If you're trained as an architect, you learn what makes a building structurally sound so that the walls don't cave in. If you want to write a symphony, it would probably help to learn some music theory. Visual artists learn about the elements of design. But when it comes to writing stories, there's surprisingly little common wisdom shared about the nuts and bolts of how to do it – so a lot of people make it up as they go along. These are some of the basic tools I've learned about the craft of storytelling and what helps make a story work.