Brick by Brick: the Architecture of Storytelling

In discussing writing, it's of necessity that we investigate the process of writing at a level beneath grand, sweeping gestures. I have alluded to words as "bricks," which must be laid out and mortared carefully, on a scale so fine that it can be difficult to see where this or that sentence properly lays a foundation that enables the building to stand well. So let's get our hands dirty and attend to this process.

I'll propose a story about a woman and her son, and the horse ranch they have. He goes off to college and leaves her alone, with her approval, as she wants a good life for him. For a year, let's say a chapter, she struggles with the ranch, getting by but not doing well. Whereupon her son returns, licking his wounds from a bad relationship and having quit school in mid-semester. She comes home and finds him in her living room, hurt, distraught; she listens as he explains himself.

Continued:

https://alexis202.substack.com/p/brick-by-brick-the-architecture-of