Friday, April 6, 2007

Anatomy of a story

What makes a story ?

Story telling or writing is a craft. The author has to manipulate the characters in such a way that they forward the predetermined plot to a plausible and satisfying ending. What happens in between is the story. The story is based on a premise which is challenged by a conflict which needs a resolution. As the story develops, the conflicts escalate making the resolution more and more difficult. Finally a stage is reached when the protagonist is positioned in a life and death situation from which he usually emerges victorious. Even if the hero dies which happens in a tragedy, the story has to provide a final resolution, all loose ends have to be tied and the story should eventually close. If this doesn’t happen, there is no story.

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