ANATOMY OF A STORY
1. First, the “moral theme or argument.” It is the message that we want to communicate, the idea or value that we want to transmit. It implies a moral vision of the world and human action. It is not the story we want to tell, but the advice we want to give to the reader or viewer. Therefore, within the anatomy of a story, the moral argument would be the brain, since it must guide and condition each subsequent choice (the characters, the conflict, etc.).
2. Secondly, we must think about the characters. They are the actors who, guided by a desire, act to face a conflict that becomes inevitable. In the face of conflict, they transform and understand the moral issue, that is, they discover a truth and the public does it with them. The characters are the heart of the story, what gives it life.
3. The third element of the anatomy of a story is conflict: it is the obstacle that the character finds between his desire and its realization. The conflict forces the main character to undergo a transformation. Conflict can remind us of our stomach, as it fuels the story.
4. Then we have the plot: an intricate choreography of actions performed by the protagonist and his adversaries, designed to surprise the reader, listener or viewer. In the plot, the characters' desires intersect until the final enlightenment. The plot would be the skeleton.
5. Finally, we have the narrative universe, that is, the place and time in which the story takes place and which can help in transmitting the moral theme.
As we have noted, these are the main elements of a story. In the most complex stories they are all present; in the simplest ones, some will be absent.
© Don. J.B Nyamunga'24
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