Sound, music, images, aromas, and flavors must be present in an engaging story.
Sight and hearing are perhaps the easiest senses to describe. A more difficult task concerns the description of touch, smell, and taste.

How to use the five-sense descriptions in a narrative?

The brain works on impulses of action and reaction. Each action introduced, therefore, corresponds to a reaction.

An author has to learn how to communicate at a distance with the audience, thus using the right words that introduce a specific action and trigger the subsequent reaction. That is why adjectives are essential.

Think about what your brain suggests as you read these words

  • Acrid
  • Pungent
  • Ice cream
  • Torrid
  • Fetid

Similarly, verbs are also valuable helpers.

The trick is to try to describe the sense as minutely as possible.

How can you learn to describe the five senses?

An author who knows how to describe is an author who knows how to observe.

Often, authors fail to include compelling descriptions in their texts because they do not have a clear idea of what they are describing or do not have sufficient linguistic mastery. In these cases, the scenes remain bare, and the characters are not given much depth. The vocabulary used is poor or trivial, and the same expressions are repeated over and over again.

Finally, one has to work hard on one’s vocabulary to enrich it with as many synonyms, adjectives, and verbs as possible.

Examples from fiction: the use of the five sense descriptions

Even in movies, the description of the five senses is fundamental. It’s easy as far as sight and hearing are concerned, but what about the rest?
Think of the film ‘Chocolat‘ with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. The chocolate preparation scenes are shown with infinite care. At the film’s end, you almost want to make yourself a nice cup of chocolate.
Even in Disney’s famous hit ‘Ratatouille‘, the mouse chef is shown intent on cooking. The sound study was so careful and detailed that it made your mouth water.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

Anton Chekhov

Use bibisco to choose the correct words

bibisco comes with innovative writing software that lets you keep track of the words you want to use to describe the five senses. You can also create an outline so that you don’t lose the thread of the descriptions and risk repeating yourself in the story.

How To Exploit The Power Of Five-sense Descriptions To Create Engaging Stories - bibisco's main character section - bibisco blog | useful resources by your novel writing software

Conclusions

In this article, we learned how to exploit the power of five-sense descriptions to create engaging stories: it allows you to reach out to your readers and get them involved.
However, you must have a good vocabulary and learn to observe and use synonyms. In this, bibisco supports you and helps you during the writing of your novel!

Why Is The Novel’s Setting Essential To Craft A Story That Your Readers Will Love

Why Is The Novel’s Setting Essential To Craft A Story That Your Readers Will Love

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Each story takes place in a specific place at a specific time. The characters move in that environment and are profoundly influenced by it: in the way they behave, speak, and think.

This is why is the novel’s setting essential to craft a story that your readers will love.

What is the setting of a story?

The setting of a story is the context, the environment that provides the backdrop for the story’s events.
It includes customs, traditions, costumes, and expressions that depend on geographical location and change over the years.

Something that may fit in Europe may not be told in Asia or must be slightly modified for America.

Similarly, what was accepted in 2010 in a metropolis like New York, could be considered outrageous in 1800 in a small town in the United States.

The setting is what varies over the years and centuries, and the author must pay close attention to.

Why pay attention to the setting?

In a previous article, we talked about “Magical realism“. This narrative technique allows you to introduce magical objects in a real context. A narrative device like this fascinates the readers so that they accept it almost as if that object were part of everyday reality.

Unlike this, however, an incorrect setting does not engage the reader. On the contrary, it risks confusing and even irritating him.

Inserting customs and current expressions into a 500-year-old setting seems more like a mistake than a narrative technique. In these cases, it appears that the author has not thought carefully about the setting and everything that characterizes it.

Whoever reads a story is predisposed to believe what is told in it, even if it is a fantasy story. In the narrative jargon, this is the “suspension of disbelief“. It is that glimmer of doubt inherent in the reader that opens when you tell something totally inconsistent.

Setting equals trust

If you don’t want to lose this trust that the reader is giving to your novel, you have to write a coherent story.

For example, if you tell a detective story set in the nineteenth century, you can’t solve the case with DNA analysis.

In the same way, if your main character is a street kid, you can’t make him express himself as an academic.

When the readers read, they become immersed in the story as if in a dream and let go.

Reading, however, of inconsistent elements you don’t explain in the story causes accidents that awaken your reader from the enchantment of reading and alienate him.

In fact, while we read a novel, we are insane – bonkers. we believe in the existence of people who aren’t there, we hear their voices, we watch the battle of Borodino with them, we may even become Napoleon. Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed.

Ursula K. Le Guin

bibisco: an essential tool for your setting

As you’ve seen, it’s not easy to figure out the setting of your novel. On the contrary, doing it is crucial for so many reasons.
bibisco, thanks to its innovative novel writing software, helps you understand your novel’s setting. In this way, the author identifies the expressions and traditions to describe and include in the characters’ dialogues.

bibisco's setting section - The novel's setting is essential to craft a story that your readers will love -
bibisco’s setting section

Conclusions

Defining the setting, understanding it, and applying it correctly are essential to crafting a story that your readers will love.
Everything you include in your story must be consistent with the setting to avoid confusing readers but engage them in a coherent, linear, deep narrative.