Building a Story

A strong story does not just give your character something to do. It puts them through the exact situation they are least emotionally prepared to face.In this episode of Building a Story, we look at whether you should start your story with a character or a premise and how to make sure the character and the plot are built to attack the protagonist's emotional wound. If you start with a premise, you need to find the worst possible character to put through it. If you start with a character, you need to find the worst possible story to force them through. We discuss how a character’s wound creates a flaw or emotional shield, and why the plot should constantly press on that weakness. Instead of just theory, we apply the concept to our case study, Lost Boy. Sam’s wound is abandonment, and his emotional shield is mistrust. But the story forces him into a situation where he cannot save his uncle alone. To survive Neverland and face the pirates, he has to learn to accept help, trust others, and move toward belonging. The full Lost Boy case study is available for download at ⁠https://storysteps.net/lost-boy-treatment⁠This podcast is based on original ideas developed by StorySteps, though we have opted to voice the podcast by AI. StorySteps is a small company with limited resources, and we have opted to use AI in this way to enable us to keep a podcast format while still spending our time and focus on developing the concepts and core material on which each episode is based.This series is also available in a shorter video format on YouTube by the creator of StorySteps. Watch it on ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@storystepsapp/videos⁠ or find it in article form on the ⁠StorySteps website⁠.This podcast is created by StorySteps, and we will frequently reference it. StorySteps is a simple tool for planning and structuring your story. Create a free account at ⁠storysteps.net⁠ and start building your own story.If you want your plot and character to feel like they were made for each other, this episode shows you where to begin.

Most stories fall apart before they even begin, and the reason is simple: the writer doesn’t truly know what the story is.In this episode of Building a Story by StorySteps, we break down the logline, the single sentence that defines your entire story. You’ll learn what a logline is, why it matters, how to write a logline, and how it keeps you from writing scenes that go nowhere or constantly starting over. We will sample some famous logline examples and explain the elements that grab the attention of the audience. Instead of just theory, we apply the concept to our case study, Lost Boy, showing how a rough idea becomes a clear, structured story foundation. The full Lost Boy case study is available for download at https://storysteps.net/lost-boy-treatmentThis podcast is based on original ideas developed by StorySteps, though we have opted to voice the podcast by AI. StorySteps is a small company with limited resources, and we have opted to use AI in this way to enable us to keep a podcast format while still spending our time and focus on developing the concepts and core material on which each episode is based.This series is also available in a shorter video format on YouTube by the creator of StorySteps. Watch it on https://www.youtube.com/@storystepsapp/videos or find it in article form on the StorySteps websiteThis podcast is created by StorySteps, and we will frequently reference it. StorySteps is a simple tool for planning and structuring your story. Create a free account at storysteps.net and start building your own story. If you want to stop guessing and start building your story with direction, this is where you begin.