Previously, I’ve written about the three basic building blocks of your story, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. In addition to the basic three-act structure that every story needs to have, there are 5 other key elements essential to storytelling.
If you don’t have them, even if you’re missing one, your book will not work. Someone is going to read it, and while it will probably be good, something just won’t quite feel right in their gut.
The conversation you might have with this person might go something like this:
You: “Well, what did you think?”
Friend: “It was pretty good.”
An awkward pause ensues. You clear your throat before continuing, trying to figure out why your friend seems to be more interested in the wad of gum on the ground than making eye contact with you.
You: “…and?”
Friend (but now you’re debating this title): “I liked it … but … oh, I don’t know. It was just missing something.”
You, expecting something a little bit more concrete, clear your throat a little louder before speaking: “What was missing?”
Frenemy (no longer loyal enough to be your friend), after another awkward pause: “I can’t put my finger on it, exactly. I just know something didn’t work.”
Then your frenemy screams and runs away because your hard stare burned a hole in her forehead. At that point, you’re left wondering what exactly was missing, or what parts of your story didn’t work.
Since the beginning of time …
What your friend couldn’t articulate, was the fact that your book is missing an essential part of every story.
She just doesn’t know it.
Every person intuitively knows how a story is supposed to work. The human race is defined by the fact that we, as a people, live and die by stories.
Stories shape our decisions, our thoughts, and how we react in a given situation. Not only that, but we tell people stories and listen to stories every single day.
Think about it for a second. How did the first caveman teach his kids about the dangers of the sabretooth tiger? He told them about the time he lost half of his left pinkie when he tried to take food from under the cat’s mouth while it was eating its fresh kill.
We have entire industries built on storytelling. Movies, books, music, theatre.
As mankind has evolved, one way to tell a story developed and remained stalwart. All the great stories have these elements. This story structure is so ingrained in our beings that we don’t even realize that we are evaluating stories based on these elements. It’s why your now frenemy couldn’t place her finger on why your book stunk. She didn’t know, exactly. The story just didn’t feel right.
But don’t worry, all is not lost. I’m going to tell you what those five elements are.
The 5 elements of storytelling are …
Get ready for this:
- Inciting Incident
- Rising Action
- Crisis
- Climax
- Resolution
That’s it.
There’s nothing else to your story. If you have an inciting incident that pulls your reader in, they’ll want to read more. Then, take them along the story, making things progressively more complicated for the main character. At some point, things are going to get so complicated, the main character is going to come to a crisis point.
The crisis is simply a question that the main character faces. It’s the major turning point of the story when the hero must choose between two courses of action. One course of action will turn your hero away from his goal, and one will carry him towards it. Once the decision is made, the climax follows.
Your climax is the height of action/suspense in your story. The part of your story where, though your character has made the decision to move forward, it appears that he is going to fail because the odds are just too big for him.
After your hero gets through the climax, you need to show your readers the consequences or fallout of the climactic scene. That’s the resolution.
If you can bring all of these things together, your story will work.
So, the next time someone tells you your story just wasn’t quite right, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly what you need to do to make it better. Or, better yet, you’ll be able to pinpoint it before your friend, who is no longer your frenemy, will have a chance to read it.