This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
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.
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Identifying the problem within a screenplay is one thing, offering up a viable workable solution is another. The key is honoring the work that is already there. Healing a false moment, like resolving the differences between two characters, should come as a natural progression of events and inflict the least amount of damage in the process.
In film schools across the country and in screenwriting books dating back to the previous century, the apparent inequity between what a hero wants and what he truly needs is held is held up as the standard for establishing a character’s motivation. The problem for the creative writer occurs when they actually try to put this concept into practice. How can an appreciation of a story’s meaning, one made after the fact by an Audience, become a useful tool for the working writer?
Authors often come to this site in search of specific information regarding the particular structures of a short story. In working with several students over the years to bring meaning to their short films, it becomes quite apparent that the most successful endeavors are those that simply sample a slice of what could be a full-length feature. By hinting at something more beyond the pale, filmmakers and Authors can entice their respective audiences to engage throughly with their work.
For too long now the world of narrative fiction has relied on a false and antiquated notion: that a story consists of a beginning, a middle and an end. Superficial? Possibly. Misleading? Without a doubt. Successful stories require a deeper understanding of their structure and the function of the elements that sit at the heart of their construction.
The first look at a Steadfast Main Character and the effect they have on the meaning of a complete story. With proper story structure in place, this type of Main Character becomes responsible for influencing the change in the other principle character. In Braveheart this role is fulfilled by Robert the Bruce.