The Narrative Craft Forum The Story Form. Exericise #1.

In order to write a compelling story you must have your readers asking the question What happens next? To create a compelling page-turner you must first ask the question “What does fiction do?” Simply – fiction tells a story. And at the heart of every good story is Conflict. 

Life is boring, predictable, and repetitive – everything a good story is not. Why? Because conflict drives action. It gives the protagonist a motivation, something that needs to be overcome.

Common themes of conflict in fiction are; man against man, man against nature, man against himself, man against society, and more recently man against technology.

Conflicts escalate until they come to a Crisis, a point of no return that must be won or lost. The result of the Crisis is the Resolution. The happy or not so happy ending.

Therefore, you can view storytelling as three points. Conflict, Crisis, and Resolution.

To quote from Janet Burroway in Writing Fiction “It’s interesting that we react with such different attitudes to the words “formula” and “form” as they apply to a story. A formula story is hackwork. . .Whereas form is a term of the highest artistic approbation. . .and “story” is a “form” of literature. Like a face, it has necessary features in a necessary harmony.”

Do not think that I am recommending a “formula” for writing. On the contrary, I am respecting the “form” of this craft.

Exercise #1

Write a scene where a character is in conflict with society. It could be anything from them not wanting to go to church with their family or as serious as them being caught in a full scale riot. As they try to overcome their situation have the obstacles mount until the reader does not know who is going to win.

Balance the story so that it is not revealed who will ‘win’ until the final crisis occurs.

Helpful hint: Ask the question at every point in the story “What could go wrong?”