Origins

First things first, Kemosabe. A shoutout. I couldn’t do Story Elements without acknowledging the inspiration for it: David Perell and his new site Writing Examples. In fact, I took the format for my articles from him. If you haven’t heard of it and are serious about being a writer, the following isn’t a recommendation, it’s an order.

Go check it out now. Here it is www.writingexamples.com.

David also hosts the How I Write podcast which I’ve personally found to be fantastic in a number of ways for my writing. There’s also a number of great book recommendations that have drained my bank account and filled my bookshelf. All for the better.

Another writer newsletter I follow is World Builders by Nathan Baugh. I’ve found them to be very helpful and they’re more tailored toward crafting stories. He’s also the one who turned me onto Brandon Sanderson’s lectures on YouTube. Again, if you haven’t checked those out, I order you to watch them. Even if you don’t plan on writing Science Fiction or Fantasy novels there’s lots in there to pick up and use.

“Like what?” You ask.

Like Promise, Progress, and Payoff.

If you know you know, Kemosabe.

So, now that I’ve blown smoke up their asses, I’ll set one thing straight. I don’t know any of them. I just want to be a writer and a good one at that. So I harnessed the power of the internet and found people who were trying to help beginners like me do just that. Which brings me to why I started Story Elements.

I have close to twenty works outlined, a few drafted, edited, and re-drafted, covers made, formatted, and uploaded to the book printer, only to tuck them away to marinate a little longer. Why? Simple. I’ve never felt they were good enough. More specifically, I felt publishing them would waste their potential.

So for the past four years I’ve been practicing and doing what I can to get better. I write every day. I read every day. I listen to writing podcasts and keep the lessons in mind for my next writing session. I even spent time trying hand copy, where you take one of your favorite books (any book or piece of writing really) and write out the story word by word. It’s a slow process, but you can get the feel of the author’s cadence, methods, and choices by doing it.

All in all, I’ve been putting in the ink, as they don’t say. And yet, I still felt I was missing something. That something made complete sense when it finally came about. As a former analytical chemist, teacher, and epidemiologist, my brain is more wired towards the analytical and technical elements. So when Writing Examples came out I was stoked. Here was someone breaking down timeless writing and analyzing the exact methods and techniques the authors used to make their words ripple through time. And not only that, the articles came with an uplifting graphic. One that was easy to understand and was fun to dive into. And the writing wasn’t the stale academic vomit I was used to reading and writing for a decade.

I knew the moment I read the first article this was something I didn’t just want to read about. It was something I needed as part of my practice. Breaking down the writing, creating a graphic, and condensing thousands of words of notes into a 250-500 word article, that’s where my writing was going to make deep strides. So, I took action. I decided I’d analyze a piece of writing and write a “How to” article once a week on what I uncovered.

And here we are.

If you want to be a great writer, and if you’re serious about writing, then I’ll encourage you to deconstruct pieces and figure out what makes them tick too. Hell, you don’t even have to follow me, you can deconstruct whatever passages you like on your own. Alls I know is that it’s nice to study with other writers. So that’s what Story Elements is offering.

Come hang out. Deconstruct a piece of writing and figure out how you can really make your own writing timeless. If you’re like me, you’ll know when it’s time to stop letting your own stories marinate.

That’s the plan, Kemosabe.

If you’re unsure where to start, try my framework! It’s a mix of arts & crafts, talking with robots, and a whole lot of thoughtful walks. Give it a go. Take what works, toss what doesn’t, and you’ll find your own approach in no time.

Here’s my breakdown: How I Deconstruct Great Writing.