[Jennifer Sears]

See the To-Do List for Session 13 for instructions for this discussion board;
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sears-eng-1141-ol07-sp-2021/2021/03/16/session-13-to-do-list-tuesday-march-16/

[Kyle Holston]

Some of the ideas for what’s the most important element of a good story from the video liked are a good story has conflict. Somewhere in the story there is suppose to be tension between two opposing forces, whatever it is there is suppose to be a problem that someone is facing. Another element is vulnerability, the story teller of the story is willing to be open and doesn’t have to be the hero of their own story. A third element is the story is something that could be true. These are a few elements of a good story as ideas from the video and are chosen because they are what is noticed in movies or books. In cat in the hat there is conflict, the kids need help cleaning the entire house before their mother gets back home. That is the conflict for the story and it brings the reader in much more because it leaves the reader to thinking are the kids going to clean the house before the mother gets back home or are they not going to clean to the house before the mother gets back home, it leaves suspense that is enjoyed and what the story teller wants.

What I think makes a story a story are having characters which is the obvious, a story needs something for it to be in motion for the reader. If there were not any characters it wouldn’t be a story. So something for the story to talk about is a good starting point for what makes a story a story. What else makes a story a story is there is a big moment in a story, every story has a big moment. Sort of goes tandem with conflict but there is something that is big happening that changes the story around. So lets say the story is about a snail and the snail is hungry, the snail has been looking for food for the last couple of days. Finally the snail gets food the fourth day, the snail getting food is a big moment. Every story has a big moment in it whether the action is a normal day to day thing or not it is still big according to the story. It is kind of difficult to find other things to say what makes a story a story the video covered many things already, I can’t seem to think of any other ideas that make a story a story. I guess a story has a beginning, middle and end, a story introduces whatever is happening. Then in the middle the conflict develops and the big moment for that conflict whether it is resolved or it is having a effect happens and then the ending is telling what happens after this conflict, does the character die does the city run away does the place go into ruins etc.

[Pratima Roy]

What I think makes a story a story is when you have unique characters in a story or movie. You need to have main characters and of course, you need to have heroes and villains. I love when there are a beginning, middle, suspense, and a good neverending ending. A great story has to have great settings and plots. Also, every story has to have a past, present, and future. I don’t know recently I have watched Cobra Kai and that story of seasons is amazing. A story has to have different interesting genres for audiences to get interesting in their liking. I can’t seem to think of any other ideas that make a story a story. A story has to have a background of a situation that happened or anything that craves the audience’s attention. It has to be interesting and follow a certain transition. Netflix has collections of amazing stories or movies that make the audience subscribe to their subscription.

[Jessica]

What I think makes a story story is when you can imagine it in in your head. While reading a story you should be able to feel like you are in the story. A story also has different elements such as characters, setting, problem and solution. A story has a bad character and good character and the rest are secondary character. Reading many different kinds of books growing up a book is interesting when you feel like you are in the story and you have a connection to it. Characters personality also plays a big role in a story , like the different characteristics of the character and how they act.

[Mosqan Naseem]

When writing a story, many components include the plot, conflict, settings, characters, the structure of the story, the length of the narrative serves as crucial points to recognize a story. Different types of stories usually have a conflict that can build up throughout this storyline. The use of descriptive language is generally very prominent in short stories, it pulls readers in, and because they aren’t very long in length, it may resonate with readers more than a novel might. When writing a story, humor is one of the main components that bring the literary category to life. Stories contain lots of dialogue as well as some narrations to help further the climax of the story.

Plot and setting also contributes to the construction of a story. Unlike novels, stories usually take place in one place unless the environment changes according to the plot or if it contributes to the increase of drama. Context is essential to short stories because it allows readers into the appropriate feel of where the story might be going. Giving a backstory on characters helps with character development, and it helps the reader understand why the character might have acted the way they did. In other words, it is essential because it’s a quicker way of introducing the characters briefly without going too in-depth.The key elements are conflict, setting, characters, length of the story, climax and plot.Stories can be about anything, from entertainment to horror.

[ifsa]

What makes a story ,a story is that it tells us about events or series of vents wither real or fictional. Stories are told to interest, entertain and teach us. Stories help us connect with other, communicate ideas, and imagine life’s possibilities. it helps us analyze, and remember stories they read or hear, It is important for them to identify the different component of a story.Some of the component of a good story are setting, characters, story starter, events, plot, solution, closing events. Your audience should feel different levels of closeness to your different characters, depending on if they’re main, secondary, or background character. Aside from the physical location and position in time your setting can be weather, political climate, social norms, cultural influence. A plot Set-up and exposition is the beginning part of your story where you establish the world, the characters, the tone, and your writing style.
Rising action The rising action is usually prompted by your inciting incident. Here, you escalate tension and problems, explore your characters. This is the biggest chunk of your book.Climax this is the sort of “moment of truth.” The culmination of everything–the highest point of tension. The point the plot has been leading up to.
Falling action can be what goes up, must come down. This is where you resolve any subplots and side stories.
Resolution can be a wrap up.

[Zeneida Hernandez]

I think what makes a story a story is when you share a different respective with the reader and you can convey the message. I will say also when you can tell a story and the reader can feel something and leave them thinking and wanting to know more. When telling a story whether true or a fiction the message that the narrative conveys must be true. Must be consistent and authentic.
Fallowing the elements that involved a story like characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution to keep the story running fluently to allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow. However, i think one of the most important factors is how you add emotion, characters, and sensory details to the simple facts.
When you have the ability to capture the audience’s attention then you know you are telling a story.

[Zeneida Hernandez]

I agree with Jessica, When you tell story and you can capture the audience’s attention then you know you are transmitting a message. You leave the audience wanting more and thinking.

[Asalah Alhababi]

For me the important things to make a good story includes the following:
Attention getter which is crucial to grab the reader’s attention. Such as the title of the story or the introduction to the story. The main character of the story who can control most lines of the story. Conflicts or problems in the story can make the readers interesting to read more and find what will happen at the end. Emotional stories like vulnerability stories that may share by telling a personal experience. Relating the story to a common experience is a great idea when a person is making a story, for the readers will feel more comfortable and less sensitiveness or loneliness. Using many descriptive words is a brilliant idea to express the characters feelings in the story. Using more than one characters in the story is a vital way to make the readers feel them self in the story during the dialogues. The ending of the story is significant since some stories may have a happy, sad, surprise or shocked ending. Therefore, stories can have an expected or unexpected ending.

[sagar]

For me the most important part of the story is impact of the story on the audience or reader. A story must have something to hit audience mind and make them think as a conclusion or something that people see for the first time. A story can contain, educational, scientific , social issues, issues about law which helps people to get connected with these things and known these things better. Story is a very good way of educating and awaring people with entertainment.

Also, the story must have different unique things to show. People do not like to see same thing repeating again and gain so, story must also include different characters performing different things and making the story more powerful and meaningful. The story must not only reflects the main characters whole the time.

[Lauriann Frederick]

The “elements” of the story that seem like necessary elements to me are the authenticity and impact of the story. Whether the story is able to impact its audience in such a way that it evokes some sort of harmony between the character(s) and its audience (s). The story should be one that rings true as it seeks to educate and inspire the audience in some way or the other. The audience is a very important element in any story, as the story is being told, the audience’s interest should be captivated and feel drawn into the story that they themselves may become a character within the story. I think the tension within the story should be more of a surprising twist than that of a conflict. Recently I watched, “I do care,” on Netflix and I thought the elements within the story were amazingly great. The story seems authentic and true, it made such an impact on me because some of the story line resonated with me. The characters held me interest and I was drawn in. the twist in the movie was so real… it was educating as well as inspiring. I was able to learn new information as well as confirmed old ones.

I do not exceptionally want something to blow up as one film director stated. Instead I’d rather something that is genuine, something that captivates the audience in such a way to evoke and stir up desires of curiosity within them. The audience should to want to know more about the story, something that builds up at first gently, then the twist would come as a great surprise enough so as not to crash the interest of the story but to keep it alive. For me the story should not be of bare conflict, instead it should harmonized with its audience in such a way that it leaves its mark upon the audience’s mind in a refreshingly positive way. According to one of the speakers it should exudes, “Honesty and Grace,” that is even if it is a friction, the audience can feel some sort of realness in it.

I thought Ms. Kerger and Mr. Eisner were the most convincing in my opinion and based on the stories I love. The story should be authentic, impactful, educating, inspiring with lots of good tension, yet it should display honesty and grace as it is being told. A great story for me is one that keeps me anticipating more, and be given more. Some stories builds up to a pinnacle but then falls flat….I like a story that does not end at the end, there should be room for more possibilities of another story within that story.

[jenni727]

Watching the video, I couldn’t help but nod my head yes at a lot of the suggestions made. The ones that truly stuck out to me were impact, conflict, and honesty. Something I’ve learned by writing independently is that when we write with honesty, when we’re vulnerable, our work is more believable, meaningful, and relatable. No one is flawless, meaning no character should be depicted as such. No perfect ending exists, meaning such an ending in a work will likely come across as cheesy and difficult to buy. Impact is also important because, to me, the sign that a work is well-written is if I feel that I’ve learned something from it. There’s so many works out there, but what sets them apart is that some inspire change in people, while others simply entertain or fail to bring much to the table. Works that make us uncomfortable or challenge what we believe, creating internal conflict, are the ones we remember. These works are what we discuss over the dinner table or excessively chat about to our friends because we just can’t get over them. What’s also valuable about conflict in stories is to see what causes them, their consequences, whether or not they’re resolved, how they were resolved, and the consequences of resolving or not resolving the conflicts. To see how certain characters resolve conflicts of their own can even inspire readers to try to do the same.

Some of the things that I want out of a story are depth, relatability, and character development. By depth I mean when I read about a character who is a perfectionist and over-achiever, I want to know why they’re that way. I want to know what goes through their mind, fueling this kind of behavior. I want to know whether or not this kind of lifestyle is consuming them, if they’re proud, or if they never feel satisfied with their successes. In terms of relatability, I believe that when we write about humans they should come across as humans. Humans are complex creatures. We’re not always consistent, we make questionable decisions, we have regrets- this is what I want to see. Someone who takes the time to describe the way a character likes to take their tea or coffee, or depicts them as having an outburst due to being late for work has created a character that is relatable, believable. In terms of character development, I want to see growth and self discovery. I want to see returning to bad habits or figuring out a new way to cope. Characters should be complex, navigating through a journey of their own as we are and learning things throughout the way.

[Anthony L]

One of the things they talked about was that a good story educates and inspires the audience. I can agree with this completely since I believe that every great story is different and provides different elements that it plays around with. Stories such as romance or mystery allow the audience to share the experience of the characters and provide us with the insight to know the world we’re being presented. Every description, every feeling, we are being educated on the world that this story takes place and we can see how different it is from our own. The whole reason we get drawn into such a good story is because we start it without knowing anything and then we gradually get introduced to the way things work. It’s a similar concept to being a child and growing up, we don’t know how things work until we’re taught and then our child-like wonder gets the better of us because we’re curious to learn more. We feel as if we’re placed within the story to some extent and genuinely care what happens to each and every character that we develop some kind of relationship with. I know for a fact that when one of my favorite characters died I was genuinely upset, and I was in denial, going through the stages of grief as I kept going onward in the story. Long story short, the audience tends to somewhat insert themselves into the story on some kind of level, whether they imagine themselves there in first person, or as some kind of outside observer looking at each scene play out. They see all these new experiences and learn from them just the same as if they were real and each experience is a lesson well learned.

[Stephanie Hernandez]

The statement that I would say I agree with the most is that a story needs to “impact, inspire and entertain. ” I think these elements are all important but not necessarily true for everyone and everything. I think when we read something or watch something we want our minds to be drawn into another world. A world where we can temporarily escape ours or maybe not escape our reality but just experience something different for a moment. If a story inspires or impacts us it can open new doors. new experience for us, it can empower us to do better or be better. Sometimes we just want to be entertained because we are bored.
I think in conclusion everyone who spoke in this short video all gave elements that all stories need. This is where Genres come in, which is important because we even as humans change, for example our likes, dislikes or moods. Some days we might want a story with a conflict but no solution, or maybe a story with a conflict but with a solution to it and a happy ending.

[Tania]

I think a great story is a true story. You see so many emotions and reality. You can put yourself in their shoes and understand their feeling. A true story gives inspires me to do good. For example, I am studying computer science, and if a watch the movie called Social network where this guy who made facebook from his dorm, it gives me the motivation to be like them. it gives me a whole reality of their life so I can do the same with mine. I also agree with the authenticity of the story. The story needs to be honest and have grace. The vulnerability works very well with storytelling. I feel like most the stories get rewarded when it has the vulnerability in it. It makes the reader get attached to the story.