Everybody and their brother has a theory about how you should write and what you should write. And you should probably listen to them. But that would take time, so here are the most common theories:

• Your stories should contain anywhere from three to thirteen acts, or parts, each of which has certain distinguishing features.
• The structure of the story can be seen as a journey, a series of tests, or even a fish... (The rising action resembles the silhouette of the back of a fish.)
• There are only 2, 6, 12, 20, 36 (or any other number of) stories out there. So pick one. Whatever story you choose it will have been done before.
• Your story will be based on either plot or character.
• Your main character will have a goal, a motivation to reach that goal, and someone who blocks him or her from obtaining that goal.
• You must have a premise, a high concept, a story line, a main character, a villain, a romantic interest, a car chase (or not, depending on your genre), plot twists, some backstory, a theme, subtext, rising action, and, if youīre really good and/or ambitious, a complex narrative.

Do with these theories as you wish, but at least now you know that they exist.

There are some laws too. These laws are under constant dispute, because some writers donīt want rules. But these are not unbreakable laws, just some guidelines that you should obey, lest you want to end up with a boring, unfocused story and no job:

$1. DRAMA IS CONFLICT - and conflict is very different from rows, fights and seriousness.
$2. FICTION IS ONLY A DRAMATISATION OF REALITY - it is not reality
$3. THE RULE OF THREE - there seems to be something magical about the number 3 - as well as the number 7. Characters and tasks are usually three in number.
$4. THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS - when something is repeated, it loses half its effect. (Unless $3 is in effect.)