There's something inviting about a story or a character that reveals their wants and desires in the opening line or paragraph. Flash and Microfiction, because of their short amount of time on stage, often suffer from being too coy about their story occasions or inciting incidents. Occasionally, we read a story, even one that's less than 300 words, and we shake our heads at the end, wondering what the story was about or why the author wrote it. This is why story occasion is so important. Story Occasion equals Why this character, in this place, at this time? There's a lot of emotional and resonant power in being able to answer these questions at the end of the story. The roots of these answers often come in the very beginning.
Desire: The Character Engine
Desire: The Character Engine
Desire: The Character Engine
There's something inviting about a story or a character that reveals their wants and desires in the opening line or paragraph. Flash and Microfiction, because of their short amount of time on stage, often suffer from being too coy about their story occasions or inciting incidents. Occasionally, we read a story, even one that's less than 300 words, and we shake our heads at the end, wondering what the story was about or why the author wrote it. This is why story occasion is so important. Story Occasion equals Why this character, in this place, at this time? There's a lot of emotional and resonant power in being able to answer these questions at the end of the story. The roots of these answers often come in the very beginning.