The art of storytelling II - Memento

What makes a story a good story?
This question has been plaguing me, in a way, for the past fortnight or so. I started writing as a hobby, you see, and like all conceited idiots in the world I fancied myself a good amateur writer. A marvelous one, in fact.

There is, of course, a limit to the amount of self-deception one is willing to indulge in. So the past few days I have been trying to wade through the net, flounder, rather, trying to find that thing, that defining characteristic, that little magic that good, professional writers have and hobbyists like yours truly don't. I mean, ok, yeah, I have a way with words, but it is, after all, a teeny-weeny, cramped up way, and I would rather I got a little bit more ... writerish?...in my efforts.

So I took it upon myself to watch, and read some nice stories. (nice. talk about banality) I watched Memento. Yeah, all right, all those fans out there. I agree. It is an awesome movie. I have never so enjoyed being so confused in life. I mean, what better way to show "anterograde memory loss" or whatever the hell it was than to just put the audience in a muddle, running events in such an "anti-chronological" order? And what more? It is just such a great way to show memory loss, as in what memory would the audience have of events that haven't even been shown? Really, awesome way of making the audience associate with the protagonist.

And wait. That's not it, is it. The story is not just about a non-linear narrative. It is just so carefully written out, so carefully planned, sowing in the audience's mind the exact same kind of doubt that gets into Leonard's mind, and reaches such a wonderfully well thought out climax: making the audience question whether what Leonard calls "facts" are really so, whether he hasn't been manipulated by someone like Natalie, or Ted, or, in what was, at least to me, a brilliantly crafted revelation, himself.

And therein the story achieves its motive. It brings out anterograde whatever in such striking relief that the guy watching it knows, literally, what it would feel like to be in Leonard's place. Phew. No. I can never really write anything like that.

How the hell do they make such stories??