Back in March of this year, I read Author Kelly L. Stone’s post featuring Dianna Love , who is wonderful about helping her fellow writers, and she posed the question:

What makes your writing stand out?

It’s something you need to think about and as I sat there trying to come up with an answer, I realized that while in my heart I know my story is special (and so is yours, trust me), it was far more difficult to put that into words.  Imagine that, a writer at a loss for words!  The interesting thing was that Dianna had posted a question to her fans on her Facebook page in preparation for the blog post asking what they thought made a story different.  Being a huge fan of her work, I threw out my two cents and she used it in the post.  Why was it so easy for me to say, “One of the things that makes a story stand out for me is what characters say to each other” to Dianna in reference to what I think makes hers and other authors’ books I love stand out, but then sit in my chair and feel so blank when it came to my own writing?

I think it’s because when I hear that question, I immediately assume the answer should revolve around the plot.  Well, for me, it’s not likely going to be my external plot, but rather my characters and what they say to and do with each other.  It’s why the story about a rock group I read last year was probably pretty basic but I still remember verbatim a line from a trip the band took to the grocery store with the heroine.  Here’s to hoping my future readers appreciate that part of a story as much as I do because it’s what I’m going to be sharing with them.  The things we say to each other.

Readers-what do you remember about a story, even a year after you’ve read it?

Writers-what do you love about your stories? psst-this is what makes them stand out 😉