Back in the 1970s, the song He’s Alive by Don Francisco was number one on Christian radio. Of course, we Christians already knew that, so why was the song so popular. Perhaps because its story contrasted the before and after.
Stories should have a before and after.
The life of any story is showing the change. If your main characters walk out of their stories unchanged, all you have is news, and interest in that style is dying if not already dead. Screenplay and storytelling consultant Robert McKee says a scene has no right to exist if nothing changes.
The strength of a story is found in the struggle.
The struggle makes us wonder how the story will end. Will our hero succeed against all odds? We assume he will, but the outcome is in doubt. Readers want to speculate on what will happen, and they also want to be wrong when the unexpected teaches them something that is true-to-life. Without kryptonite, Superman would have no story. His victories would be too easy, and he wouldn’t be much of a hero.
Don’t let your heroes be flawless. Give your villains likeable qualities as well as evil. Then give them opposing goals and we have struggles and tension that can propel your readers through the story.
The start needs a goal.
From the beginning, readers must have a sense for what the main character wants and can share that desire. Without that, if events are just happening and nobody seems to care, then your readers won’t care. They won’t be engaged, and you risk losing them.
The end needs a result.
All endings don’t have to be happy, but they should make readers think, I’m glad I read this. Stories are read for three main reasons: education, entertainment, or escape. If you like, you can add encouragement to that list. By the end of the story, your main character cannot be the same. Something was learned that makes the character better or worse, and that experience is shared by the reader.
From scene to scene, identify how your character is changing and what is learned, and your readers will find rewards that will keep them turning the pages.
