The Way of Story. Catherine Ann Jones
it mythic, universal qualities.
Before I talk about the Seven Steps to Story Structure, it might be a good idea to focus on what should be included in the early part of your story. Again, remember that what applies to screenwriting is also helpful in writing other narrative forms. In screenwriting, for instance, within the first ten to twenty minutes of the screenplay or film, the following should be revealed:
• The setting: time and place of the story
• Genre of story: drama, comedy, mystery, etc.
• Introduction of main character or main characters.
• Inciting incident
• The problem of the story.
There is nothing more frustrating than to begin reading a novel or viewing a film and discover half an hour later that the genre promised at the opening of the story is not the one the novel or film delivers. Another example might be watching what is purported to be a serious drama and discovering much later that it is actually a farce. There are of course legitimate mixed genres, such as comedy-dramas like Terms of Endearment or mystery-comedies like Gosford Park. But whatever the genre, just be straight with your reader or audience from the start. You don’t want to alienate them. Never betray your audience. Once you’ve lost them, it’s difficult to entice them back.
It is also distracting if you cannot orient yourself as to where and when the story takes place. If watching a film that has not disclosed setting, I keep looking at car license plates to find a clue to where I am, and cannot settle and open to the story until such exposition is resolved. Of course, once in a while, there will be a notable exception to this rule, as in Samuel Beckett’s existentialist play, Waiting for Godot, where it serves the story for the audience to be as lost as the characters are. Generally, however, it is best to provide the necessary exposition of where, when, how, and what.
Every story in any genre must have a problem. For example, Dr. Zhivago by Pasternak is set in early twentieth-century Russia just before and during the Russian revolution. Yuri, the hero of the novel, is torn between an aristocratic life of beauty, love, and poetry — and the Revolution. He is also torn between a conventional marriage and a mistress he loves. Life versus the destruction of life is the ongoing theme of this great novel and film.
A few years ago I wrote an original story for Disney Studios which became a film starring Dolly Parton titled Unlikely Angel. The story is about a country western singer (Who) who dies and goes to heaven (Where). However, she is having trouble earning her wings because she is still too attached to earth and earthly pleasures (Problem). She is assigned by St. Peter (Who) to return to earth on a mission, her last chance before being sent below to the other place (Genre: romantic comedy). The mission is this: She must return to earth and be a nanny to a troubled family. If she succeeds in helping them before Christmas, she will be allowed to remain in Heaven, earning her wings at last.
Another valuable tool, structurally, is the ticking clock. This ups the ante, intensifying the action of your story. In Unlikely Angel, the ticking clock is that Dolly has only two weeks before Christmas for her mission to be accomplished or she goes to hell. In the Oscarwinning script Sideways, it is a few days before the wedding. High Noon is another of many examples, along with virtually everything directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Please note that all stories benefit from the ticking clock, not only those in the mystery or thriller genre.
So, in the first 11 minutes of the Disney family film cited above, the setting is introduced (that is, the world of the story), the genre (romantic comedy), the main characters (Dolly, St. Peter, and the family), and the problem. These join together to launch the inciting incident or first major beat of the story. This is when Dolly suddenly drops down to earth, landing plop in front of the motherless family’s home (Where). Lift off. The ride has begun!
Perhaps I should say more about the inciting incident. Stories today, as films, must offer an inciting incident within ten to twenty minutes of the opening. This means that the setting, genre, main characters, and problem have been clearly introduced. The inciting incident is akin to sitting in a roller coaster, then suddenly experiencing that first jolt or movement. In the Oscar-winning screenplay and film, Witness, it’s the moment the young Amish boy, played by Lukas Haas, witnesses the murder. The car crash at the beginning of the Oscar winner Crash is another example. We know what kind of story it is and what the problem is. The ride has begun!
The inciting incident is the first beat of your story. A beat is a dramatic moment which either enhances character or advances plot. I first learned of beats while studying acting in New York with Broadway actress, Uta Hagen, who was also a fine teacher. I highly recommend her book, Respect for Acting, for writers as well as actors, as it is a great tool for developing both character and story beats.
The first scene I did in Hagen’s class was a scene from Hamlet where I played Ophelia. I had already studied and been directed by B. Iden Payne, once director of Stratford-on-Avon, England, so I felt confident of my Shakespearean style. Of course, Hagen mercilessly tore me to shreds, saying “I want you to play an Ophelia I believe goes to the bathroom!” After recovering from initial shock and my regional actor’s pride, I realized that I had much to learn. My abstractly romantic Ophelia did not walk on this earth. Lesson: Characters must be three-dimensional, grounded, and not just an extension of the writer’s projected aesthetic imagination.
I also encourage students and clients to enroll in an improvisational acting class, especially for dramatic writing such as plays and screenplays. It is important to experience that dialogue and action in a play or film must be in the present, spontaneously happening now, unlike a novel which might be introspective or taking place in the past. Improvisation is a valuable tool for learning this.
In New York, I acted for a year and a half in an improvisational troupe which played off-Broadway in Greenwich Village. We performed for live audiences and never knew exactly what we might say or do. It was spontaneous and fun. I still regard this as the best acting class I ever had, as well as a superb prep for play- writing and screenwriting. Why? Because when you have to think on your feet in the midst of a situation with another person, what you say must come directly from you. There is no time to rationalize or try and remember what to say, it is happening now. And now is when all good plays and screenplays take place.
The Way of Story approach to writing includes the whole of you, not just the rational mind. You must bring all of you to the table: body and guts, feelings, intuition — yes, even your dreams. A writer must make use of all his resources, and they are blessedly manifold as we shall explore in the upcoming chapters.
The following steps, inspired by a talk by John Truby, should help clarify your story’s structure. After first listing the following steps, I will later illustrate with examples.
THE SEVEN STEPS TO STORY STRUCTURE
1. Problem/Need of main character: He will be very aware of the problem but not how to solve it. Need is inside, often hidden. Something is missing in the main character or protagonist which is usually based on a character flaw.
2. Desire: A particular goal. Here it is important to distinguish between Need and Desire. A lion is hungry; this is his need. Then he sees a gazelle running: the gazelle is the specific desire. To fulfill his need, he must obtain his desire. Though need and desire are linked, they are not the same thing.
3. Opponent: Competing for the same or opposite goal and/ or same territory. There may be both external and internal opponents.
4. The Plan: A set of guidelines the hero/heroine or protagonist uses to overcome the opponent or antagonist and reach his goal, obtaining his specific desire. Things inevitably go wrong, and the hero has to re-group, finding new solutions. There will be many milestones before the final battle.
5. Final Battle: The conflicts get more and more intense. The Final Battle is the last conflict.
6. Self-Revelation: The lies are stripped away. The hero undergoes a profound change where he