I have almost finished my first real "story", I say story because I don't know what to call it, it's a long short story. And, I say first but I have written tons of stories but never fully completed any of this caliber. It has been an interesting experience and I have learned so much about writing in general. For instance, the story element was easier than I expected but building characters and intrigue and ideas around that central story arc was extremely difficult. It made me think of literature in general. It's a common saying that there are only 6 or 7 stories in the world and they have been used over and over since the bible. So then what is really important are characters and character development and through these elements writers create "new" stories. The most difficult part was installing my ideas and arguments into the story, I had a lot but making them coherent and harmonious with everything else in the story. When I started writing, obviously I wanted it to be good, so I tried to discover what makes a good story. It's not enough just to write beginning, middle and end. I needed to be aware if every element of the story, so I had to ask myself several questions: Do I want to create characters with incredible attention to detail or sketch very bare, ambiguous people? What effect do I want the story to have? and so many others.Anyway, writing this story has been instructional and enlightening and I will post the final draft in the following week.