11th step- the choice 2-9-2013

The 11th step in mapping our story structure contains a very special function. We've seen our character take choices all along the journey. In the beginning they were making wrong choices. After the symbolic death, they've learned to do the right thing.

They now come to a choice. It might be a choice between life and death, if fact, it's probably stronger storytelling if that is the nature of the choice.

The character makes a choice. One fork leads back down towards fear, and the other leads upward towards hope. The special function of this choice is to prove to your audience that the character has really learned the lesson of the story. Whereas before their goal might have been selfish and gone about it in a selfish way, now they make the right choice for a greater good. This greater good is not something abstract but has been set up contextually in your story. Because of this we've seen a glimpse of the what's at stake allowing it to resonate for us. In a sense in the character's become a symbolic or real- martyr. The audience feels this deeply, it gives them even more hope.

The choice will usually manifest as a final showdown. And the choice is the one thing that tips the scales to allow hope to rein supreme. If they hadn't made this choice all hope would have been lost.

In the next post we'll discover the 12th and final step in the journey of our map of story structure. Then, I'll provide some story examples of the structure in action...