Writing Fiction: Lessons from the Various Mediums of Storytelling
The day you sign up to be a fiction writer is the day you swear an oath to entertain your readers. You want to pull them so deeply into your story that they forget they’re on Earth for a moment. You want them to feel something. It doesn’t matter what, but they must feel it so deeply it stays with them for as long as possible.
It’s not easy to do that, I admit. But it’s not impossible.
How do you do that though?
Well, one way is by studying all kinds of stories no matter what medium they come in.
Some people think they can only learn to write fiction by reading novels. Don’t limit yourself like that. The world is your classroom. Books are great. But other forms are just as important.
Every medium of storytelling has something to teach us. Every single one of them.
Short stories
I used to naively think that short stories were easier to write than novels, because well, they’re short. I want to go back in time and smack that idiot.
I tried to write a science fiction short story once. I ended up with over ten thousand words… and I was only in the middle of the story.
That’s when I had an epiphany: I suck at an ungodly level.
How in the hell do I congest a full story in 3000 words or less?
I was so bad at getting to the point of the story that more often than not, I ended up writing a whole novella or novel. I was writing a ton of nonsense, because all I did was ramble.
But the more I practiced, the better I got at brevity.
Before you write your first novel, start with short stories. It will refine your writing skills by teaching you the economy of words.
I made the mistake of writing a novel first, and it was a disaster. Don’t take my word for it. Read the dumpster fire here.
Thankfully, I’ve improved a lot since then — the credit mostly goes to personal and short stories.
Movies and TV shows
It’s nice to relax and watch a movie or TV show for fun.
But these days, I can’t do that anymore. I can no longer watch movies and shows purely for entertainment. No matter how much I’m enjoying it, something about the story will make me slip back into writer mode.
Well-written movies and shows can teach you a lot about storytelling.
For starters, they’re great at showing versus telling.
When you watch a movie, you know when a character is jealous even if it’s not explicitly mentioned. You see it in their body language. How they give that bombastic side eye when someone flirts with their lover. The character doesn’t say they’re jealous. Hell, they vehemently deny it.
But you, the viewer, know that they are jealous. You know this because their actions say so.
I’ve always struggled with showing or describing things in my stories. But movies helped me navigate this problem.
Another thing I love to analyze is dialogue. My favorite shows have some of the most killer dialogues. Each time I watch them, I can’t help but be mystified by the sheer genius of the writers. Like, how the hell did they even think of that?
The plot. Characters. Conflicts. And those damn cliffhangers.
You’ll become a better storyteller if you study movies and shows.
Anime/manga/manhwa/manhua/comics
Comics are stories in picture form. Graphic novels, if you will. But you probably already knew that.
Anime is Japanese animation. Please don’t call it cartoons or you’ll be burned by the ire of a thousand Weebos. You’ve been warned.
Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan.
Manhwa are comics or graphic novels from South Korea.
Manhua are also… comics. But from China.
Now, I see you rolling your eyes. “So why not just call them comics?” you ask.
Don’t even think about it.
Now that I’ve gotten the definitions and threats out of the way, let’s talk about what these art forms can teach you as a storyteller.
I once recommended anime to my brother. He was incredibly offended that I would even suggest such blasphemy in the first place.
“That shit is too over the top,” he told me. “Completely unrealistic.”
This is from the same person who is in awe of all things Barbie, Disney, and Marvel. But I understood what he meant though.
Some of the most bizarre shit you’ll watch in your life is anime. Think of the insane power-ups, mind-blowing fight scenes, absurd character designs, weird magic systems (or technology), and so much more.
Anime is ridiculous. And I mean that in the best possible way. It’s what makes it so great. The manga/manhwa/manhua (fine, comics) versions are often so good that they put the animated version to shame.
In case it’s not obvious by now, I love these art forms.
No, scratch that. I am in absolute awe of them. I do not exaggerate when I say that they completely transformed me as a writer, forcing me out of the box I had locked myself in for so long.
I used to have a warped sense of what stories were supposed to be. I had a lot of imagination, of course. But they were far too safe, too tame. Whenever I came up with an outrageous idea, I would reprimand myself for daring to be so audacious and throw it away. I never let my imagination run wild.
I censored myself, never in full possession of my creative energy. So of course, it affected my writing. My stories were stale at best, utterly lifeless. You could tell I was holding myself back. All because of fear. I was afraid of what people would think if they read my stories.
They’d say my ideas were stupid. No one in their right mind would take me seriously. This was what I thought.
And then I discovered anime, and everything changed. It altered my mindset about what it meant to tell stories. To be a writer.
Anime exposed me to so many different types of characters, plots, and settings. You’d think you’ve seen the most insane shit only for another anime to exceed your expectation.
From rubber-skinned pirates to chainsaw men…
Twelve-year-old psycho assassins to thousand-year-old sun-averse demons…
And these are just the tamest ones I could think of.
Often, I would read the synopsis of an anime and just scoff at how stupid the premise was. Then I’d watch it and be completely dumbfounded by the sheer creativity of the writer. Like, how in the hell do you turn the most ridiculous idea into a freaking masterpiece? It’s insane.
It taught me one thing:
The writer has the freedom to create whatever they want.
I could be as outrageous as possible, create the most psychotic magic systems, write the most ridiculous scenes, or simply go crazy. I could do anything.
If you read any of my stories and wonder what kind of psycho I am to come up with such an idea, just know that anime and comics did that to me.
These art forms taught me that there’s no such thing as a dumb story idea.
With the right execution, even the dumbest ideas can transform into pure gold.
Final thoughts
We can learn a lot from every medium of storytelling out there. Don’t just limit yourself to what you know. Expose yourself to stories from across the world, from various cultures.
Read books even in the genres you don’t write. But the key is to find books you’ll love. Just because you need to read doesn’t mean you should torture yourself with books you don’t enjoy. Life is too short for that shit.
Watch movies, series, and anime. Read short stories, novels, and comics. Study and practice deliberately. And then write your own stories.
Are you struggling to write consistently? Download my free guide to building a solid writing habit and make your writing dreams come true.
Want to get more stories like this from The Write Network?
