What Is The Central Question Of Your Story?

Every plot hinges on a central question. Posing the question at the beginning of the tale and answering it at the end is sound story architecture. Does that task make your head spin? It shouldn’t. It’s as easy as choosing a story skeleton. Let's look at the fourteen genre's I present in Story Building Blocks.

The Comedy skeleton poses the central question: What do I think and how has this changed it?  

The goal is to make your reader laugh while subtly exploring ideas such as ethnicity, relationships, prejudices, social practices, politics, religion, or manners. Any genre can be written with a comic flair. But a true comedy often uses humor to talk about difficult things or express uncomfortable truths.

The Con, Heist & Prison Break poses the central question: Will they succeed? 

There is often an assembly of a team, but the protagonist has a goal that he considers noble. He can be exacting revenge or payback, seeking justice, righting a wrong, etc.

The Fantasy skeleton poses the central question: Will the hero obtain or learn to use the power to defeat the evil that has disrupted his world in time?

The force is usually with the hero. The wicked witch gets her just due. Lord Voldemort is defeated. If you plan a sequel, the villain can live to fight the hero another day, but the story must show a resolution to a skirmish in the battle. There are many subgenres of fantasy and each puts a twist on the overall story problem. There is often a romantic layer. But the difference here is the overall story is about the conflicts not whether the couple ends up together.

The Gothic story is related the Horror story, but it has specific elements that make it stand out. 

The overall story problem is a deep, dark secret threatening to break free. The reader asks will they realize the danger in time and will they escape?

The Historical story explores events set in the past. The reader asks: what was it like and how did it change things?

It can involve historical characters in an historical situation, historical characters in fictional situations, or fictional characters in historical situations. There can be elements of Romance, Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, but the overall story problem focuses on the historical situation more so that the other genre elements. Otherwise, it is another genre story with a historical setting.

The Horror story involves a mortal threat to an individual or group. The reader asks what brought the danger near and how will they get away from it?

The horror story takes suspense to a higher, usually more explicit, level and generally contains more graphic material than the Thriller. No story makes your skin crawl more than the horror story. The answer can go either way as long as you reveal the reason why. Some horror stories ignore the first half of the question, but fans consider that a weak story. The mythology has to make sense. Fans usually want the main character to live to be frightened another day, even if every other character is knocked off by the tale's end.

The Literary story is usually a wrenching, life-altering, personal decision or life event. The reader asks:  what are they feeling and how will it change?

I use the term literary to cover the human drama genre, it is not a statement as to what constitutes "literature" with a capital L. Theme is key.  Literary can have a specific plot or be a slice of life vignette. Literary fiction does not always follow the traditional story arc,  but the protagonist must undergo a point of change no matter how minimal. The Literary story can be mixed with elements of any genre.

The Mystery skeleton poses the central question: Who did it and will they catch him? Sometimes it is a "howdunnit."

The answer is usually “yes.” The criminal may escape at the last moment to torment the detective another day, but the case that is the focus of the story is considered solved. Twists where someone other than the detective solves the crime or there wasn’t a crime after all should be rerouted to the Thriller section.

The Road Trip  overall story problem is a lesson that needs to be learned or a secret that needs to be revealed. The reader asks: how did this journey change them?

It can be mixed with any other genre with the caveat that two or more people (or a person and animal) are forced into traveling together. They can be trying to reach somewhere or running from something. It isn’t the end of the journey that matters as much as the friction between the characters and the obstacles or stops they overcome along the way. 

The Romance skeleton poses the central question: Will they or won’t they end up together?

The answer had better be “yes” or a satisfying equivalent. The girl can find out guy A isn’t what she wanted after all because she found guy B, but this is not the genre for an “I’m okay on my own” ending. That story uses the Literary or Women's Fiction skeleton. Romance readers want passion and fulfillment and are very disappointed if they don’t get it.

The Science Fiction skeleton poses the central question: Will the hero find, change, or stop something in time?

Most fans prefer an "up" ending. They want to believe that we can overcome the challenges to our existence, especially if you plan a sequel. There can be a romance layer here. Science Fiction needs to be rooted in science, nature, and physics. This sets SciFi apart from Fantasy where magic and paranormal events are possible.

The Team Victory story problem is an underdog who needs to win or achieve something. The reader asks will they win? 

Usually they do. If not, they should still feel really good about it: almost was good enough.  Usually the other coach or team needs to be taught a lesson. These are mostly action and plot-centered tales that make people feel good.

The Thriller & Suspense story problem is a threat to one or many. The reader asks: how will they, and by proxy we, survive the threat? 

For an "up" ending, the hero succeeds. If you want a "down" ending, the hero can fail and learn an ugly truth. It can have an up/down ending. Twists often provide an unexpected answer in this genre.

The Western story problem pits man against self, other men, or nature to survive in an unsettled land. The reader asks how will they overcome the difficulty and will they stay or go?

The conflicts weigh the morality and challenges of survival. Part history and part myth, they explore the people who are courageous enough to explore new frontiers and the obstacles they must overcome to do so.

Once you've chosen a skeleton, the challenge is providing riveting obstacles between question and answer to keep the reader glued to the page. The reader knows from the outset that the hero will most likely survive. Your mission is to make them question the outcome anyway. You do that by exploring believable obstacles.

Next week, we will take a look at the four layers of conflict that are the building blocks you can utilize to tell any tale. They help you fill up the murky middles and act as goal posts to keep the story flowing. They offer a lot of latitude for story development as opposed to the two twists and a finale formula.

If you want to learn more, you can check out Story Building Blocks at www.dianahurwitz.com for free information and forms. 

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