Tim Ferris has a saying I quite like: “What would this look like if it were easy?”
It’s Occam’s Razor for projects. When we’re working on something large and complicated it’s easy to become overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. This can cause a lethal feedback loop that sinks a great many projects before they ever get off the ground. But Tim’s saying offers a lifeline. Any time a task seems too daunting to possibly complete, take a step back and ask, “What would this look like if it were easy?”
So, what would a telling story look like if it were easy? As I thought about this question, I eventually realized it has a simple answer: the story would have boundaries.
Great stories tend to stick with us, to provoke thoughts and inspire our imagination until they appear much grander and more complex than they really are. I certainly don’t want to minimize the impact or value of great stories, but I suspect that once we start with some real analysis, we’re going to find that even the greatest tales are not as sophisticated as they at first seem. If you’re hoping to preserve the mystique of storytelling now’s the time to stop reading, because the next several posts are entirely devoted to deconstruction. We’re going to take these stories apart, label the pieces, and learn how to put them together again.
So let’s start by establishing some boundaries. How many scenes does an average story have? Maybe . . . a thousand? No way! I can hear you cry, That’s obviously too many. I agree, and just like that we’ve established a boundary; no matter how intimidating our story may seem, it’s got to have less than a thousand scenes.
Now it’s time for a bit of investigation. How many scenes does a story really have? This turns out to be a simple question with a definite answer, if we just take the time to look. After establishing the scenes, I’m going to see how many major characters and key events we’re dealing with. I’ll bet you it’s fewer than we think. Once we have these key parts identified, we can analyze how they’re put together, what roles they play, and finally start drawing some conclusions about the best way to tell our own stories.
For these analyses, I define a scene as: “A part of a story where characters perform an action in a location.” Any one of these elements – the characters, the action, and the location – can change without starting a new scene. In some cases two can change without breaking the scene, but there has to be a strong thematic connection to hold the scene together. If all three have changed, we’re definitely in a new scene.
What about characters? A major character is any character who, at some point in the story, performs an action that drives the plot forward. In some stories this may relegate beloved figures to minor character status, but if the character doesn’t move the story towards its conclusion, we have to accept that they’re just not critical to the narrative.
Lastly, what constitutes an ‘event?’ Those of you who have been following my posts on the hero’s journey will get this right away. An event is a part of a story like the Call to Adventure or Approach to the Inmost Cave – a collection of scenes bound together by a common theme that advances the plot towards its finale.
The analyses go through a story scene by scene. I’ll name the scene, give a short description, and add any comments which are specific to that part of the story. At the end of each event I’ll wrap up with a Key Takeaways section that summarizes the lessons we can incorporate into our writing.
Since I’m studying the hero’s journey, I’m going to start by analyzing four stories: The Matrix, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Star Wars: A New Hope, and The Hobbit. You can find my first analysis, examining The Matrix, here.
