3 ms·

there is a pretty well worked out theory of what makes a good story links please

by davi 17y ago

pmichaud 17y ago
http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/on-drama/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/on-drama/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/the-story-conversation/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/the-story-conversatio...
lisper 17y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle) http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685 http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-S...
- lisper 17y ago
  BTW, the theory is pretty easy to summarize. At the risk of oversimplifying, the essential elements of a good story are: 1. A protagonist, who is a sympathetic character with a goal. In Eliezer's story the protagonist is not a single character, but all of humanity. Their goal is to understand the universe. 2. An antagonist, who places obstacles in the path of the protagonist to prevent him (or her or them) from achieving the goal. In Eliezer's story, the antagonist is whoever is causing the stars to blink. 3. A structure that includes (more or less) the following elements in order: a) An introduction that establishes the characters and the basic ground rules of the world they live in b) An inciting incident that launches the protagonist on a journey. In Eliezer's story this is the stars starting to blink. c) The journey itself, which ultimately leads to some kind of catastrophe from which no escape seems possible. d) A resolution, which results in the protagonist being forever changed in some way. It may or may not include the actual achievement of the protagonist's goal. It may, for example, be the protagonist realizing that they chose the wrong goal. Think "Wizard of Oz". Of course, there's a lot more to say than just that, but those are the fundamentals.
  - hegemonicon 17y ago
    See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

there is a pretty well worked out theory of what makes a good story links please

by davi 17y ago

there is a pretty well worked out theory of what makes a good story links please

http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/on-drama/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/on-drama/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/the-story-conversation/ http://kotiro.petermichaud.com/writing/the-story-conversatio...

lisper 17y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle) http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685 http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-S...

lisper 17y ago
BTW, the theory is pretty easy to summarize. At the risk of oversimplifying, the essential elements of a good story are: 1. A protagonist, who is a sympathetic character with a goal. In Eliezer's story the protagonist is not a single character, but all of humanity. Their goal is to understand the universe. 2. An antagonist, who places obstacles in the path of the protagonist to prevent him (or her or them) from achieving the goal. In Eliezer's story, the antagonist is whoever is causing the stars to blink. 3. A structure that includes (more or less) the following elements in order: a) An introduction that establishes the characters and the basic ground rules of the world they live in b) An inciting incident that launches the protagonist on a journey. In Eliezer's story this is the stars starting to blink. c) The journey itself, which ultimately leads to some kind of catastrophe from which no escape seems possible. d) A resolution, which results in the protagonist being forever changed in some way. It may or may not include the actual achievement of the protagonist's goal. It may, for example, be the protagonist realizing that they chose the wrong goal. Think "Wizard of Oz". Of course, there's a lot more to say than just that, but those are the fundamentals.
- hegemonicon 17y ago
  See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth