The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

by John Truby

Frank’s psychological need is to beat his drinking problem and regain his self-respect.

His moral need is to stop using other people for money and learn to act with justice.

We know Frank has a moral need when we see him lie his way into a funeral of strangers in order to get business. He doesn’t care if he upsets the family...

One reason it is so important to give your hero a moral as well as a psychological need is that it increases the scope of the character; the character...

The other reason you want to give your hero a moral need is that it prevents him from being...

Also present from page one of your story, but much less important than weakness and need, is the problem.

All good stories begin with a kick: the hero is already in trouble.

The problem is the crisis the hero finds himself in from page one. He is very aware of the crisis but...

Crisis defines a character very quickly. It should be an outside manifestation of the hero’s weakness.

The crisis highlights that weakness for the audience and gives the story a fast start.

KEY POINT: Keep the problem simple and specific.

SUNSET BOULEVARD • Weakness Joe Gillis has a fondness for money and the finer things in life. He is willing to sacrifice his artistic and moral integrity for his personal comfort.

Problem Joe is broke. A couple of guys from the finance company come to his apartment to repossess his car. He makes a run for it.

TOOTSIE • Weaknesses Michael is arrogant, selfish, and a liar. • Problem Michael is an excellent actor, but he’s so overbearing that no...

Remember the simple rule of thumb: to have a moral need, the character must be hurting at least one other person at the beginning of the story.

Two good ways to come up with the right moral need for your hero are to connect it to the psychological need and to turn a strength into a weakness.

In good stories, the moral need usually comes out of the psychological need. The character has a psychological weakness that ...

Begin with the psychological weakness. 2. Figure out what kind of immoral action might naturally come out of that. 3. Identify the deep-seated moral weakness and need that are the source of this action.

A second technique for creating a good moral need is to push a strength so far that it becomes a weakness. The technique works like this: 1. Identify a virtue in your character. Then make him so passionate about it that it becomes oppressive. 2. Come up with a value the character believes in. Then find the negative version of that value.

Once the weakness and need have been decided, you must give the hero desire. Desire is what your hero wants in the story, his particular goal.

Think of the desire as the story track that the audience “rides along.” Everyone gets on the “train” with the hero, and they all go after the goal together.

Desire is intimately connected to need. In most stories, when the hero accomplishes his goal, he also fulfills his need.

lion is hungry and needs food (a physical need). He sees a herd of antelope go by and spots a young one that he wants (desire). If he can catch the little antelope, he won’t be hungry anymore. End of story.

Need has to do with overcoming a weakness within the character. A hero with a need is always paralyzed in some way at the beginning of the story by his weakness.

Desire is a goal outside the character. Once the hero comes up with his desire, he is moving in a particular direction and taking actions to reach his goal.

Need lets the audience see how the hero must change to have a better life. It is the key to the whole story, but it remains hidden, under the surface.

Desire gives the audience something to want along with the hero, something they can all be moving toward through the various twists and turns—and even digressions—of the story.

Desire is on the surface and is what the audience thinks the story is about. This can be show...

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN • Need Hero John Miller must do his duty in spite of his fear (psychological and moral).

Desire He wants to find Private Ryan and bring him back alive.

THE FULL MONTY • Need Each of the men in the group needs to regain his self-r...

Desire They want to make a lot of money by performing naked in front ...

THE VERDICT • Need The hero must regain his self-respect (psychological) and learn to act with ju...

Desire As in all courtroom dramas, he wants t...

KEY POINT: Your hero’s true desire is what he wants in this story, not what he wants in life.

For example, the hero in Saving Private Ryan wants to stop fighting, go home, and be with his family. But that isn’t what tracks this particular story. His goal in this story, requiring him to take a series of very specific actions, is to bring back Private Ryan.

Writers often mistakenly think of the opponent, also known as the antagonist, as the character who looks evil, sounds evil, or does evil things.

A true opponent not only wants to prevent the hero from achieving his desire but is competing with the hero for the same goal.

Notice that this way of defining the opponent organically links this step to your hero’s desire.

It is only by competing for the same goal that the hero and the opponent are forced to come into direct conflict and to do so aga...

But look again. See if you can spot what they are really fighting about. For example, in a detective story, it appears that the hero wants to catch the killer and the opponent wants to get away. But they are really fighting over which version of reality everyone will believe.

The trick to creating an opponent who wants the same goal as the hero is to find the deepest level of conflict between them.

KEY POINT: To find the right opponent, start with your hero’s specific goal; whoever wants to keep him from getting it is an opponent.

THE GODFATHER Michael’s first opponent is Sollozzo. However, his main opponent is the more powerful Barzini, who is the hidden power behind Sollozzo and wants to bring the entire Corleone family down. Michael and Barzini compete over the survival of the Corleone family and who will control crime in New York.

STAR WARS Luke’s opponent is the ruthless Darth Vader, and each is competing over who will control the universe. Vader represents the evil forces of the tyrannical Empire. Luke represents the forces of good, comprised of the Jedi Knights and the democratic Republic.

CHINATOWN Like any good detective story, Chinatown gives us a unique and tricky opponent who remains hidden until the very end of the story. Jake’s opponent turns out to be the rich and powerful Noah Cross. Cross wants ...

But he is not competing with Jake about...

Cross wants everyone to believe that Hollis drowned accidentally and that Evelyn’s daughter is his granddaughter.

The plan is the set of guidelines, or strategies, the hero will use to overcome the opponent and reach the goal.

Again notice that the plan is organically linked to both desire and the opponent.