What Makes a Good Story? 10 Key Elements

What makes a good story? Think about how you choose between books in a bookstore. Elements like the cover and title might catch your eye — but anything you’ll want to read must hold your attention more substantially. If you’re not hooked within the first few pages, you’re unlikely to actually buy it.

So why do some books capture your attention while others lose it immediately? What separates a forgettable narrative from one that lingers in your mind for months, even years, after you’ve finished? In this post, we’ll break down the key elements that make a story work to help you write an amazing book.

What defines a good story?

A good story is one in which the plot, characters, and setting are a) individually well-developed, and b) tied together by the push-and-pull of conflict and, eventually, resolution.

This vivid and interesting setting, strong characters, and engaging plot need to interact in a way that captivates readers. Ideally, there will also be a well-constructed hook that sets this book apart from other stories. It’s a bonus if the characters, plot, or setting are particularly “fresh” — although relying on tried-and-true structures and archetypes can also work well, particularly in genre fiction.

If your story has these things, it will surely have a lasting impact beyond its final page, and may even make readers think, feel, or see the world differently after experiencing it. The more technical aspects of writing will remain important as well — but they take a backseat to the core elements of what makes your story work.

Speaking of which, let’s dive into exactly what those are.

1. Compelling characters

A great story is only as strong as its characters. Readers connect with books through the people in them, making well-developed and believable characters essential. 

Characters' goals and motivations should be wholly their own and should help us understand their behaviour. With this in mind, ask yourself: what does each character in your book (even the secondary, 'walk on, walk off' ones) crave? Why do they want the things they do?

Example: Take Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. His obsessive longing for Daisy is the driving force behind his actions and the novel’s central conflict. His external goal is to win Daisy back, but his internal struggle runs deeper: he wants to be the kind of man who never lost her in the first place. Yet his inability to see that the past is irretrievable ultimately leads to his downfall.

How to develop and refine your characters

• Don’t limit your characters to outward conflicts; draw on internal struggles that highlight their flaws as well.
• Tie your character's weaknesses and motivations to the key themes (see below for more advice on themes).
• Give your characters unique voices, personas, and expressions.
• Utilize distinctive appearances (including body language, gait and mannerisms) to “show” the reader what a character is like.

2. Engaging conflicts

When we read the word 'conflict' we often think immediately of actual violence. But there are many kinds of conflict, physical and otherwise, you can use to improve your story. 

A character can face other characters of similar (or entirely opposite) personality. The characters could also face nature, society, and so on. Readers remain hooked when tension arises from varied sources and different story conflicts are combined within a single narrative.

Example: Hamlet by William Shakespeare thrives on layered conflicts, like Hamlet’s internal struggle with avenging his father, his external tension with Claudius, and the moral and existential questions that plague him. The stakes of justice, power, and Hamlet’s own sanity in these conflicts keep the audience captivated.

How to develop and refine your conflicts

• Create and bring together characters whose personalities clash.
• Write conflict that gives way to character transformation — good or bad.
• Combine different kinds of story conflicts within a single narrative. You can weave together internal and external conflicts, as mentioned above — but you can also combine conflicts like man vs. man and man vs. fate (as occurs in another Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth).

3. Strong narrative structure

A compelling story needs a clear beginning, middle, and end — each serving a purpose in the reader’s journey. Traditionally, the beginning introduces characters and the main conflict, the middle deepens stakes and tension, and the ending provides a satisfying, tragic, or ambiguous resolution.

While sticking to the hero's journey is perfectly sensible, a more unusual narrative structure can potentially make your book successful. 

Example: Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl alternates between the perspectives of Nick and Amy, gradually revealing hidden truths about their marriage. This dual narrative creates suspense, as readers are constantly re-evaluating their perceptions of each character. The eventual twists are both shocking in the moment and satisfying in retrospect because of the carefully calibrated structure.

How to develop and refine your narrative structure

• Outline your book, but don't let it become a cage — work around it and change it up as needed while your book idea matures and develops.
• Add subplots that supplement your main story arc and chosen themes.
• Show your characters’ true nature, including any hidden motivations, gradually over the course of the story; by the resolution, all should be revealed.

4. Emotional connection

A great story also resonates because it makes readers feel. It doesn't matter if it's joy, sadness, fear, or catharsis, as long as you manage to elicit a genuine response. Emotionally compelling stories also focus on characters’ desires, fears, and vulnerabilities, making their journeys relatable.

Example: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is successful because it’s deeply emotional, tapping into universal themes of love, illness, and mortality. Hazel and Gus’s relationship is tender and tragic, mixing a nearly universal teenage love story with the extraordinary circumstances of cancer. It’s a prime setup for the cast of characters to display their vulnerabilities and be put under intense (but relatable) tension, making it easy for readers to connect with them. 

How to develop and refine your story’s emotional connection

• Develop relatable, likeable characters — then give them an unpredictable and tight plot to navigate.
• Focus on making readers empathize with characters through authentic experiences and challenges.
• Avoid simply telling the reader how to feel; instead, show them what the characters are going through in emotional scenes where they struggle or break down.

Create vivid and believable characters facing relatable circumstances. It's not about the dragon to be slain; it's about the fear that it provokes and the bravery needed to do so.

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5. Interesting themes

Themes add depth to a story by exploring bigger ideas beneath the plot. Common themes include fate vs. free will, real-world societal injustices, or the nature of love. 

Don't be afraid of exploring something that might seem overdone at first; if you do it from a fresh perspective, it'll never be boring. Strong themes (or strong angles from which to explore them) give readers something to reflect on long after they finish the book.

Example: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is an early example of a contemporary trend: exploring themes of identity, mortality, and ethical dilemmas through a seemingly quiet narrative that is actually much more complex (and unsettling) than its first impression implies.

How to develop and refine your themes

• Build a narrative on questions and motifs that resonate with you personally.
• Tap into your own experiences and perspective in order to develop these themes with greater depth.
• Use symbolism and motifs to frame the themes of a story — and add aesthetic and technical value to your novel as well.

6. Effective pacing

When a story is well-paced, it keeps readers engaged without rushing or dragging. Some sections may need fast pacing for action, while others require slower, reflective moments to build character depth. Aim to strike a balance that doesn't feel too dragged down, nor too relentless to allow readers to digest and reflect on the events of the story.

Example: In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins expertly controls pacing with short, tense sentences during action sequences and slower, introspective moments between battles. On a wider scale, the narrative starts off quiet and small as it portrays life in the dreary District 12, slowly raising the tension and having it explode as the games begin.

How to develop and refine your pacing

• Quicken the pacing and increase the tension with short sentences. Likewise, use longer sentences to help readers slow down and take a breath.
• Tap out the rhythm of your sentences' syllables every now and then, or read your prose aloud.
• Avoid tiring readers with long-winded exposition dumps by strategically using short interjections of dialogue or action (meaning character actions — not necessarily high-octane chases and fights).

7. Immersive setting

A strong setting transports readers, whether it’s a meticulously built fantasy world or a vividly described real-life location. A great setting feels lived-in and affects the characters' experiences.

Example: The wild and stormy Yorkshire moors of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë are more than just a backdrop: they reflect the passion, turmoil, and isolation of the novel’s characters. The untamed landscape and wild nature of the moors mirrors Heathcliff’s raw emotions and the way his vengeance strikes indiscriminately, making the setting a powerful metaphor that heightens (no pun intended) the rest of the story.

How to develop and refine your setting

• Make your setting feel more tangible by using sensory descriptions: the sight of a brightly colored storefront, the rumbling sound of cars passing, and so on. 
• Force your characters to interact with the setting, and vice-versa. Sometimes the setting can “help” the characters along, whereas sometimes it will impede them. 
• Contextualize the setting within a character's backstory. Remember that places change with time, just like characters do; you can use this passage of time to invoke emotionality, as discussed above.

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8. A fresh or unique hook

A book needs something that grabs attention and promises something intriguing. You can achieve this through a unique premise outlined on the back cover, an unusual character as the protagonist, or a compelling question posed in the first few pages, to name a few strategies.

Example: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The novel’s hook is as follows: a disgraced journalist gets the chance to investigate a decades-old mystery — in exchange for information that could restore his credibility. This situation immediately sets up intrigue, high stakes, and unconventional dynamics.

How to develop and refine your hook

• Start your main story outline with a question. (In our example, this becomes: What if a hacker and a journalist teamed up to solve a murder?) 
• Then branch out and plan twists that subvert some of the expectations you set up with the hook.
• Cut extraneous information from the first part of your book — at this stage, you just need to grab readers’ attention, not bog them down with information.

9. Impactful resolution

A great ending doesn’t just conclude events; it leaves a lasting impression. Whether it’s a shocking twist, a satisfying resolution, or an open-ended conclusion, it should feel earned and make sense within the larger narrative.

Example: The ending of 1984 by George Orwell is bleak yet fitting, reinforcing the novel’s core theme of totalitarian control through the protagonist's defeat and submission to the regime. It lingers with readers, making them reflect on the story long after finishing.

How to develop and refine your ending

• Deploy the payoffs for all the foreshadowing and character arcs you've set up through the story.
• Ensure the outcome of your primary conflict feels explicable, but not predictable.
• With very few exceptions, avoid deus ex machina, a practically miraculous event that lets you tie things up quickly with little explanation. Characters developing amnesia in soap operas is a classic example of this.

10. Writing style

Finally, beyond plot and characters, how a story is told matters. A solid and distinctive writing style enhances immersion through poetic prose, witty dialogue, or a distinctive voice. You can bend the rules and be experimental, but it's important to master the rules before you break them!

Example: Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is told through sparse and unembellished prose that mirrors the bleak, post-apocalyptic world in which it's set. His stripped-down sentences, lack of punctuation (such as quotation marks), and rhythmic, almost biblical cadence create an atmosphere of desolation and raw survival. It highlights the narrator's detachment and worn-down feelings with every sentence.

How to develop and refine your style

• Read extensively to understand different styles, what resonates with readers, and what might fall flat. 
• Try playing with different narrative voices — first person vs. third person, past tense vs. present, etc. — to find your style.
• Edit for clarity and flow — great style balances artistry with readability.

Remember, a great story is more than just an interesting premise or well-written prose — it’s an intricate combination of all the elements above and more. Learn how to outline and write an amazing story with constructive feedback from our writing coaches.