If It’s Not One Thing, It Probably Isn’t Another

December 15, 2006

It’s been said before, but bears repeating:

…if “x” had not happened, is it likely that “y” would have happened anyway. If the answer is “yes,” then “x” is not driving the story forward. If the answer is “no,” then “y” MAY be the driving force moving the story forward.

“x” and “y” refer to the plots points surrounding your story’s Driver.

This came up when we were making our own story Tuesday night. Quickly, the story was about a group of people stuck in a building. The lights went out and they decided to stay in. The driver was a Decision story.

If the lights didn’t go out, would they still have stayed? If the answer is “no,” then it is not a Decision-driven story. In that case, the Action would’ve been the driver.

If you wanted to make the decision to stay your driving plot point, it would be best to schedule it before the action of the lights going out.

Why would you go through all the trouble to figure this out? Because then your audience would clearly understand that Decisions drive your story. Once they know that, they can better appreciate your story’s true meaning.