The new generation storytelling tool!

backstory

The actions of the past create the present. The backstory is all that has happen before the reader starts reading the first word of your story (we don’t count prologues).
Backstory is not necessary, but it can be a great way of anchor your story. Having references to the past will make characters and events more believable.

The most important role of the backstory is to help the writer create the actual story and not to provide information to the reader. Presenting too much backstory in your story will make the reading cumbersome and the tempo slow. Even if it can be tempting to give away all of a backstory that you are proud off and have put a lot of effort in, restrain yourself and let the reader know only what is important to the story.

characters

Which characters do we need?
Different characters fill different purposes. Some move the story forward; others show theme or highlight the conflicts. Some just put a little flavor to your story.

A good way to see which characters we need is to have a look at the different roles that usually exists in a well written story. The roles are stereotypes that will make it easier for you to create interest, conflict and to make sure goals, problems and themes are seen from different points of views. It will also make the characters easier to distinguish from each other.  A character can in reality have several different roles and have different roles at different times in your story, but normally you can assign one general role of a character in your story.

Structural roles
These are roles that are needed for the structure of any story. Normally they come naturally when you think about your history, but sometimes it can be worth the time play around and change these roles to see if the story can become more interesting.

Protagonist – This is the person driving the story forward. It can be several people, but normally one character is more in the center than the others. In Tolkien’s “Lord of the rings” we follow several characters that move the plot forward, but the main character is Frodo and his way to destroy the ring.  Note that in many action and horror stories the “bad” guy could, strictly speaking, be considered the Protagonist, because he move the plot forward be trying to take over the world or trying to find new horrific ways to kill the main character. Still we will consider the Protagonist to be the character which the reader follows most closely.

Antagonist – This character is normally trying to stop the Protagonist. It can be the other love interest in a love story, cancer in a tragedy, the corrupt landowner in a social drama or the really scary alien trying to eat our heroine. Remember that even a bad guy needs to be described with strengths and flaws to be interesting. It is also important that the Antagonist is as strong as, or stronger than, the Protagonist. There will be very little tension if the reader knows from the start that the Antagonist has no chance because your Protagonist is such a superior human being - it is more interesting seeing your Protagonist fighting to conquer cancer than a normal cold.

Apart from the structural roles that are important for how the story is going to feel, we have other roles that could be filled by characters in your story (you will find them under many different names in the literature and a character can fill several roles). The more important characters in a story normally fit into one or more of these roles.

Common roles
Contrast roles – the characters will be clearer and issues and conflicts will be easier to show if you put two or more characters as opposites in their behavior. For example having a logical and an emotional character trying to solve a problem is bound to create an interesting situation. Example of contrast roles: Angry/Calm, Neat/Untidy, Fat/Skinny, Religious/Atheist etc. Normally you use contrasts to show a problem or an idea from different angels or to create conflict.

Mentor – Aids the protagonist with knowledge (or other means). The mentor is normally in contrast with the protagonist in some ways (calm/impulsive, organized/disorganized etc.). Examples: Yoda/Luke Skywalker, Gandalf/Bilbo, Clint Eastwood/million dollar baby.

Shadow – This is the negative influence in the story and normally wants to stop the protagonist. It is normally the antagonist, but not always and it doesn’t need to be a person. It is used to put conflict into the story. Examples: The illness the protagonist has to fight in a drama; the depression in Grapes of wrath, the Joker in Batman.

Shapshifter – A character to put uncertainty into the readers mind by questioning the ideas of the protagonist (or antagonist). The Shapeshifter can change roles and alliances during the story.Examples: Darth Vader, Julia Roberts in Notting Hill, Gollum.

Sidekick – This is the person always by the protagonist or antagonist side – a friend, an employee or a character otherwise emotionally attached to the protagonist/antagonist This person can provide the reader with additional information, skills and different views in regard to the main characters. Examples: Batman/robin, Sherlock Holmes/dr Watson, Don Quixote/Sancho Panza.

Trickster – This is one or more characters that put some comic relief into the story. They easy up the tension and offer a different perspective. They are also the ones to break the rules and put a chaotic element into the story. Examples: Dory in Finding Nemo, Han Solo, Jack Sparrow.

Skeptic – A character that is not supportive at all. Normally this character forces the protagonist to argue and display his reasons and goals to make them clearer to the reader. Examples: The mother that doesn’t believe that the son has seen a monster, the president that doesn’t believe that the earth will be destroyed.

Herald – this is the person or event that, in the beginning of a story, shows the protagonist the story’s main problem/conflict. Examples: the doctor that tells the protagonist about his cancer, the lover that leaves our poor heroine or the little robot that tells Luke that princess Leia really, really needs help.


A character creation template
Down below is a template that could be used when you create your more important characters. You don’t need to fill all the facts in the list and you can add other items if you feel the need – try to find the balance and not to overwork the characters.
The important thing is that you as a writer know your characters; that you know what they want, what drives them and how they react in different situations. Note that this doesn’t mean that your reader should know all of the traits you have set for a character! Some you will tell, some you will hint at and some will be hidden. Your goal is to create a character your readers can feel and care for.

Character guide
Name – Gives character to your character. You get a different feeling if you name the evil witch Jane Johnson, Edwina von Krakowa or Baby Pinkfluff.
Role – Which is the main purpose of a character in this story (see the roles above). For less important characters it is normally the same as their job.
Gender – Gender can change dynamics of a story. Making the fearless test driver a woman will change how the reader sees the character.
Age – Age also change dynamics of a story. Is your fearless female test driver 14 or 68?
Job – Normally a big part a character personality is what they have chosen to do with their life. Gives a character a skill set.
Hobbies – Provides skills for and deeper understanding for a character.
Biggest fears – Fears often explain why a character behaves in a certain way.
Highest hopes/goals – What drives a character?
Love situation – Is the character happily married, a lonely sad bastard or a swinging single? Who/what does the character love?
Problem solving style – How do the character approach a problem? Does she run away? Does she think about a solution? Does she try a hand on solution? Does she ask for help or not? A story normally creates interest by introducing conflicts and therefore problem solving style is more important than it first seems.
Friends/Good relations – Who are the people surrounding a character?
Enemies/Bad relations – Who are the bastards surrounding a character?
Religion & politics – These are important factors to get to know your character.
Ex-job – It’s often more interesting to see why a character quit/got fired from his last job than to see where he is working now.
Ex-love interest – The same principle as above. Why did it end?
Weaknesses/strengths – Helps building the character of your character.
Clothing style - Helps building the character of your character.
What does the character like with herself - Helps building the character of your character.
What doesn’t she like with herself - Helps building the character of your character.
Manners/ticks/behavior – How does the character behave and interact with people and the world around him?
Health – Perhaps the protagonist would be more interesting if she had a wooden leg, are color blind or have diabetes?
World view – Create a sentence of how the character sees the world. Is the world a big, gray and scary place or is it filled whit promises, flowers and shiny happy people.


The importance of group dynamics!
You should not look at the characters in your story one and one, but rather as a group.
You want to create an interesting group with many differences – small or big – and some similarities. In this way you will build tension and conflict into your story, and this will keep the reader interested. The similarities between characters will create natural bonds between them, and the differences will pull them apart.
Imagine throwing all of your main characters – good and bad - into a room and then throw a big problem at them. How will they act and talk, how will they be different and which conflicts will arise between them. The reader needs to see a difference between all your characters.If, in your story, four friends go for the week end to a rented a cabin in the forest. The interesting thing going to be the relations and problems within the group and how they react to the problems - it will not matter if it is a horror, romance, action, drama or fantasy-story.

genre

Genre is the general mood and the “rules” you commit your story to. A thriller and a romance story will have a different set of rules and expectations associated with them. A western and a science fiction story will normally have a very different frame and setup. Every genre has its own set of guidelines and elements expected from it, and a reader will expect some key elements to be there.

Following the rules too close can lead to a predictable and boring story, but not following a genre at all can leave the reader confused, frustrated and the story can feel not held together.
The lines between genres can be blurry, but readers (and editors) expect you to state a specific genre. You could combine several genres (horror/science fiction like Alien or romance/action like African Queen), but be careful not to mix too many genres and scare off your potential readers!

Think about what genre you want to use and which genre elements that you want to use and which ones you want to break.

Genre examples:
Action-adventure
Comedy
Crime
Detective
Drama
Fantasy
Horror
Mystery
Romance
Science fiction
Tragedy
Western
…and many, many more…

story arc

This is the path your story will follow: the highs and the lows. You will impose change on characters and situations to make the story move forwards. Normally this is done in a three act structure.  The number of acts normally corresponds to the beginning (act 1), the development (act 2), and the conclusion (act 3) of your story. If you feel the need for more acts it is normally the middle act you break up into additional acts. Remember that the Acts are used by the writer to structure the story. A reader will perhaps never know that the story has been divided into acts.

The normal Act progression goes something like this:
Act 1: This is where you stage your story. Where you show the normal life of your main characters and where you introduce your big story conflict. Here is where your main characters try to learn more about the conflict and decides to challenge it in some way (which leads to act 2).

A problem you normally run into in the first act is that you need to describe much of your settings, characters and their goals and conflicts, and this makes the reading slow and, in worst case, very boring. To avoid this problem you need to keep it in the back of your mind and try to mix slow parts with faster and more plot driven parts. See what descriptions can wait until later in the story, while still trying to set the most important traits of your character, the basics of the big conflict, the settings and the consequences of failure.

Normally the first act ends with some decision, regarding the main conflict, being made.

Act 2: Even if this part can start on a hopeful note it normally ends in despair - this is normally the darkest act. Now it is time to develop the plot, fleshing out characters and relationships that you have set in the first act. Let the conflicts and problems increase!

Normally you present a twist (for the worst) to the story in this act. You do not have to set the characters, main goal and settings as much as in Act 1 and therefore you have the chance to make this part of the story faster and easier to read.

Here also the character relationships that have been set in Act 1 starts to change and. If you use a theme, which is recommended but not necessary, this is the part where you can start to put more focus and different perspectives of it. The horrors of war perhaps can bring something good? Perhaps true love has some downsides? 

Normally this part ends with a decision being made and with your protagonist seeing the main goal slipping away.

Act 3: Everything in this act should lead up to the big confrontation regarding the main conflict. This is the climax. Here we will try to build tension and uncertainty of the outcome. It is also here you tie up the loose ends.

If you use a theme, here is where you show it most clearly. Every important relationship and each main character should come under pressure but at the climax the reader should know the true nature of the characters and the relationships. Will Romeo and Julia be together or not? Was Darth Vader really evil in his heart? Will Katniss Everdeen, in The hunger games, finally bow to the system or will she manage to break it and will she let love enter into her life?

Normally Act 3 ends with a conclusion to tie up loose ends, to describe the aftermath of the climax. This gives the reader time to cool down after that the heat of the main conflict has been resolved and it gives you an opportunity to tell the reader if the goals were achieved and to describe the status of your characters.

Not tying up the plot or leaving the reader in doubt about the true nature of characters and relationships will normally leave the reader frustrated and feeling bereft of answers. But some genres (like horror) use it frequently to leave the reader a bit unbalanced. If this is the effect you are after (if you want setting up a sequel etc.) then use it!

setting

Setting is the places, the time and the senses of the characters. Normally it is described through the eyes and senses of your main character. It needs to be linked to your plot, genre, characters, theme and the mood you want to achieve. Your choice of genre will normally give you a lot of the setting for free (a western, science fiction or historic romance taking place in the south will provide you with a lot of setting that are expected from that genre).

The settings can change a lot over a story or they can be the same from the start until the end. Even if your story takes place in many different places you can keep the overall setting consistent by trying to using the same colors, smells and feelings in all the places (or you can keep them distinct by changes all these variables for different places).

theme

Normally you have an underlying subject or message you want to explore or use as a background for your story – this is your theme. Often it is in the core of the conflict you have set earlier in the synopsis. It is also true that a story can survive without any theme, but then it is easy that your story will lose color, consistency and feel “less meaningful”.

Every now and then you let your theme show in the story: during dialogs, conflicts or in character behavior. Try to show it from different point of views – good and bad - and in different aspects during your story.

Bigger themes can create more interest from the reader, but also, if done badly, more melodrama. Try not to lecture your reader. As a writer you seldom state your theme clearly, but rather you let it influence your decisions in your story and you let it hold your story together. You can have more than one theme in a story (in fact many great novels are loaded with themes), but the risk is that the overall story feels divided.

Try to formulate your theme as a sentence or a word and then keep this sentence in the back of your mind when you are structuring and writing your story – done well it will deepen your story; done bad it will ruin it! Don’t let your theme take over your story!

Note:
Some authors like Stephen King don’t start out with a theme, but rather they find one during the writing process.

We at Story Companion don’t take a strict theoretical view of the use of Theme. We try to be practical and use it as an underlying current to all of a story and we do not separate it from message and morale.