Narrative Design

Sources:

External Conflict - what's happening to the character

  • Internal Conflict & external conflict need each other
  • What does the main character want? -> External conflict
    • Main categories for concrete goals:
      • Win
      • Stop
      • Escape
      • Retrieve

Internal conflict - The main character's misbelief

  • What is your core theme?
    • The story's truth
    • What change would you like to see in the world?
    • What is the truth that you want to scream from the rooftops?
    • This drives your whole story... this is why you care about the story
  • Turn the theme into the opposite - into a lie... this is the core misbelief
  • What could have happened in the character's past to make them believe such a thing?
    • Can be a traumatic event... Can be a slow dripping continuous impact that makes a hole into the sone
    • Children until 7 years old believe almost everything - their brain is still forming
  • Write that pivotal scene! It will help you understand that character's thought process... internal workings...
    • This is the motive driving the goal of the character
  • Write more other scenes that cement the character's misbelief
    • Situations where they were challenged and had the chance to step out and discover the truth - but instead chose the lie - and cemented their belief
  • How is my character dissatisfied with their life today because of their firm belief into that lie?
  • What does my character think will make them happy? (based on their misbelief?)
    • This is their goal that will drive he plot
  • What steps could my character take now to actively pursue this goal?
    • This becomes the plot - driven by the character!

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