Johnny walked on the other side of the street, past the fire truck, and stopped. Curious spectators watched the two men slide the stretcher into the ambulance, the boy under the sheets staring vacantly at the sky. Was he dead? Johnny didn’t have time to ask.
Five minutes later, Johnny walked into the classroom as the bell rang, still wondering what had happened.
At the end of the class, the teacher said, “For tonight’s homework, write a one-page story about something you’ve learned this week. Follow the storytelling model we discussed in class today.”
Who would his character be, the boy on stretcher, the paramedic, or himself? The teacher wanted what she called a “scoop” summary: a statement with Situation, Character, and Objective—followed by the Obstacle and Plight, which put the outcome in doubt.
Like the chart the teacher had drawn on the board, Johnny identified each story element. The situation was seeing the ambulance. He would be the character, but what did he want? His objective was to find out what happened. The obstacle was having to be at school, with no chance to ask anyone at the scene. The plight? If he didn’t find out what happened, he might suffer the same calamity.
In the same manner as the teacher’s example, Johnny wrote a two-sentence summary: When Johnny saw the fire truck and a boy being lifted into the ambulance, he wanted to find out what happened. But with the house dark and no one at home and nothing on the five o’clock news, will he find out or suffer the same calamity?
With the summary as a guide, he described his emotional journey from beginning to end, showing the main character’s Insight, Transformation, and Unresolved Problem, which spelled “scoop it up.” Johnny realized how important life was and thought he would like to be a paramedic, but could he do well enough at school to make that possible?
Great stories focus on the captivating SCOOP elements, showing an important lesson learned and how the main character changes.
