There are many principles, theories, and techniques when it comes to good storytelling; so many that people already find it difficult to choose which one to use in their novel or any work related to literature and or writing. One of the most popular and at the same time, the most criticized model used in storytelling is that of E.M. Forster, a famous and successful novelist who is also known for writing the novels: A Room with a View (1908), Howard’s End (1910), and a Passage to India (1924).
In general, Forster considers storytelling as a process of telling or narrating events that happened over a certain period in a sequentially-arranged manger. The same is true of his operational definition of what a plot is. Based on his work, he defined plot as also a narrative events arranged in a sequential manner except that there is an added element which is the element of causality (e.g. The son died of an undiscovered sickness and then a few months later, the son’s parents died of grief, can already be considered a plot). The element of causality usually overshadows the presence of sequence on the arrangement of the events.
This is where the importance of the ability provoke questions comes shall come into play. A plot focuses on a cause and effect relationship of all sorts and so provoking questions, regardless of the type is integral to stimulating a scenario that shall later on exhibit a cause and effect relationship—or an element of causality. The more questions are provoked, the better and more exciting the process of telling the story both for the reader and the writer would usually be. The ability to provoke questions is also an important factor in stimulating mystery, which according to Forster is an important aspect of good story or novel writing. Forster also stressed that while bringing in a hint of mystery is important, it is more important to solve such mysteries later in the story to prevent the presence of untied or loose ends .
Works Cited
Forster, E.M. "Aspects of the Novel and Related Writings." Holmes and Meier Publishing Inc. (1927, 1974): 61.
