8/10/2019 What Makes a Good Story Essay

1/4

9/3/14Akira Yang

Mrs. Guerin

The three most important qualities a good book should have

What is that, that makes a reader choose a good book? There are many different qualities a good

book has. The book should be absorbing and keep the readers not only reading the first few pages, but

reading until the very end. A good book should captivate the reader. The book should also have characters

that arent too perfect and flat. They should be flawed and make many mistakes like normal humans do,

therefore, a good book should have characters that feel real. A good book should also have interesting

events happen very often and not focusing so much on description and background information that

nothing interesting happens. Thatll instantly lose the readers attention, so a good book shouldbe

straightforward with the events.

The most important quality of a good book is that it captivates the reader. For the book to be

captivating, the beginning is very important. The opening of the book should catch the readers attention

so the reader would want to continue reading. The storyline is also very important, with twists and

tensions that keep the reader on edge. It should keep the readers not only reading the first few pages, but

reading until the very end. OBrien argues that a good book should contain unexpected and startling

events that make the story more interesting, as he says Above all, a well-imagined story is organized

around extraordinary human behaviors and unexpected and startling events which help illuminate the

commonplace and the ordinary. Jacksons The Lottery, a popular short story, proves this point by

starting the story with a relatively normal day where people gather around for a lottery, to the end of the

story where the winner of the lottery is basically given a death sentence. Another story that

demonstrates this point is Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. It starts with an electromagnetic impulse that nobody

seemed to understand the origins of, and nobody really cared about it, but then it suddenly turns out to be

8/10/2019 What Makes a Good Story Essay

2/4

the start of a zombie apocalypse, captivating the reader in its dark themes. But being captivating isnt the

only quality a book needs to have to be considered good quality.

Another quality that is essential to make a book good is that it has to have characters that feel

real. The characters cannot be too perfect or flat. They should be flawed in many ways and make

many mistakes, as normal humans do. If they donthave any flaws and dont make any mistakes at all,

theyll feel artificial and the reader will very quickly lose interest. In her article, The 5 Characteristics

That Make a Book Good To Me, Andi says, If the characters seem too perfect or too one-sided, I get

bored or annoyed very quickly. The Lotterydemonstrates this point because the characters are so flawed

and tainted that the reader can easily feel what the characters are feeling. Another story that demonstrates

this point is Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. In this post-apocalyptic story, the main character has many flaws,

such as her brain tumor and premature maturity due to her condition, and Ellie, an 8 year old girl who had

just lost her grandfather, is also flawed in many ways such as her constant whining, selfishness, and

immaturity. All these flaws and mistakes are what makes the characters more believable and realistic, and

while there are many other qualities of a good book, the final quality that is very important, is that it

doesnt babble.

The final quality that makes a book good is that it doesnt babble. The book should have

interesting events that are straightforward and quickly get to the point. The book should not babble, as

in adding in so much description and background detail to draw out the story, because it will make the

readers get bored quickly. OBrien argues that while some detail and background information is important

to establishing a good story, there cannot be too much, as he says: Well, I could pile on other such detail,

for many pages, but my sons would eventually demand that something happenan unusual and dramatic

effect. The Lotterydemonstrates this point because while the story starts with mostly description and

background information, the sudden event of the winner of the lottery being given a death sentence,

was definitely a surprising and interesting event. Another story that demonstrates this point very well, is

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. The entire book is filled with startling events starting with the electromagnetic

8/10/2019 What Makes a Good Story Essay

3/4

impulse that started the apocalypse, and ends with a cliff-hanger that makes the reader yearn for more.

Therefore, having interesting events and not babbling is an important quality of a good book.

In conclusion, while there are many different qualities that make up a good book, the three main

qualities a good book should have are; being captivating to the reader, having characters that feel real,

and being straightforward, not having too much description and detail. The book Ashes demonstrates

the point of captivating the reader especially well. The plot, setting, and the events all pull the reader into

the characters world, and the ending makes the reader yearn for the sequel. Ashes also demonstrates

very well, the point of having characters that feel real. The main character, Alex, has many flaws and

makes many mistakes, but thats what makes her feel human to the reader. Lastly, The Lottery

demonstrates the last point of having interesting events happen pretty well. While it has a lot of

description and background information, its what builds up the tension and sense of mystery, and the

events are truly startling and interesting.

8/10/2019 What Makes a Good Story Essay

4/4

Works Cited

O'Brien, Tim. "Telling Tails." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 Aug. 2009. Web. 03

Sept. 2014.

Andi. "The 5 Characteristics That Make a Book Good To Me9th Most Popular Post of

2012."AndiLitcom. Andrea Cumbo, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.

Unknown Author. "The Characteristics of a Good Book."Zablog. N.p., 14 Sept. 2007. Web. 06

Sept. 2014.

Bick, Ilsa J.Ashes. New York: Egmont USA, 2011. Print.

Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 1983. Print.