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A story should start with the revelation of the desire that will drive the main character. In the case of an exile story, the desire is usually either revenge or to return home (which may mean to f...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-01-03T20:41:50Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24653 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:36:04Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24653 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:36:04Z (about 5 years ago)
A story should start with the revelation of the desire that will drive the main character. In the case of an exile story, the desire is usually either revenge or to return home (which may mean to find a new home). To establish revenge as the desire, you start by establishing the character's love for those for whom revenge is sought. To establish a desire to return home, you start by establishing the character's love for that home. Then you deprive them of those people or that home. LOTR begins by establishing Frodo and Sam's love of the Shire, which represents the way of life that they are seeking to preserve. (Which is why the story ends with the scouring of Shire, not the crowning of the King.) Harry Potter, on the other hand, is a escape story, and so it begins by establishing the place that must be escaped from (Privet Lane). Desire and its frustration are the root of all stories, you begin by establishing the desire and the things that frustrate that desire. Without those things, the timeline you have described is mere travelogue.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2016-09-17T10:59:52Z (over 8 years ago)
Original score: 11