Thinking in Story Conventions
I’ve heard that there are seven story formats. Another source says 12. Some say there’s actually 36. For those of us who aren’t planning to start a job in Hollywood as a screenwriter, I can make it much more straightforward.
There’s just one.
All story conventions come from one very simple framework. It's captured in three words. Beginning, Middle, and End. It’s the classic three-act structure.
It’s almost laughable, it’s so simple. But simple is not easy. Here’s another way to think about it. Every story needs three elements.
- Context.
- Confrontation.
- Conclusion.
Context: You need to paint a picture that puts people into the story.
- The characters.
- The situation.
- The opportunity.
- The obstacles.
Confrontation: Let the picture unfold, revealing each corner of a single big idea.
- How they feel
- How they navigate
- How they reach
How they overcome
Conclusion: Bring us to the summit with our new sense of meaning and vision.
- A new confidence
- A new discovery
- A new victory
- A new resolve
Communicating on behalf of a brand follows the same model. This applies to everything you are communicating with the world, whether it’s a podcast or a 30-second commercial. You provide a setup, describe the problem journey, and the arrival at a solution. The ingredients, the cooking, the meal. The problem, the petition, and the paradise.
Stories are complex. Brand strategies are complex. They can go in many directions, and it can be hard to connect the dots. Remember the three-part structure, and you’ll connect more.
