Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

A Good Story Ought To

A Good Story Ought To

A good story ought to light us up with possibilities and hope.

I’m reading The Way Of The Warrior Kid (Amazon) right now at home and I cherish the way the kids lean into the conflict.

(Honestly: Why put adversity into stories anyway? No really, think about that for a second.)

There are lessons on bravery, obstacles, grit, persistence, fear, and fitness that my children will literally sit on the edge of their seats for.

Now that I think about it, this book has the exact same format that most other stories do.

Seeing children learn, is a beautiful thing to watch. C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton championed this.

I mean, who wants to read stories that tear people down?

A good story ought to perform a service by making us better, stronger, wiser, or happier than we were before. It makes us laugh or cry. It imparts wisdom. It teaches lessons about human nature and our place in God’s creation. It addresses our need to find coherence in our lives. It gives us a sense of continuity within the overall stream of human experience.

-John Erickson, Story Craft (Amazon)

A Story Falls Flat When

A Story Falls Flat When

A story falls flat when the archetypal story format is ignored.

I have talked about it before.

  1. A main character wants something
  2. They encounter an obstacle
  3. Then the main character meets a guide
  4. The guide helps them form a plan
  5. The main character is called to action
  6. The action ends in either a success or a failure

The more clarity around these points the better.

Clarity is, after all, a form of persuasion.

Understand: Trump understands the power of this narrative device.

See, songs are exactly the same way.

The melodic math (which has nothing to do with the lyrics) can make or break a song.

Someone who is skilled at telling jokes or stories understands that they are not random utterances. They follow a definite pattern, like a folksong or a sentence that you can diagram. If you follow the pattern, most of the time you get good results. If you ignore the pattern, the joke or story falls flat. The pattern requires movement and resolution.

-John Erickson, Story Craft (Amazon)

Sterling Terrell