The 5 W’s Of Storytelling

A story can be broken down into its most simple form.

Here’s a story:- Today I went outside for milk.

Let’s break it down by the W’s.

When:- When does this story take place? In this case “Today.”

Who:- Who is the protagonist, who is the story happening to, who is telling it? In this case it’s a first person narrative “I.”

What:- What is happening to the story teller? In this case he’s moving to somewhere so he “went outside .”

Where:- Where is the story taking place in terms of physical location? In this case it’s “outside.”

Why:- Why is the protagonist doing this? In this case it’s “for milk.”

And that’s how simple it is to construct a story.

Admittedly you could make it a lot more involved.

Add conflict – perhaps it was raining, making his journey more difficult?

Add exposition – describe what the journey was like.

Add a resolution – that he got his milk and went home and enjoyed it.

As you see, it’s simple to tell a story when you know the basic building blocks.