Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

More on the Story Telling Model

The Story Telling Model

Picasso is said to have been able to draw realistically even though inclined to do otherwise. Many great poets, even though they often disdained the traditional forms were versed in their use. Many great playwrights and authors gave the tried and true model their unique spin but still used it in their work. I tell the students they should first understand the basic model before going off on their own thing.

I teach the Exploratory Writing Workshop at New Horizon’s Academy. It never fails that I learn a great deal from the process and oft feel like the “One Eyed Man, in the land of the Blind.” While I don’t presume to be a great authority on the “Written Word,” I try and give my students an appreciation of the basics and introduce them to the model that most novels follow. I am writing this essay so I won’t forget the lessons learned when it comes time to update the course.

A good story begins just before a Life Changing Event. (LCE). In the beginning of a novel a writer gets a brief opportunity to provide backstory, set the scene, introduce the Central Character (CC), introduce one or two Supporting Characters (SPs) and perhaps the antagonist. Then the writer gets to the Life Changing Event (LCE.)

A novel typically has 1 LCE.

(Examples: A loved one dies. They lose a sense or body part. Their house burns down…they suffer horrible burns. Their cruise ship sinks and they almost drown or die of hypothermia. They wake up in a gutter getting urinated on by a drunk, are assaulted and beaten half to death, or raped by a stranger or family member. Note: It is not just the event but how it changes the life of the CC and how they decided to change as a consequence.

In a typical novel the CC will face 3 Crisis (Cs):

(Examples: Take each of the LCE examples above and think about how it might lead the CC to change the direction of their life. Then once upon their new path something huge happens (A crisis) to keep them from achieving what they have resolved to become or get to where they want to go.

A CC might face perhaps a hundred Important Events (IEs).

(Examples: A Cs and an IE are orders of magnitude apart. While the three Cs should be unmistakable, they are linked and interspersed with IEs. IEs help move the story along. They are not the same thing as a Cs.

As already mentioned a good story begins somewhere during the CC’s Journey through life. It begins just before a Life Changing Event (LCE). As the name implies the LCE changes the CC. He/She resolves to take a path different from the one fate had previously ordained. As a consequence of this change in direction they encounter several crisis each larger than the last, culminating in the Climax. During this they experience many IEs which are not to be confused with the LCE or a major life Crisis.

The Identity Crisis I am trying to get at is what happens after a LCE… when the CC is sorting out and resolving the new direction their life is going to take. The CC is resolved and determined to change some of their core behaviors and beliefs and this will cause some problems when this born again personality steps out on a new path in life. It will lead to Crisis.

In a typical story there are 3 classic Crisis the CC will face. They will start relatively small and build. While I say they start small they are still big in the context of the CC’s life. There are two types of crisis I want the student to understand. One that results from something the CC does (self induced) and ones that are going to happen regardless of what happens. (Externally induced). In the workshop I try and get the students to understand the distinction. It is important because as the story moves along the reader is looking for change in the CC’s character. Commonly an immature CC only blames themself when there is no one else to blame. A mature reader picks up on this character state very quickly.

So, an event is not necessarily a crisis but a crisis is always an event.