This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
Characters locked into challenging situations seek out a way to break free. Instead of concentrating on what needs to be done or developing a new understanding, these individuals strive to dislodge their external bonds. A goal awaits at the end of every problem-solving endeavor; the goal itself exhibits different qualities depending on the problem itself.
Having unlocked the purpose of a Story Goal, attention now shifts towards exploring the different iterations available to Authors. Moving beyond the simple goal of winning something new, these new areas offer insight into the kinds of inequities that can also be found in the external world. The lens encased within each grants a writer the opportunity to dial in the exact story they want to tell.
Many insist that the most important thing an Author needs to know about their story is what their Main Character wants. That drive, they maintain, gives a story its flow. Yet, there is a different way to look at the Goal of a story, one that provides a more holistic view of a story’s true purpose and one that works in concert beautifully with a Main Character’s wants and needs.
Protagonist and Antagonist are not made up words fostered upon an unwilling public. They have both purpose and reason. Writers facing broken stories would do well to focus on purpose rather than who the good guys and bad guys are. They need to begin to think objectively.
Many writers overwrite. Whether through flowery descriptions or elaborate and painful backstories, the end result remains the same: something needs to go. But how does one determine what they can and cannot delete? Understanding the reason for story provides a potential clue.
The ease with which visual conflict plays out on-screen leads filmmakers towards visiting familiar territory. Conflict exists, however, in both the external and internal domains. Rarely traversed, this realm of within offers those in the cinematic arts an opportunity to try something new.
Great stories engage audiences on an emotional level unheard of in lesser mediums of communication. By creating an intimate portrayal of one character struggling to resolve a problem, writers of these great stories insure audience engagement and empathy. The key lies in effectively defining this struggle and focusing it one specific area of conflict.
Understanding how conflict plays out within a complete story allows a writer the opportunity to dive into relatively untouched areas of storytelling. Instead of focusing on the well-worn paths of how a character looks or what they think, the adventurous author takes their Main Character into the realm of deficient psychology. In other words, they write personal journeys of struggle against how a character thinks and comes about conclusions.
Stories that mean something have something important they want to communicate. This message, or purpose, can only be heard when it respects the human mind and its engine for appreciating conflict. This is what it means to naturally structure a story – naturally structure it in such a way that it matches the psychological structures found within the minds of a waiting Audience.
Too many times the focus of story analysis centers on a set of rudimentary, yet familiar beats. By setting their sights on this checklist, many a writer unknowingly falls into writing a very familiar pattern of conflict. Keying in on the type of conflict within the story helps avoid this unfortunate consequence.