This article is an excerpt from The Mechanics of Stories by Larry Brooks
The copyright of this article belongs to Chinese Min University Press, please contact the background for reprinting
It's one thing to look for stories, it's another to find the best stories. Understanding the differences forms a profession in writing.
As with any engine designer and builder (our story is nothing more than a theatrical engine), we need to understand what the power and fuel of our story is.
Story mechanics encompasses six areas:
1. Engaging presets.
2. Dramatic tension.
3. Rhythm.
4. The protagonist resonates.
5. Alternative experiences.
6. Narrative strategy.
These areas will make your story leap off the page, explode with immense energy, or bring irresistible temptations, or make you whisper before screaming loudly.
Or not. The lack or mishandling of the above elements is like pouring gasoline on a book made of matches, with no sparks, no flames.
Execution is important, and the intention gives power to the story. However, these are the things that the reader will notice.
Use these elements to power the beat of your story, make them "hiss" and burn, and your story will be better. They will manifest themselves, but if we can notice and master the fuel in our hands, everything will be better.
Toolbox: Six core skills for success story creation
1. Intention: The dramatic core of an engaging preset.
2. Characters: Pay attention to the resonance of readers and characters when shaping characters, and pay attention to the "rooted ability" of characters.
3. Theme: Context and subtext tools that rely on the six elements of story mechanics.
4. Structure: A tool for constructing dramatic tension, rhythm and character arcs, from which resonance arises.
5. Scene setting: A tool that combines each story beat in the form of mechanical optimization; mechanics are implemented on paper through scene settings.
6. Writing style: A tool to make a difference in the presentation of a story.
Once you have an idea, you need to pay attention to the above six elements immediately. Because you have to lay the groundwork in every aspect, your story will be successful.
To write a good story, you still need to know dozens or even hundreds of things. But now, what you're trying to learn is packed in 12 buckets: the six areas of story mechanics and the six core skills that serve as tools for use. At first glance, the two may seem to coincide somewhat, and to a glance observer they may sound like the same thing; but to a professional, they are as distinct as muscle strength and a barbell.
When we make decisions about each story element, ingredient, and execution tool, we are better able to optimize the mix. That's how we do miracles, and there's really nothing magical about it. Therefore, we can not only be satisfied with the "good", we need to apply what we have learned, try to find better, to pursue the best.
Intention
Definition: Evolve into a big idea for your story. The basic "If... What will happen? "Suppose. Intention is the dramatic pattern, the window into the plot, the source of conflict, the compelling questions, the fascinating situation, the promise of the story, and the stage on which the characters discover that there is something to do.
Good Intentions: The reader is naturally drawn to hypothetical questions and curious about the answers to the story questions posed by the author.
Better intention: The reader can feel the protagonist's journey to find answers, and can indirectly experience the protagonist's journey. The story heralds an exciting and fascinating experience.
The best idea: the reader can not only experience the journey of the protagonist, but also have a strong resonance with the protagonist, empathize with the stakes, and feel that the ending of the story is related to himself.
Human beings
Definition: The protagonist of the story, with a rich background story, inner world and external performance, to make a journey to make the protagonist a hero. As the story progresses, the protagonist grows, changes, and eventually becomes the main catalyst for the end of the story (that's exactly what the hero does).
Good character: A funny protagonist who can win the support of readers.
Better Characters: A richly layered protagonist with whom the reader can relate while supporting him or her.
The best character: the protagonist can feel the reader's feelings, fear the reader's fear, and become the heroic role that the reader hopes to play. In other words, an alternative combination of the hero and the reader on an emotional level. The best characters are heroes who can accomplish this task.
Subject
Definition: Presents the relevance and transparency of the human experience through dynamic stories, both at the character level and at the level of conflict. The theme is the meaning of all stories. The theme is a question that reveals the meaning of the story, that it becomes the catalyst for the story, that the story makes the reader think, that makes the reader angry, questioned, or empathized.
Good Theme: Show the true state of life, for better or worse. Good themes make us realize the mechanics of living, no matter when the story takes place, and at the same time enlighten universal truths that are appropriate to the time and context of the story. For example, we can all relate to stories about poverty, even if we are not poor ourselves.
Better Themes: Stories about the virtues of heroism unfold on a thematically rich, realistic stage. The story shows heroism while reflecting deeply on the darkness that must be conquered or overcome.
The best theme: a story that hits the nail on the head and doesn't back down, allows the reader to see the two sides of things, sees all the choices the protagonist can make, and teaches us to recognize the truth and grasp reality in the process. Ask questions and explore and test them by setting challenges to the characters and the results of their decisions and actions.
Structure
Definition: The order in which the story is presented conveys the reading experience, deepens the stakes, and reflects the ups and downs of the story. This mode provides a target location for a particular story point (in terms of the linear proportions of the story), each of which distinguishes the four parts of the story, each with its own contextual task. This task-driven entry point distinguishes the narrative goals of the four parts of the story and the contextual purpose of the scenes in each part.
Good structure: The story is presented in a robust four-part order: layout, reaction (to the first plot point), active attack on the problem, and resolution.
Better structure: The arrangement of the story allows the reader to be indirectly lost in the story, increasing the efficiency and attractiveness of the four parts of the story, as well as the inherent dramatic tension of each part.
Best Structure: The story surprises and intrigues the reader, grabs the reader's attention, and rewards the reader emotionally and intellectually. The story is interlocked, gradually revealed, seducing the reader, teasing the reader, and finally returning the reader, so that the reader can't let go.
Scene settings
Definition: The narrative unit that moves the story forward in an optimal way, paying attention to both character portrayal and dramatic tension. Each scene should have a specific narrative task based on the specific position of the scene in the story arrangement and the narrative arc.
Good scene setting: The scene is logical and integrates with the subsequent scenes to create a coherent and smooth story line.
Better scene setting: The scenes are like one-act plays, each scene has layout, conflict and resolution, while seamlessly connecting with the next scene. The scene presents an important and significant plot point while portraying the characters, constructing the instructions, and arranging the narrative level in order.
Best Scene Setting: The scene quickly cuts into the scene's task, showing, designing, and solving a story point, while laying out the subsequent deepening stakes, emergencies, choices, and character arcs, including subtleties and details, such as foreshadowing and subtext. However, the first part has greater freedom to lay out with ease, especially in the scenes where the main characters and the drama presets are introduced for the first time.
Writing style
Definition: The taste, style, and coherence of the work itself (the writing) as seen from the reader's point of view.
Good writing style: clear and direct sentences, few adjectives and descriptions, but very effective. Clean, no off-topic, no overexertion. The writing is not intended for the sole purpose of pursuing stylistic effects. The reader is obsessed with the story, does not notice the words, sentences and paragraphs, and is professional writing. But it is precisely for this reason that good writing is taken for granted.
Better writing style: Articulate the subtext of the moment and the characters in it. In this regard, the first person is usually more suitable than the third person for portraying the inner characters.
Best writing style: Light-hearted, fluid, often rewarding, humorous, subtle differences and subtleties when necessary, and direct power when needed. The text has the characteristics of a simple road and does not show excessive force. As a result, the author's style is easily recognizable, like the singer's voice, clear and distinctive, thus enhancing the reader's reading experience.
When we're not satisfied with the "good, or even the "better," when we target the creative choices that make the mechanics of the story optimal, recognize what those creative choices are, and build our story around those choices, we are using the search process qualitatively, not quantitatively, not just filling the blank pages on the rough first draft.
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