HOW TO CONSTRUCT A NARRATIVE
Remember to incorporate the PIXAR story techniques found in Khan Academy!
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
Drama? If you have drama, comic relief. When the situation become too heavy, you need a "Clown" distract people.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
The end of the story should show the main character has solved their problems by adapting. Resolution.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
Drama? If you have drama, comic relief. When the situation become too heavy, you need a "Clown" distract people.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
The end of the story should show the main character has solved their problems by adapting. Resolution.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
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TELLING
The room was messy.
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SHOWING
Empty pizza boxes and bags from fast food places dotted the furniture, stared back at him, monuments placed in tribute to a teenage diet. Clothes, in various stages of clean to dirty, fell on top of the surfaces not occupied by the statues of empty food containers.
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THE M.I.C.E. compared to Plot, Theme, Characters, Setting
Milieu matches the "Setting." Starts when a character enters a space, and ends when they exit the space.
Conflict: when the main character has difficulty navigating a space.
Tension is created by the obstacles the main character encounters in the space.
Example: "Finding Nemo"
Inquiry matches the "theme." Starts with a question and ends when the question is answered.
Conflict: Difficulty in finding answers. People lie. Deception. Intrigue.
Tension is created by dealing with the lies and trying to find the truth.
Examples: Murder/mystery.
Characters matches characters
Conflict: Angst. Unhappiness with self. Ends when the character is happy.
Starts with an identity shift. Characters struggle is internal, "Ill never be popular."
Example: "Remy was rat who wanted to be a world class chef."
Tension is created when a character fails. Until one day...
Events matches "plot."
Conflict is driven by actions and events. Events are external.
Starts when status quo changes. Ends when there is a new status quo.
Examples: fights, explosions. Your basic action flick.
Conflict: when the main character has difficulty navigating a space.
Tension is created by the obstacles the main character encounters in the space.
Example: "Finding Nemo"
Inquiry matches the "theme." Starts with a question and ends when the question is answered.
Conflict: Difficulty in finding answers. People lie. Deception. Intrigue.
Tension is created by dealing with the lies and trying to find the truth.
Examples: Murder/mystery.
Characters matches characters
Conflict: Angst. Unhappiness with self. Ends when the character is happy.
Starts with an identity shift. Characters struggle is internal, "Ill never be popular."
Example: "Remy was rat who wanted to be a world class chef."
Tension is created when a character fails. Until one day...
Events matches "plot."
Conflict is driven by actions and events. Events are external.
Starts when status quo changes. Ends when there is a new status quo.
Examples: fights, explosions. Your basic action flick.
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Story Arc for Middle School with an Example Outline
Story Arc for Advanced High School and College
