Let's try another one. Suppose your story is about longing. What is the protagonist longing for? How about something outside him- or herself. Now, how can this longing be shown? Let's contrast it with something within the protagonist. Maybe the protagonist has the longed-for object all along. The heart of your story then becomes: LONGING FOR SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE SELF LEADS TO THE REALIZATION THAT THE ANSWER HAS BEEN WITHIN THE SELF ALL ALONG Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz * How about courage? First, we need to make it specific. Courage to do what? How about to fight against opression. Now, the opposite of oppression is freedom, so the heart of your story becomes: THE COURAGE TO BATTLE OPPRESSION LEADS TO FREEDOM Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October * One more because this is so fun. Let's take attainment of power. First, define what kind of power. How about ABSOLUTE power? What does this lead to? A great deal of human wisdom has already been expended to affirm that grasping for absolute power corrupts and destroys. However, we don't want a downer story, so let's think how this truth can be incorporated. If attempting to grasp power leads to destruction, then being able to relinquish the power should lead to preservation. The heart of our story then becomes: WILLINGNESS TO RELINQUISH ABSOLUTE POWER LEADS TO PRESERVATION JRR Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring |
