Writing Craft: Master List of Story Development Skills

Last time we talked about how to know when we’ve learned enough that we can start our editing process. As we discussed in that post, we all have a natural tendency to underestimate where we are on the learning curve because we don’t know what we don’t know.

That means we might think we’re ready to start our editing process before we really know what we’re doing, which can lead to us wasting time and/or money. Not to mention our endless frustration and struggles if we jump the gun.

Instead, as mentioned last time, we need an intelligent guess at where we are on the learning curve before starting the editing process because any advice will be of limited use if we’re not ready to understand.

In that post, Step Two advised us to create a “master list of craft skills.” With that list, we might have a better idea of where we fall on that learning curve, and we’ll get ideas of what skills we should study next.

Me, being the perfectionist that I am, decided to try to take on this project of working up a “master list” that we all can use. But I’m just one brain, so I’m going to get things started, and we can add to this list with your help. *smile*

I’m going to break down this project into three posts, one for each phase of editing:

1. content/developmental editing (fix story and character-level issues)
2. line editing (fix scene and paragraph-level issues)
3. copy editing (fix sentence, word, and grammar-level issues)

The craft skills we’re discussing come up both when we draft and when we edit. After all, whatever we don’t understand during drafting will need to be fixed in editing, and editing generally happens in the order above (as there’s no point in polishing words in a scene that might be cut or entirely rewritten).

So today, we’re starting with content/developmental editing…

What craft skills do we need to
understand and be able to apply
to develop a story and characters?

What Is Content/Developmental Editing?

The first phase of editing goes by many names:

• content editing
• developmental editing
• substantial editing
• or when we’re self-editing, it’s often just called revising

This editing phase looks at the big picture: story arc, plot flow, stakes, character development, motivations, theme, etc. That’s why we’re calling this portion of our master list Story Development Skills.

Do you know all these Story Development skills? Here's a “master list”... Share on XDuring the drafting process, these skills help us write a coherent, meaningful, and hopefully engaging story—or at least the best we can do before revisions. During the editing/revision process, these skills will help us fix the big-picture type of problems that make readers throw books against walls and strengthen our story and the elements listed above.

Either way, if we don’t get these skills down, it won’t matter if we know where to place commas or not. Without strong storytelling skills, no one will care about the nitpicky stuff. We’ve probably even suffered through books with poor grammar just because we couldn’t put the story down.

The other editing phases all work to support what comes out of this phase. Either our storytelling works or it doesn’t.

The Ultimate List of Story Development Skills

(Disclaimers:

• Yes, this list is hella intimidating. We don’t—and can’t—learn everything at once.
• No, we don’t have to be skilled at all of these before moving forward in our publishing career. Many of these skills will be an ongoing learning process, and the advanced ones will only come with lots of time and practice.
• Most of these bullet points are roughly in order of basic to advanced skills.)

Don’t worry. This list gives us a map for our journey, but we’ll never reach the end because there’s always improvements we can make. There is no “done.” *smile*

We need to know how to:

Develop Premise and Story Arc:

• make a story feel complete, with a beginning, middle, and end
• decide on the right genre for the story we want to tell
• plan what story elements we might need in advance
• decide on the right feel/mood/style for story
• decide on story world and scope
• decide on the right place/scene/event for story beginning
• decide on the right note/emotion for story ending
• make the story feel like it has a point (Why are we telling the story? Why would readers care?)
• create a sense of change from beginning to end (something “happens” during the story)
• fulfill our genre’s “promise” to readers
• identify necessary arcs for story/genre/reader expectations (for example, the romance genre requires a romance arc with strong character arcs but the plot arc depends on the subgenre of romance—paranormal, suspense, sci-fi, etc.)
• identify and develop our story’s emotional heart
• understand the difference between villains and antagonists (and how they’re both crucial to the strength of our story)
• understand how antagonists drive our story
• understand the pros and cons of prologues and epilogues and decide if appropriate for story
• develop our premise into a story with the question “Why?”
• create a story flow that carries readers along
• understand what narrative drive is (How do we develop it? How does it affect pacing?)
• decide on the appropriate level/style of humor for our story
• develop humorous situations that will create amusement in readers beyond simply comedic word choice
• know how to add depth to our story and make it feel meaningful
• understand high concept and how to improve our story’s premise
• understand options for series development and develop story arc appropriately
• understand tropes of genre and reader expectations and how to use them to increase reader interest

Develop Characters and Character Arcs

• create the right characters to reveal the story (interacts with the plot, creates conflicts, demonstrates theme, etc.)
• decide on the right protagonist to drive the story
• develop how the protagonist is forced to face the story
• decide on depth of character development to meet reader/genre expectations
• find the right balance of a plot-driven or character-driven story
• create a sense of change for the character (What do they learn? How do they change the world? How does the story affect them?)
• develop antagonists that get in the way of protagonist, but avoid boring or cliché villains
• decide on villain or antagonist’s arc (Are they redeemable?)
• use characterization (character goals, motivations, behaviors, attitudes, dialogue, thoughts, emotions, etc.) to make characters feel three-dimensional
• ensure characters are proactive and have agency
• ensure secondary characters have enough sense of an arc and goals to live separate lives off-page
• know how to layer character elements
• develop character flaw to overcome
• make character vulnerable to increase reader connection
• decide on importance of meeting genre/reader expectations for character likability and other factors (and understand risks of breaking expectations)
• avoid “default” or generic characters
• understand how characters move the plot forward
• ensure that all characters are necessary
• understand how character arcs interact with other characters (How does a character’s potential as viewed by another character create a relationship/romance arc? etc.)
• ensure we’re writing characters beyond our experience with sensitivity
• develop triggers to explain character’s change
• develop character backstory, wound, false belief
• develop character’s longing/needs, fears, worst nightmares
• develop character’s identity and essence
• understand options for how and when to reveal character’s backstory, wound, false belief, longing, fears, worst nightmare, identity, and essence
• understand pros and cons for each option and when each one might work best

Develop Plot and Subplot

• develop a plot that reveals the story (forces characters interact or change, exposes theme, creates conflicts, etc.)
• create a strong enough plot to meet genre/reader expectations
• find the right balance of a plot-driven or character-driven story
• decide on need or appropriateness of subplot for genre, story length, and expectations (short stories won’t have subplots, etc.)
• create a cause and effect chain for plot events (transition with but or so/therefore, not and then)
• ensure that all scenes are necessary
• use plot events to reveal character agency
• ensure plot events feel logical and not contrived or too convenient
• develop subplot(s) that interacts with and strengthens main plot
• develop plot events that trigger characters’ arcs (fears, worst nightmares, etc.)

Develop Story Beats and Turning Points

• understand story structure (acts, beats, turning points) and why it’s important
• know the purpose of each act and what it needs to accomplish
• understand story beats and turning points (What are they? What do they do for our story/plot?)
• understand where we fall on the plotter-pantser spectrum—are we a plotter (plot story beats before drafting), pantser (write by the seat of our pants and check story structure later), or something in-between (some planning, plotting major beats and pantsing the rest, etc.)
• understand the purpose of each major beat/turning point (What does it need to accomplish for the story/plot and for the reader?)
• understand how to apply the major beats/turning points to our genre
• understand how a story’s climax is its essence
• know what makes for a satisfying story climax
• know what a “sagging middle” is and how to avoid it
• develop a “black moment” that creates sense of defeat and fits the story
• understand the purpose of other beats (How can we use them?)
• create a cause-and-effect chain for the overall story

Develop Conflict

• develop obstacles and conflicts appropriate to plot and characters that will push story forward
• understand different types of conflict (not just fighting)
• use gaps between what characters want and what they have to drive conflict
• use antagonists (not just villains) to create conflict
• understand how goals, motivations, and stakes all interact with conflict
• identify central conflict of story (Who/what is protagonist fighting and why?)
• develop conflict that will force characters to face weaknesses and fears
• develop moral (no-win) choices to reveal character
• ensure conflict builds to a choice requiring courage
• ensure conflict doesn’t feel contrived
• understand the options for revealing conflicts (subtextual, dialogue, narration, action, character internalization, etc.) and when each option might flow best

Develop Stakes

• create stakes appropriate to story and genre/reader expectations
• develop stakes (consequences) for every choice characters face
• ensure every “failure” has consequences
• raise stakes throughout story
• ensure our Black Moment consequences are bad enough but also match the stakes of the story
• understand how stakes create motivations for goals
• understand how goals, motivations, and conflict all interact with stakes
• understand the options for revealing stakes (subtextual, dialogue, narration, action, character internalization, etc.) and when each option might flow best

Develop Goals

• create goals for every scene
• ensure every major character has goals (to drive their motivations)
• ensure minor characters have reasons for their involvement
• understand how every goal has stakes (consequences for failure)
• understand how conflict, motivations, and stakes all interact with goals
• ensure goals are concrete and tangible (needs and longings can be intangible)
• ensure goals ring true to character
• understand the options for revealing goals (subtextual, dialogue, narration, action, character internalization, etc.) and when each option might flow best

Develop Character Motivations

• create motivations for every goal (What are their reasons for their goals? What do their goals and stakes motivate them to do?)
• develop motivations appropriate to character’s backstory, wound, fears, longings, false belief, etc.
• ensure motivations are strong enough to explain character choices and actions
• ensure antagonists have motivations too (and understand how villains’ motivations often echo protagonists’ motivations)
• understand how goals, stakes, and conflict all interact with motivations
• understand how tweaking motivations can solve many plot/story issues
• develop motivations that reveal character fears and flaws (potentially taking immoral action)
• ensure motivations ring true to character
• understand options for revealing a character’s motivations (subtextual, dialogue, narration, action, character internalization, etc.) and when each option might flow best

Create and Maintain Tension

• decide on appropriate level of tension for story and genre/reader expectations
• understand what creates sense of tension
• understand the importance of antagonists (not just villains) in maintaining tension
• understand how goals, conflicts, and stakes affect tension
• understand how tension affects pacing
• decide whether the known (dread) or unknown (suspense) creates the right level of tension and reveal details as appropriate

Create and Balance Pacing

• decide on appropriate pace for story and genre/reader expectations
• understand what increases a story’s pacing
• understand what slows down a story’s pacing
• balance providing context and avoiding information dumps
• find the right pace for resolving our story’s various arcs, plots, and subplots so the ending doesn’t feel too drawn out or too rushed (the latter issue seems to be more common, with all resolutions stuffed into one scene or chapter, which can lead to shortchanging some)

Develop Themes

• decide on appropriate themes for story and genre/reader expectations
• understand how stories can have multiple themes
• understand the different types of themes (story, character, etc.) and what creates each
• strengthen and layer theme throughout story
• understand what unintentional themes are and how to avoid them
• develop positive themes even when our ending isn’t neat and tidy
• understand how themes reflect our worldview
• understand how to use subtext, symbols, motifs, metaphors, etc. to enhance storytelling and theme

Use Showing and Telling

• understand the difference between showing and telling
• understand why showing is often preferred in modern storytelling
• know how to show emotions in both POV and non-POV characters
• know the strengths and weaknesses of each
• know when to show and when to tell
• balance showing and telling for story’s pace

Evoke Appropriate Emotion

• understand the importance of creating a compelling reader experience above all else (a compelling storytelling experience forgives almost all other mistakes)
• understand expectations of genre for amount, type, and depth of emotions in our story
• understand difference between character emotions and reader emotions
• identify elements that contribute to story emotion: tension, pacing, deep point of view, showing vs. telling, stakes, motivation, characterization, story situations, characters’ emotional journeys, etc.
• emphasize and strengthen emotions
• layer emotions to add depth
• balance the right amount of emotion especially with intense emotional scenes
• mine our experiences and memories for emotional touchpoints

Decide on Point of View

• know what point of view (POV) means
• understand our POV options (first person, deep third person, etc.)
• decide on appropriate POV/narration style for story and genre/reader expectations
• decide on how we’ll implement our chosen POV (single character POV, switching POV between hero and heroine, etc.)
• decide on appropriate POV character for each scene
• know POV transition options
• know what head-hopping is and why it’s a sign of lazy writing and how to avoid it
• understand what out of POV means
• identify and fix out-of-POV issues
• understand pros and cons of deep POV
• write deep POV if appropriate for story/genre/reader expectations
• understand options for character development and reader immersion in deep POV (showing emotions, internalizations, etc.)
• understand what makes one POV choice or character better for the story than another

Balance Elements

Many skills such as POV and showing vs. telling are important at both the developmental phase and the line-editing phase. However, the line-editing phase will look at these elements in a single paragraph, page, or scene.

At the developmental editing phase, these skills are analyzed at the big picture level. Do we…?

• make appropriate choices to increase reader immersion
• understand subtext and balance text and subtext to avoid being too on the nose or too confusing
• balance various story elements (narration, action, dialogue, emotion, etc.) and weave information together
• balance the right amount of backstory to provide context
• make POV choices that work and make sense for the story
• struggle with out-of-POV errors overall (not just in one scene, etc.)
• struggle with balancing showing vs. telling overall
• struggle with information dumps overall
• balance the right amount of character and plot development
• balance the right amount of description
• struggle with active setting details and POV overall
• know how to account for story issues that might affect marketability
• know how to develop our storytelling
• know how to “sell” aspects of our story to disbelieving readers
• know when it makes sense to do big revision changes
• know how to be intentional with our writing

*whew* Yes, this post took as long to put together as you’d think (if not longer…ugh). Hopefully with this list, we can get a feel for where we are on the learning curve as far as story development skills. And as a bonus, this list might help us know what to look at for self-editing our story’s big picture. *smile*

Have you ever created a master list of writing skills? Were you able to come up with a list for story development? Can you think of additional skills we should add to this list?