Elements of Story
My definition of a story is:
A character
enters a new situation,
pursues a goal,
encounters obstacles and struggles,
reaches a resolution
(and changes as a result).
Character
Stories are all about characters and how they change. Readers want to know early on whose story this is. Who is the character they should cheer for? Is it the secret agent? The detective? The woman who’s just been dumped by her boyfriend?
While there can be many important characters in a story, most stories focus on a single main character. This character will often be the point of view (POV) character, allowing the reader to experience the story from the character’s perspective.
New Situation
Something happens near the beginning of a story that introduces a major change for the main character. Sometimes, the character is pulled into a new setting (e.g., Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz); sometimes the character makes a decision to enter this new world (e.g. a spy accepts a new mission).
The new situation changes the “rules:” things are different now than they were yesterday. A new situation could be one (or more) of:
- a new location (the character travels to a new kingdom)
- a new time (today is the character’s birthday)
- a new circumstance (a meteorite crashed into the character’s backyard)
The new situation contrasts with the everyday life (status quo) of the main character.
Character Goal
Having a goal is important to your characters because it gives them agency: they are making decisions and taking actions that affect their lives. Characters who actively move the plot forward are far more interesting than those who passively sit back, letting the story happen to them. As readers, we feel more satisfied when a character achieves their goal through their own merit.
Character goals are important to the reader because they raise questions in the reader’s mind. When we read that a character needs to trek through the forbidden forest to get to the next village, we ask ourselves, ‘will the character make it to the next village safely?’ Goals build curiosity and anticipation in our readers. The earlier the goal appears in a scene or story, the more likely you’ll hook your readers.
Character goals are also important to the writer because they focus the writer on the character’s motivations. The goals are a reminder of what our characters are trying to accomplish in the situation they’re in. If you have writer’s block and you’re not sure what your character should do, always return to the character’s goal. What would the character do next?
Obstacles
Frederico, the main character of a story wants to cross the forbidden forest. Suppose he crosses it without incident.
Goal achieved.
End of story.
Boring.
Without obstacles, the story loses all its energy. Obstacles conflict with the character’s goal. As such obstacles are often referred to as “conflict.” Conflict is key to effective storytelling. Click here to learn more.
Struggles
A character who’s facing conflict is a wonderful opportunity to show your character’s strengths, flaws, and personality. Struggles are realistic, and their stress is relatable, giving reader something to empathize with.
Resolution
When a character has a goal, it raises a question in the reader’s mind:
Will the character achieve their goal?
The resolution answers that question. Sometimes a character is successful in reaching their aim and sometimes they fail. In any case, it’s important for a story to answer this question to satisfy the reader’s curiosity.
Character Changes
Characters don’t always change. Think of action heroes and detectives. In general, readers like these characters and expect them tackle their goal the same way in every story.
However, I believe there is a great opportunity to show how a character is affected by the struggles they faced in the story. Real people have real feelings; giving your characters emotional depth renders them more real.
Here’s where character arcs come in. How is your character different at the end versus the beginning of the story?