A gripping plot is one that keeps asking the dramatic question. It uses its story event to repeatedly change and gradually break the protagonist’s model of who they are and how the world works before rebuilding it. This requires pressure. These models are tough. They run to the core of the character’s identity. If they’re going to crack, the protagonist needs to hurl themselves at the drama. It’s only by being active, and having the courage to take on the external world with all its challenges and provocations, that these core mechanisms can ever be broken down and rebuilt.
