Characters in conflict | tension and suspense | the plot whisperer: secrets of the universal story structure any writer can master | two worlds in every story | writing a story
2 Major Story Settings
Stories generally have at least two major settings.
A story is about a character transformed over time in a meaningful way by the dramatic action. In order to make this character transformation more dramatic, writers convey who the character is within the safety of a world that is familiar to her or at least not as threatening as the next world or setting she is thrust into. The reader meets the protagonist in her usual environment and defines the beginning quarter of the story.
The heart of the story begins the moment the protagonist leaves her ordinary world. Upon entering the middle of the story world, the protagonist is confronted with the second setting: a new and exotic world. The more unusual the new world is in its surroundings, mind-set, and demands upon the protagonist, the more unusual are her experiences, explorations, endurance, and quest for survival.
The exotic world itself creates tension, conflict, and suspense merely by its unfamiliarity to the protagonist; thus, it produces a sense of overarching tension. As well, in the new world, the old rules with which the protagonist is familiar and the beliefs she grew up with no longer apply.
As in real life, in stories when one door closes another opens. The protagonist enters a new world, be it a new physical place or a new psychological state. This new world offers the opportunity to evolve and be transformed.
Writers experience this exotic new world when they move from dabbling and talking about their story to actually writing everyday.
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Very nicely compiled here, Martha! Thanks for all your hard work. 🙂
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
very interesting! thanks!
Very helpful way to think about it. I'm currently ghosting a fiction novel, actually just finished a big, fat outline for it. Now comes the fun part of writing.
Your insights are giving me good thoughts for ways to really "turn the screws" as a reason for the main character's transformation. 🙂
Thanks, Angela. I hope everyone visits your blog where you have done amazing work, too! Full of helpful information for writers.
thanks for your kind words, thesis writer!
Love hearing your feedback, Viqi! Have fun writing…
Amazing article! I like it.