Okay, so I'm about to tell you the secret of all story telling. No need to thank me, or even to keep this secret. It's so simple, after I tell you you'll think, "Why didn't I already know that?"
Here it is: All stories are about a character with a problem and how they solve that problem (or get beaten by it). Generally speaking, if the character gets beaten by their problem, you are watching (or reading) a tragedy. If the character overcomes their problem, well, it's probably a regular - meaning, "It all works out in the end." - drama or a comedy.
Some examples of tragedies are "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Perfect Storm." Here the characters are faced with something like forbidden love or a massive tidal wave. They struggle against these forces for the entire movie, play or book and ultimately lose. Then we leave the theater feeling terribly sad, but perhaps illuminated about the nature of something - maybe love, petty vendettas, greed or... even nature.
In almost every other kind of story the hero wins in the end. So... let's talk about that kind for a second.
The hero (our worm from yesterday) is just the main character of the story. A fancy term for this character is the protagonist. Conversely, the villain is called the antagonist (but more on that in another post). The way to identify the hero in the movies you watch is to figure out who has the central problem, the one the whole movie revolves around. For example, in The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy needs to find the Wizard so that she can get back to Kansas. Sure, the Lion wants courage, the Scarecrow wants a brain, and the Tin Man wants a heart, but the reason we're on the Yellow Brick Road in the first place is because Dorothy needs to get home and only the Wizard can help her. Any of her traveling companions could give up and slink back into the forest and we would still follow Dorothy to Oz to find out if she solves her problem.
Now the key to a good story is to make sure that hero is doing almost all of the work to solve his or her problem. If they're not, then it will feel like they're just along for the ride. And interestingly, if someone else is doing most of the problem solving work, the problem itself, and therefore the movie, is actually theirs. Meaning, they are the hero, not the original problem stricken soul.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Okay, the very last thing to consider regarding your hero and their problem is this: The problem needs to be big enough to sustain your story. If your protagonist only has to walk to the end of the driveway to get the paper, well, that's too easy to sustain an audience's interest. Now if they walk to the end of the driveway and a monster starts chasing them - then we're getting somewhere. And if that monster turns out to be their long lost father, I think we may have the beginnings of a movie!
Alright, think about your hero while you're doing your brainstorming. Let the ideas flow and write them all down, but while you're gathering these story telling elements ask yourself, "Who is my hero, and how do these fabulous new ideas I'm having affect or define her problem?"
And remember, make sure to find your writing chair for thirty minutes to an hour today!
Happy writing!
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