Monday, September 05, 2005
From Situation to Complication
At the core of a story resides a situation: the basic state of circumstances the protagonist finds himself or herself in. It may involve an exotic setting or unusual job chosen by the writer to hook a reader's interest. A story can rise above the slush pile or stand out on a bookshelf because of a strong foundational situation.
For example, in Joel Rosenberg's The Ezekiel Option, the situation that hooks readers' interest involves the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the "lands of the north" and Israel. Among the ocean of apocalyptic stories available, this situation stands out. A lot deal with the rise of the Antichrist, but far fewer deal specifically with the precursor event of the destruction of Russia's military.
Airplane disaster movies are a dime a dozen now, but back in the 1950s the story situation was highly unusual. John Wayne's 1954 blockbuster The High and the Mighty hit theater screens with an ensemble story about a group of conflicted passengers trapped on a doomed transatlantic flight. It captured audiences' interest, and set the stage for a slew of clones.
The situation lures readers across the threshold of the book's cover, but they can back out at any time by simply putting the book down. Locking the exit and throwing away the key requires developing complications. Complications alter the terrain of the basic situation and create obstacles, forcing the characters (and readers!) to constantly readjust their perspective.
Some of the most fun and interesting complications may arise from the protagonist's own mistaken attempts to navigate the situation. For instance, in The Ezekiel Option the protagonist loses his fiancée in a violent military coup, and returns home devastated. His grip on his faith slips, and his most trusted intelligence source realizes the hero is not emotionally prepared to receive certain vital information. This complicates the situation, because an important character must wait to give the hero information the hero needs now. When the protagonist gives the American president radical advice about dealing with his enemies, it results in the hero's mental stability coming into question. This complicates the situation, because when he does get more pieces of the puzzle put together, no one takes him seriously anymore.
Coming up with a sparkling situation is only the first step, though a very important one. It's complications that keep readers on the yellow brick road until The End.
For example, in Joel Rosenberg's The Ezekiel Option, the situation that hooks readers' interest involves the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the "lands of the north" and Israel. Among the ocean of apocalyptic stories available, this situation stands out. A lot deal with the rise of the Antichrist, but far fewer deal specifically with the precursor event of the destruction of Russia's military.
Airplane disaster movies are a dime a dozen now, but back in the 1950s the story situation was highly unusual. John Wayne's 1954 blockbuster The High and the Mighty hit theater screens with an ensemble story about a group of conflicted passengers trapped on a doomed transatlantic flight. It captured audiences' interest, and set the stage for a slew of clones.
The situation lures readers across the threshold of the book's cover, but they can back out at any time by simply putting the book down. Locking the exit and throwing away the key requires developing complications. Complications alter the terrain of the basic situation and create obstacles, forcing the characters (and readers!) to constantly readjust their perspective.
Some of the most fun and interesting complications may arise from the protagonist's own mistaken attempts to navigate the situation. For instance, in The Ezekiel Option the protagonist loses his fiancée in a violent military coup, and returns home devastated. His grip on his faith slips, and his most trusted intelligence source realizes the hero is not emotionally prepared to receive certain vital information. This complicates the situation, because an important character must wait to give the hero information the hero needs now. When the protagonist gives the American president radical advice about dealing with his enemies, it results in the hero's mental stability coming into question. This complicates the situation, because when he does get more pieces of the puzzle put together, no one takes him seriously anymore.
Coming up with a sparkling situation is only the first step, though a very important one. It's complications that keep readers on the yellow brick road until The End.
