WRITING FEATURE | THE NARRATIVE ARC
The Two Things Every Story Needs
No great epiphanies here, just encouragement to focus on the fundamentals
I’m not going to tell you that there are only two things that a story needs. There are a thousand things a good story needs. I’ll touch on that. My goal here is just to remind us all to keep the main things the main things.
I have been a storyteller most of my life. Most people are, to be honest. If you come home from work and tell your partner or friend about a goofy thing that happened at work and you both laugh, then you are a storyteller.
But some people are better at it than others.
Am I a good storyteller? I think so. I’ve been cultivating my craft for a long time. When I was a child, I would help my Aunt Carolyn take care of the children she fostered during their adoption process. I was changing diapers by the time I was 8 years old. Not long after that, I was the one reading stories — or making up stories — for the kids. By the time I was a teenager, I was writing for magazines and performing stories in front of audiences.
As an adult, I taught preschool for years, and circle time was the highlight of everyone’s day. I eventually moved into adult education and incorporated…
