Whether you are writing a short story, a novel, a film, or a graphic novel, readers/viewers have certain expectations. The main thing that the readers/viewers will expect is a good story equipped with stimulating images (visuals for films/descriptors for written stories), well-developed/interesting characters, action that moves the story forward to accomplish the goal/move closer to the answer to some question. For example, in Romeo & Juliet, the question that the audience wants answered is will they end up together in a happily every after? The question in The Wizard of Oz is will Dorothy make it back home to Kansas? You get the idea. Starting with a question can certainly help but is not necessarily the only way to handle a story during development. A point of caution – even though you may not begin with a question, the audience will subconsciously seek out one, so make sure in the end that you are answering the question that the reader/view has on his/her mind.
Writing a Story Question
So, the question is important, right? You bet! How does one figure out how to develop this one question?
It is based on what the central character (generally the protagonist) wants. Next, comes the question – how might the character work toward the goal/achieve the goal? If we go back to Romeo & Juliet, there are barriers in place to their love – two feuding families, Romeo kills a family member, he has to go on the run, and the list continues. Each barrier blocks their ability to be together. Hence, the question arises will they end up together in a happily every after? Once you know the character’s goal – in this case, Romeo and Juliet want to be together – then the question is easy – will they be together? It’s a fairly simple process.
Answering the Story Question
Know thy characters’ goals. The writer(s) must use the characters to move toward answering the question. To do so, there must be the ultimate goal of the character (such as getting home to Kansas in The Wizard of Oz or marrying the girl/guy in Romeo & Juliet). Before getting to the goal, the main character must have multiple obstacles in the way (such as the wicked witch – one of Dorothy’s obstacles – or killing someone and having to go on the run – one of Romeo’s obstacles).
In the end, the answer was no to whether or not Romeo and Juliet would end up together/married in a happily ever after. However, in The Wizard of Oz, the answer is yes – Dorothy makes it home to Kansas.
So, simply put, create a question and answer it before the end of the story. Make sure there are obstacles in the way (usually created by the antagonist).
Lastly, make sure the question is not announced – it is posed through the progression of the story.
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