Building Story Kernels

OK, now that I’ve read K.M. Weiland’s Creating Character Arcs (2016) twice back-to-back, I think I finally have all the key tools in place. Let’s break this down.

Definitions

• MECH: This is the mechanism of your story. From a Cecilia Lyra lecture, this it the “concept”. It ranges from a rule change that affects your entire fictional world down to a “quiet” novel where “nothing happens”. I would disagree on that last point. There are still mechanisms in literary novels, they’re just not fantastical or technological. It could be a simple “ask me anything” game during a blackout (Lahiri). It could be realizing people will pity you on Christmas, and then taking advantage of that (Cheever). It could be the dirty rules of a glittering social elite world (Fitzgerald). The mechanism can variably be called the premise, the concept, the “world rules”, the fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural element that affects all the characters in your world. The mechanism are the rules of the constructed world you want to explore.
• CDA: The “Central Dramatic Argument” from Craig Mazin’s Scriptnotes Ep. 403 (2019). This is the THEME. This is the argument you want to explore. It shouldn’t be vague and abstract like “families are important” or just “brotherhood”. It needs to actually say something that immediately causes people to see two sides to the statement and waffle or say “Ok, but…”. There were several on that episode, but “Men and women can’t just be friends” was one. The one he’s exploring on Last of Us (2023-) is “parental love conquers all… and that’s bad”. Politics has a lot of useful, divisive statements too. “Guns don’t kill people. People do.” You can argue both sides. Basically anything that causes people to wrestle with their inner thoughts.
• POV or PROT: The point-of-view character we’ll be exploring this world from. Usually the protagonist. (I’m reading Time of the Twins (1986) right now and I’m reminded that 80s fantasy will just jump POVs to color a scene). This is where the real story work starts. At least for me, since worldbuilding, concepts, and theme are my strengths. Converting it into a functional story that manipulates emotion via the character arc is where the real work is for me. There are several elements in the POV to figure out.
  • LIE: The belief PROT has in relation to the CDA in a PSTV, CRPT, and FALL ARC. Or it’s what the world believes in for a FLAT or DLSM ARC, From this LIE, PROT/World acts according to their beliefs. These motivations drive everything.
  • GHOST: This is the backstory. In all the arcs, it’s the past trauma that defines who they are today, whether it be a LIE (PSTV, DLSM, or FALL arc), or it’s a TRUTH they defend vigilently and refuse to break on (FLAT), or the seeds in which a CRPT arc can happen. In that last one, it’s a question of what they had and didn’t like about it even though it was a “good thing”.
  • NEED/TRUTH: The opposite of the LIE. The CDA belief you as an author want to push. In a PSTV and DLSM ARC, it’s what you want PROT to eventually see, accept, and manifest even if they’re in denial in STS and living a compromised life. In a FALL ARC, they see it and ignore it and become vilalins. In a FLAT and CRPT arc, they already live it. But whereas the FLAT arc PROT brings the TRUTH to the world and changes characters around them, the CRPT arc character sees the LIE and is seduced by it with a chance of redemption (but usually too late and after everything around them has been destroyed). The TRUTH is interchangable with their NEED, since NEED is usually an internal change, epiphany, or realization. It must be externalized and manifested into their actions and decisions, of course. In novels and films, for PSTV and DLSM arcs, they see it in the MID (the mirror moment) and from that point forward, they use it as their decision-making-filter more and more. In FLAT and CRPT arcs, it gets tested to the extreme.
  • WANT: The Thing They Want Most. This is the PROG, the external goal PROT wants because they believe it will fix their problem, but in reality, is pulling them away from their NEED/TRUTH. The WANT (external goal) is triggered by the DSR, and sets the PROG in motion. And how the PROT goes about it is defined by the LIE (belief/value statement), which in turns drives all their decision making, actions, and dialogue.

To summarize then…

• MECH: The rules of the constructed world.
• CDA: The dramatic argument you want to make. It could be driven by the MECH (usually genre), or the MECH is simply a framework to draw out the characters (usually literary).
• PROT ARC: The actual story in which a character changes because of interactions with the MECH (or other players of MECH). The ARC is defined by a LIE, caused by their GHOST, which drives their behavior and decisions in seeking what they WANT. But what they actually NEED is the TRUTH/NEED. Put another way…
  • GHOST: Backstory Past Trauma which creates…
  • The LIE: A value statement that defines their behavior and for PSTV arcs, helps create the STS around them.
  • Their WANT: Set off by the DSR, which sends them through a PROG, this is the ONE thing they want (and believe will solve their problems).
  • NEED/TRUTH: The belief they actually NEED in order to be happy. This is the CDA.

EXAMPLES of WANTS

• The LIE is the core engine of the ARC
• The LIE is a value statement, opposite of the CDA author is pushing
• The LIE drives decision-making, actions, beliefs
• The LIE is an emptiness that PROT believes can be filled with the THING they WANT most.
• The LIE will destroy the PROT (and/or the ones closest to them) if it’s not rejected.

THE FINAL CHECKLIST

STAGE ONE: CONCEPT via PUZZLING

• MECH
• CDA
• PROT (Who? Who else?)
  • Sketch out LIE
  • Maybe GHOST
  • Settle on ARC (PSTV, CRPT, FALL, DLSM, FLAT)

STAGE TWO: FIRST SCENE

• 1st SCENE GOAL
• Dramatize how LIE/MECH shaped their STS via KPTs
• DSR (trigger WANT, set off PROG, hint at NEED)

STAGE THREE: ARC & PROG DEV

• Define PROG (qst, inq, ntw) via ARC
• Punishments for LIE-based actions
• Rewards for TRUTH-based actions