I couldn’t believe my teacher was telling me this! I had believed in the fantasy and the magic. I had been in awe of all the wonderful places and characters. But now my literature teacher had just ruined it all for me. There was actually a formula to a good story. I was in shock. How could all of the stories I had been so fond of all have the same pattern? Doesn’t this now diminish their greatness? Aren’t they all now equalized so that the great are the same as the weak? Such is the mind of a young student when he/she first realizes there is a man behind the curtain pulling the levers of that which we deem magnificent.
At first I was disappointed to hear that all stories follow the same pattern. But then I realized that knowing the pattern has opened up a whole new world for me when it comes to storytelling. It’s a world where I can better measure the greatness of stories and a world where I can create amazing stories myself. It’s a world where I can use the pattern I know as the bones for a story and quickly wrap those bones in some flesh of characters and setting. It’s a world where I can be ready at a moment’s notice when my kids change their bedtime request from asking Daddy to read them a story to asking Daddy to tell them a story. When my four-year old son wants me to make up a story to tell him he says, “Can you tell me a story and I mean not one from the bookshelf?”
You remember hearing about the pattern in your literature class, don’t you? First, there is the introduction. In the introduction we are introduced to the characters and the setting (i.e. when and where the story takes place). You remember the terms protagonist and antagonist, right? The antagonist is the one against the protagonist so the antagonist is the bad guy. The protagonist is the character whom the story is really about. At this point the author will also tell us a little about the characters and their personalities.
Second, a story has a conflict. Not just that it has conflict but a conflict. There is one singular conflict that the entire story revolves around. The conflict is what the story is really about so that, without it, there really would be no story. The conflict is often called the inciting incident.
Third, a story has rising action. This is the time period between the inciting incident and the eventual resolution of the conflict. It is during the rising action that we see that the protagonist and antagonist are on a collision course with each other. It is also the period of time when other minor characters may be introduced. The rising action builds the tension leading up to the climax.
Fourth, a story has a climax. The climax is the moment of greatest tension. The climax is when the protagonist and antagonist finally do battle. It is the moment that resolves the initial conflict.
Finally, a story will have a conclusion. The conclusion tells you how the conflict has changed the protagonist. The conclusion also gives you a glimpse of what the future may look like for the main characters.
In Finding Nemo, the main characters are Marlin and Nemo, father and son clown fish who live in the ocean and can speak remarkably good English. Marlin is an overprotective father who is scared of losing his only remaining son from a previous family tragedy. The conflict arises when Nemo is captured by a diver who serves as the antagonist. Marlin now faces the prospect of losing his one and only son. Thus, the story is about Marlin finding Nemo. The rising action is the great lengths that Marlin will go through against all odds to find Nemo. The climax is the moment when Nemo escapes from the diver and father and son are safely reunited. The conclusion is where we see Marlin allowing Nemo to swim off without Marlin being the overprotected worry-wart that he was at the beginning of the story.
So when my son asks me to tell him a story and not the ones from the bookshelf, I can think through the basic elements of a story and in a couple of minutes make up a story for him. I pick some characters and create a conflict for them. I have the protagonist jump through some hoops and then square off with the antagonist. The protagonist will win and everyone lives happily ever after. My son thinks I am the greatest storyteller ever. I am not looking forward to the day when he first learns of the formula. But then again, it will open up a whole new world for him as well.
At first I was disappointed to hear that all stories follow the same pattern. But then I realized that knowing the pattern has opened up a whole new world for me when it comes to storytelling. It’s a world where I can better measure the greatness of stories and a world where I can create amazing stories myself. It’s a world where I can use the pattern I know as the bones for a story and quickly wrap those bones in some flesh of characters and setting. It’s a world where I can be ready at a moment’s notice when my kids change their bedtime request from asking Daddy to read them a story to asking Daddy to tell them a story. When my four-year old son wants me to make up a story to tell him he says, “Can you tell me a story and I mean not one from the bookshelf?”
You remember hearing about the pattern in your literature class, don’t you? First, there is the introduction. In the introduction we are introduced to the characters and the setting (i.e. when and where the story takes place). You remember the terms protagonist and antagonist, right? The antagonist is the one against the protagonist so the antagonist is the bad guy. The protagonist is the character whom the story is really about. At this point the author will also tell us a little about the characters and their personalities.
Second, a story has a conflict. Not just that it has conflict but a conflict. There is one singular conflict that the entire story revolves around. The conflict is what the story is really about so that, without it, there really would be no story. The conflict is often called the inciting incident.
Third, a story has rising action. This is the time period between the inciting incident and the eventual resolution of the conflict. It is during the rising action that we see that the protagonist and antagonist are on a collision course with each other. It is also the period of time when other minor characters may be introduced. The rising action builds the tension leading up to the climax.
Fourth, a story has a climax. The climax is the moment of greatest tension. The climax is when the protagonist and antagonist finally do battle. It is the moment that resolves the initial conflict.
Finally, a story will have a conclusion. The conclusion tells you how the conflict has changed the protagonist. The conclusion also gives you a glimpse of what the future may look like for the main characters.
In Finding Nemo, the main characters are Marlin and Nemo, father and son clown fish who live in the ocean and can speak remarkably good English. Marlin is an overprotective father who is scared of losing his only remaining son from a previous family tragedy. The conflict arises when Nemo is captured by a diver who serves as the antagonist. Marlin now faces the prospect of losing his one and only son. Thus, the story is about Marlin finding Nemo. The rising action is the great lengths that Marlin will go through against all odds to find Nemo. The climax is the moment when Nemo escapes from the diver and father and son are safely reunited. The conclusion is where we see Marlin allowing Nemo to swim off without Marlin being the overprotected worry-wart that he was at the beginning of the story.
So when my son asks me to tell him a story and not the ones from the bookshelf, I can think through the basic elements of a story and in a couple of minutes make up a story for him. I pick some characters and create a conflict for them. I have the protagonist jump through some hoops and then square off with the antagonist. The protagonist will win and everyone lives happily ever after. My son thinks I am the greatest storyteller ever. I am not looking forward to the day when he first learns of the formula. But then again, it will open up a whole new world for him as well.
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1 comment:
Ryan,
Very nice summary of the key points of a story. A structure always seems to help the film and the viewer. What about stories or films that break the mould? I am thinking here of movies like Memento?
Martin
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