Having worked with many authors and dozens of manuscripts over the years, ALC and Fuzeframe President Keith Ogorek sees common storytelling mistakes that derail opportunities for writers. One of the most common mistakes he sees authors making is not understanding good story structure. There are five key elements of a great story that he discusses on the ALC which include:
1) an inciting incident that sets the story in motion2) a protagonist that they reader can care about3) an antagonist that is keeping the protagonist from getting what they want4) conflict that raises the stakes for the protagonist5) a resolution that feels satisfying to the reader
When these key elements are missing or are poorly written, Ogorek says a story will likely fail to attract readers, agents, or other opportunities such as book adaptations.