English Internship Assignment 5

A story has a beginning, a conflict that escalates, and a conclusion. Unfulfilled desire in the characters creates tension. The key to crafting effective stories is to build suspense as the plot progresses. Understanding the principles will improve your ability to tell your own story. A story's introduction must pique the reader's interest. By providing readers a look into the main character's everyday life, you may build reader expectations and provide an image of them. Reading about harmony at the outset of a book foreshadows future turmoil. A crisis is an inevitable, irreversible obstacle that propels the plot forward. The catastrophe that begins the novel will disrupt the harmony of both your protagonist's outward and interior worlds. Depending on the genre, the crisis may be a call to adventure or a life-changing epiphany. There are two ways to begin your narrative with a crisis. Either let your character have what he wants most and then tear it away, or deny him what he wants most and dangle it in front of him at the start of the story. If you put your character in a difficult situation, he will always come out of it in a different form at the conclusion of the novel. The plot is the path toward change, and the escalation stage is the reward for early promises. Readers want to know how the story will end, but don't want to be wrong. The resolution of a story is most satisfying when it ends in a way that is both inevitable and unexpected. It's up to the characters to determine the outcome of the story. As you frame your story, ask yourself, "What is my character doing?" Your character will either be transformed into someone more mature, insightful, or at peace, or will plunge into death or despair. Most stories end with the protagonist experiencing new life. Formulaic approaches to structuring stories frequently send stories spiraling off in the wrong direction. Stories have the potential to sag or stall out during the long second act of a three-act structure. Why let the story suffer just so you can follow a formula? Stop thinking of a story as something that happens in three acts. Instead, think of your story as an organic whole that reveals a transformation in the life of your character. Always be ready to avoid formulas, discard acts and break the "rules" for the sake of the story.