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A throughline is the story’s core, the problem that opens in the beginning and concludes in the climax. Throughlines are essential for compelling stories, but many authors still struggle with them, so that’s what we’re talking about this week. We discuss why stories should open … read more »
Every story has a premise that shapes what will happen. Some premises are good, like “a neglected orphan goes to a secret school for wizards.” Some premises are bad, like “a teenager gets into an abusive relationship with a vampire.” But no matter if the … read more »
External conflicts are obvious to the audience and easy for storytellers to conceptualize. The hero either defeats the villain or they get beat; they either convince the jury or they are thrown in jail. But while these conflicts are usually the first thing that new storytellers reach … read more »
Basic story structure includes a problem at the beginning and a resolution to that problem at the end. But to make their work stand out, some storytellers reject the resolution. The romance ends without the audience knowing if the lovers will be together; the adventure ends with an undecided battle … read more »
Here on Mythcreants, we talk a lot about how bad stories could be improved, but good stories often leave room for improvement as well. That’s why Nick sent us this question. Have you considered doing an article along the lines of “X Changes that Would … read more »
Conflicts within Team Good allow us to develop characters while adding excitement to scenes. However, most good guys have every reason to stay on good terms. Without a villain, it can be tricky to get them fighting. As a result, many protagonist conflicts rely on good guys that act out of character or manifest glaring new flaws. … read more »
Storytellers can’t control the expectations their audience brings to a tale. Unfortunately, defying expectations set by common story conventions can make the audience feel like the storyteller broke their promises. Luckily, we have a solution for this: the subversive plot twist. Read more »
Some stories focus on big external conflicts to drive them and use a relatively blank protagonist as the audience’s vessel. But others try to make the protagonist as vivid as possible, trusting them to drive the story. The character has some intense desire or critical … read more »
Foreshadowing is an essential tool for making plot twists and other reveals in a story work. But if the storyteller isn’t careful, foreshadowing can give the ending away. These five methods will reduce the chance of your audience catching on too quickly. Read more »
In visual mediums like film or video games, events the audience witnesses are said to happen onscreen. In written mediums, this term applies to events that are directly described. Everything else takes place offscreen, whether it is revealed through exposition or simply left to the audience’s … read more »