Story

1
Story

• Common Narrative Structures
• and
• How to Reproduce Them

2
Foundations

• first theory of narrative formulated by Aristotle
  in The Poetics
• his theory is still the basis of all mainstream
  storytelling
• came up with Beginning, Middle, End

(What does this really mean?)
3
According to The Poetics

• the beginning is that which has no cause, and
  causes other things
• the middle is that which has a cause, and also
  causes other things
• the end is that which has a cause, and causes
  nothing else

4
Two important observations

• the basic relation in narrative is cause and
  effect
• causal relations are filtered by relevance

(seems obvious, but this is belied by the
existence of crap)
5

• relevance implies that causation is not merely
  physical, but psychological
• characters are provoked, do stuff which provokes
  other characters

6
Conflict

• protagonist wants something, cant get it
• usually because some other character wants the
  opposite
• or an impersonal situation prevents it

Result characters act against one another, or
against their situation
(again, seems obvious, but belied by crap)
7
Types of Conflict

• person vs. person
• person vs. self
• person vs. nature
• person vs. God

(not mutually exclusive distinctions between
them may be fuzzy)
8
Leads to well-known three-part structure

• development - status quo is perturbed characters
  act and take sides
• climax - conflict reaches its height protagonist
  wins or loses
• resolution - things settle back down

(different people use different terms)
9
3-part structure actually insufficient - need
5-part stucture

• development - as before
• first climax - gives false sense of security,
  exposes deeper problems in situation and
  protagonists
• nightmare/living hell - situation at its worst
  protagonists truly struggle
• second climax - protagonists either grow and win,
  or dont grow and lose
• resolution - as before

10

• purpose of first climax and nightmare/living hell
  phases is to reveal character flaws
• forces characters to overcome their own flaws in
  order to prevail in the second climax
• shows the importance of character development
• (also useful for providing extra length)

11
Star Wars

• Luke wants to join the Rebellion, become a Jedi,
  rescue the princess, etc.
• Escape from the Death Star!
• Kenobi dead Death Star tracks Luke Co. to the
  rebel base.
• Destroy the Death Star!
• Happy ending.

12
Every romantic comedy ever made

• Boy and girl meet.
• Boy and girl become romantically involved
  (climax, get it?).
• Boy and girl have some sort of huge
  misunderstanding.
• Boy and girl overcome their problems and re-unite
  permanently.
• Boy and girl live happily ever after.

13
Cars

• Talking cars that race!
• Lightning McQueen wins first race, shows himself
  to be an jerk.
• Jerkiness causes him to get stranded in Radiator
  Springs, where he learns good ole rural values.
• Loses the second race, but wins AT LIFE.
• Goes back to Radiator Springs and lives happily
  ever after.

14
Ratatouille

• Afredo and Remy find themselves at Gustos
  restaurant.
• Initial success with the soup Alfredo and Remy
  team up and become professional chefs.
• Alfredos a fraud Remys still a rat. They
  alienate everyone and raise Skinners suspicions.
• Gustos is shut down, but not before they win
  over Ego with the ratatouille.
• The three start their own restaurant and live
  happily ever after.

15
Extra stuff

• when to resolve conflicts?
• reversals
• recognition
• repetition and foreshadowing

16
Conflict Resolution

• a non-trivial story typically has many conflicts
• if resolution of a conflict is necessary to
  advance the plot, then resolve as needed
• if a conflict exists only to add suspense and
  place a psychological burden on the protagonists,
  then resolve after the climax

17

• reversal - pretty much what it sounds like
  things end up the opposite of whats expected
• recognition - protoganist learns something
  profound that he didnt know before, which
  changes everything

18
Foreshadowing repetition

• creates suspense
• prevents the appearance of randomness
• encourages economy and re-use
• creates emotional resonance

19
Application
Tom Jerry Puppy Tale

• 5-part structure
• rule of three
• recognition
• reversal
• foreshadowing repetition

20
How can I create good stories when I have limited
time, education, and experience?
21
Steal.
(also known as)

• borrowing
• re-using
• imitating
• emulating
• finding inspiration
• alluding
• referring
• parodying
• paying tribute
• making an homage
• etc.

22
One source Design Patterns (a.k.a archetypes)

• the quest
• slaying the monster (Star Wars)
• rags to riches (Ratatouille)
• rebirth (Cars)
• voyage and return (Wall-E)
• comedy (every romatic comedy ever made)
• tragedy (Revenge of the Sith video clip!)

(Booker, The Seven Basic Plots)
23
Another source steal from the best or oldest

• Myths, legends, folklore
• Fairy tales, nursery rhymes, urban legends
• Literature

24
Example Pygmalion (Ancient Greek myth)
Pygmalion, a great sculptor, carves a statue of
his idea of the perfect woman and falls in love
with it. Aphrodite pities him and turns the
statue into a real woman. Pygmalion and the
ex-statue live happily ever after.
25
Pygmalion (Ancient Greek myth)
Pygmalion (Theatrical play, 1912)
My Fair Lady (Musical film, 1956)
Shes All That (Teen movie, 1999)
Not Another Teen Movie (Vulgar parody, 2001)
(video clips!)
26
Trans-historic Cross-genre Arc of Narrative Re-use
(not a real thing)
Myth Legend
Literature/High Art
Mainstream/Pop Art
Value
Parody/Trash Art
Time
27
Amleth (Scandinavian legend)
Hamlet (Shakespeare)
Hamlet (Mel Gibson)
Value
Hamlet (Simpsons, South Park)
Time
28
Biblical mythological allusions
Moby Dick (Melville)
Moby Dick (Gregory Peck)
Value
Dicky Moe (Tom Jerry)
Time
29
Yet another source steal from yourself

• personal experiences
• personal issues, crushing psychological trauma,
  etc.
• re-use or extend stories youve already created

30
Example James Bond

• recurring plot 1 manipulation of supowers into
  military conflict, escalation to World War 3
• recurring plot 2 artificial scarcity and
  monopolization of a precious commodity

31
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

• Villain stages military incidents between Britain
  and China.
• Britain and China blame each other.
• Escalation to WW3.
• ???
• Profit!

32
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

• Villain launches nuclear missiles at New York and
  Moscow.
• USA and USSR blame each other.
• Escalation to WW3.
• ???
• Profit!

33
You Only Live Twice (1967)

• Villain captures US and Soviet spacecraft.
• USA and USSR blame each other.
• Escalation to WW3.
• ???
• Profit!

(video clips!)
34
Goldfinger (1964)

• Villain attempts to detonate atomic bomb in Fort
  Knox.
• US gold supply is irratiated.
• Value of villains gold stockpile increases
  tenfold.
• Bonus economic collapse of the West.

35
A View to a Kill (1985)

• Villain attempts to destroy Silicon Valley.
• US semiconductor production halts.
• Villains semiconductor cartel monopolizes the
  market.
• Bonus economic collapse of the West.

36
The World Is Not Enough (1999)

• Villain attempts to cause a nuclear meltdown in a
  major oil distribution hub.
• Pipelines relying on that hub become useless.
• Villains pipeline monopolizes oil distribution.
• Bonus economic collapse of the West.

37
Quantum of Solace (2008)

• Villain dams up subterranean rivers in Bolivia.
• Creates drought, controls most of Bolivias water
  supply.
• Villain becomes Bolivias new utilities provider.
• (Economy of the West already collapsing.)

(video clips!)
38
The Moral

• Go ahead and steal. Everyone does it.
• Theres nothing new under the sun.
• All of this stuff is much older than you think.