Script to Screen: What is a story?

Stories are a series of connected events which take the audience on a journey in order to create a greater meaning.
There are four key ingredients to all stories:

 Character
Goal
Conflict
And change.


Character:

Every story tells of events in a being's life whether that be a human, animal or even minion. The character drives the story and gives it meaning. Therefore, it is always important that they are interesting enough to capture the audience's attention.


Goal:

A goal is something that the story's protagonist (main character) wants or needs. Often the protagonist may reach this goal during a story only to discover they no longer want or need it anymore but desire something different. For example, a character could begin a story wanting fame, but then discover they would rather just have acceptance.

                                                             Conflict:

The conflict of a story is what the protagonist must face and then overcome. This can be physical, such as a local gang, or psychological, such as a fear. Conflict helps to create drama and build the foundation for the overall story.


Change:

By the end of the story the protagonist must have undergone some sort of change as this shows that they have been affected by the events that the audience have seen take place during the story's course. This means that the world the audience understood at the start is therefore different at the end.