The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better

by Will Storr

there they are, trying to control it with a very specific set of actions that lead them to success, sometimes, but also into unexpected trouble.

we reach for further precision. We ask, exactly how does he try to control the people around him? What’s his actual strategy?

how would you succinctly describe your character’s broken theory of control? What’s the flawed belief they have about themselves and the human world that they cling onto, and that has come to largely define them?

you could think of it as a statement that begins in one of the following ways: The thing people most admire about me is . . . I’m only safe when I . . . The most important thing of all in life is . . . The secret of happiness is . . . The best thing about me is . . . The most terrible thing about other people is . . . The big thing I understand about the world that nobody else seems to get is . . .

precision is critical. Vagueness at this stage will only make for vague characters and clichéd story. Your answer should suggest a theory of control and therefore a suite of behaviours:

‘The best thing about me is that I’m always the only adult in the room’ (suggests: patronising, stern, hubristic, strong, distant, leadership qualities, doesn’t listen . . .)

‘I’m only safe when I enthral other people with my amazing tall stories’ (suggests: liar, braggart, manipulator, attention-seeker . . .)

‘The most important thing of all in life is to keep all the money and love I have to myself’ (suggests: lonely, mi...

‘The big thing I understand about the world that nobody else seems to get is that it’s impossible to truly be friends with a member of the opposite sex’ (suggests: cynicism, self-belief, ...

You’ll know when you have it because you’ll feel your character lurch ali...

The next stage of the Sacred Flaw Approach involves taking your small yet precise idea and growing it into a life.

ORIGIN DAMAGE (section 3.11)

This step involves working out exactly when and how the damage occurred that created your character’s flaw.

It’s common in story for there to be a moment when the protagonist reveals hints to their origin damage, or we see it in flashback, and gain a sudden insig...

spelling out the causes of a character’s actions overtly...

Leaving only clues, or even excising origin damage information completely, can add profundity an...

Nevertheless, I believe it can be invaluable for the writer to know these mom...

When did your character come upon their faulty belief?

I’d like you to write the scene out in full

This is an actual, detailed cause-and-effect incident with a beginning, a middle and an end. And it tells of a highly specific outcome – the creation of what became a powerfully defining belief. At the start of your scene, your character will believe one thing. Then something happens and it makes them realise . . .

Make it a childhood ...

Perhaps they witnessed something intense or upsetting. Perhaps it happened directly to them.

experiences of being ostracised and humiliated are tremendously hurtful for humans. Perhaps the origin of their damage lies in a moment when such feelings were powerfully felt?

Whatever happened to your character, it should be a precise moment in which they clearly understand that if they don’t believe or beh...

the theory of control that forms out of this moment has th...

First, that it tells our protagonist who they must be in order to get what th...

Second, that it tells them how to avoid ...

In other words, this moment, and the belief that springs out of it, will help us define their future goals and ...

PERSONALITY

What version of self do they become when you run them and their flaw through the filter of one of the ‘big five’ traits?

THE HERO-MAKER

allowing the character to internalise it in such a way that they don’t see it as a flaw at all.

We have our moment of origin damage and the belief about the world it created.

Now the character needs to experience a powerful confirmatory event that ‘proves’ to them that this belief is correct.

They test it as a theory of control. ...

It should be a pivotal moment that took place before the ...

a scene that involves som...

Something’s got to be at stake. And they must be active in it. They need to let this flawed belief guide their behaviour at a moment at which they’re strongly challe...

So make them defend their action and the worldview it’s generated in the form of a hero-maker narrative

From this moment onwards, their flawed belief becomes sacred.

POINT OF VIEW

CREATING A CHARACTERISTIC WORLD

As they grow up, your character’s flawed theory of control will build a particular life for them.

How has their flaw led to material or career gains?

How do they get an internal sense of heightened status from this flaw? How does it make them feel superior?

What small moments of joy does it bring them?

How has their sacred flaw brought them closeness with friends, colleagues or lovers?

What life goals has it generated? What achievement, in the external world, do they believe will make them happy and complete?

This should be an important but potentially achievable core personal project (see section 4.0) that your protagonist is aiming towards on the surface of the plot. As always, be specific.

What (if only in their minds) will they risk losing, materially, socially or otherwise if they act against their flaw?