To Write a Great Story, Start with a Real Struggle

I appreciated this illustration on unconventional storytelling from Tom Gauld:

When talking about adventures, I often relate the plot outlining of blockbuster movies and video games.

What if the synopsis of a big summer movie was “So and so had to save the world from evil… and then they did?”

We’d think, “That’s it?! How did they save the world … what happened along the way? Did they lose something and have to recover it? How was the hero changed throughout the journey, and what was different...