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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37617
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37617
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

All stories are moral. That is, all stories are about a choice between values -- a choice that the protagonist does not want to make but is eventually forced to make. Saying that stories are moral does not mean that they make judgements about which choice is correct (though the readers often will). It means that they focus on what it is like to face such choices, make them, and live with the consequences.

Since this is a choice that the hero does not want to make, there must be some force in opposition, something that will force the hero into a situation where they are forced to choose.

This does not have to be the fate of the world hanging in the balance. It does not have to have anything to do with physical violence at all. But there has to be desire, frustration, choice, and consequence. None of these elements need to be loud or flashy, but they need to be there in some form.

The biggest, noisiest, bang-up blockbuster will fail without these elements. But small quiet stories can succeed brilliantly if they have these elements. So ask yourself:

- What does my character want?

- What stands in the way of their getting what they want?

- What are they willing to do to overcome this obstacle. (Or is there something that they realize is more important to them that causes them to give up the quest for this desire.)

- What happens as a result of this choice that shows us that they have made the choice and accepted the consequences? 

Original score: 8