READING A STORY CAN BE LIKENED to climbing a mountain. You start by getting familiar with your setting. Next you begin the long, steady climb, with all its zigs, zags, and pitfalls. The most exciting moment comes as you finally arrive at the apex—and then you descend rapidly down the other side. Your journey ends with satisfaction when you reach the bottom.
How can a writer take her readers on such an adventure? Follow this traditional format for telling a good story.
1. Background (or Exposition)
Begin your story with a bit of background. Here’s where you establish the setting, introduce the protagonist, and lay out some key details to provide context for the story.
2. Rising Action
Conflict is crucial in a good story. The narrative begins to take shape when you introduce a conflict or obstacle. In storytelling, there are several ways a writer can do this:
Man against himself is an internal conflict that arises when the character struggles against his or her conscience. The character may be wrestling with a decision, dealing with a bad habit, or fighting a temptation, for example.
Man against man is an external conflict between two characters. This conflict can be physical, such as a gunfight in the Old West, or it can be emotional, such as a false accusation by a trusted friend.
Man against forces greater than himself is an external conflict in which the character struggles with forces beyond his control. Examples include roaring rapids, a hurricane, a cholera epidemic, or an encounter with a fire-breathing dragon.
3. Climax
If a story were a mountain, the climax would be the peak. This is the turning point of the story. The action is the most exciting or intense, and the characters face the conflict and start to solve it. At the story’s climax, the meteor strikes the earth; the knight slays the dragon and rescues the princess; or the big battle scene occurs.
4. Falling Action
Once the climax has been reached and the problem resolved, it’s time for the characters to tie up loose ends and bring closure where needed. Examples of falling action can include rounding up the cattle after the big stampede; reuniting a man with his long-lost brother; or getting the injured child into the raft and riding the rapids to safety.
5. Conclusion (or Dénouement)
By this part of the story, everything has been resolved and the reader has closure. We see how the characters have changed over time, or how life returns to normal. For example, the bully learns the errors of his ways; the family home is rebuilt after a devastating fire; or wedding bells ring for a couple who have overcome many obstacles and found true love.
Clearly, there’s much more to writing a story, including character and plot development. Your first step, though, is understanding what lies ahead.
Are you ready to face the mountain?
Copyright 2012 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.
