How Do You Define Story?

July 06, 2008 Comments (1)

Story is often defined as, “Beginning, Middle, End.”

And while that’s a good descriptor, it doesn’t really define story.

Can story be defined? If so, how do you define s-t-o-r-y? 

Comments · How Do You Define Story?

1

Charles Brown
Jul 14, 2008

Sometimes I have difficulty constructing a story using the 3 part structure, my mind just can’t wrap itself around 3 acts.

What I often do instead is begin with a Before and After structure.  Like: Before Luke Skywalker lived a dismal life with his aunt and uncle on a desolate planet far from anything exciting.

After: Luke was a Jedi Knight, honored by beautiful princess and a hero of the rebal alliance.

Then I find it easier to just “fill in the gap” or “connect the dots.” 

I write about all the things that brought him from the Before scenereo to the After scenereo. 

This structure, of course, evolves into a three act format naturally but it just seems to flow better for me because I am not trying to fit the pieces into a formual.

Charles Brown
Author of The Plot Thickens: How Case Studies Create New Customers

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