What is a Story, Really?

Hero,

What does it even mean to “tell a story?” It’s hard to understand without first knowing what a “story” actually is.

Webster’s dictionary defines “story” as:

An account of imaginary or real events told for entertainment.

I would reduce (and broaden) the definition to this:

Any type of communication that makes a path from one polarity to another, evoking an emotional response in a third party.

Basically, (-) to (+) or (+) to (-).

I know that’s a little abstract.

Here are two examples of a story based around a basic polarity that we, as humans, know about, and as a consequence, can attach emotion to:

Weather.

1. Before it was rainy, now it is sunny.

1. When the rain finally stopped and the first ray of sunshine shot through the clouds, I knew it was going to be okay.

Both of these stories take the reader from the polarity of gray skies to sunshine. The second story is more emotionally evocative, largely due to descriptive language and the use of a “main character” whom we can relate to, or more accurately, stand in the place of.

Which brings us to the third ingredient necessary for a story to work.

You.

In this case, rain is the thesis, sun is the antithesis and YOU are the point at which those two points (or polarities) battle it out, creating a synthesis of the two, or a logical proof.

This is called a dialectic, and it’s the basis of how we as humans process emotional information, arguments, logic and a whole host of other things.

Here is another example of a thesis-antithesis-synthesis dialectic demonstrated in a VISUAL story (because not all stories have words):

You watch a camera shot of a man crawling in the desert (thesis), you cut to a different camera shot of an oasis (antithesis), and the concept of thirst (synthesizes) in your mind.

What if you want to make a longer story?

It’s simple, but it’s not easy.

A longer story is a series of dialectic relationships strung together along the same thread of increasing thematic tension. 

This is called drama.

For instance, a story about a freedom fighter could see the main character escape a bad situation only to be thrown into a worse situation, which tests his resolve for freedom even further, which creates an EVEN WORSE situation which tests the ultimate integrity of the thesis and antithesis to the maximum possible degree…

When the tension is almost too great to bear, it finally solved, resulting in a catharsis, or an emotional release for the listener, viewer or audience. The catharsis does double-duty of proving your dialectic, in this case, “Determination Causes Freedom.”

The catharsis in this case is the feeling brought on by experiencing the truth of “Determination Causes Freedom.” Other catharses include, "Good triumphs over evil," and "The Kingdom is Saved!," or pulling the sword from the stone.

Or in the case of a customer journey, clicking "Pay Now."

As long as a story is presented with a clear dialectic structure, an energetic journey of increasing thematic tension can take place, arriving at a satisfying catharsis.

Take a story where the two main theses battling it out are buying and not buying.

First you would introduce the ANTITHESIS (life, present or future, MINUS the solution you're selling)...

then you introduce the THESIS (future state PLUS your solution)... and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that your future state is the most desirable one.

What most people miss however, is getting deep enough into the antithesis (the world minus your solution).

If you want to arouse real desperation for your solution, you need to create enough tension between the anti-solution state and your solution state.

You do this by painting a truly realistic version of a world without your solution.

Which means, you have to explore it deeply.

Spend at least as much time there as you spent in the world of your solution.

Do this right and your catharsis—in this case, “I NEED THE SOLUTION YOU’RE OFFERING” will be the solution to the dialectic proof in the mind of your potential buyer.

The cinematic storytelling equivalent of this concept would be to make sure the villain’s plan is well-thought out enough that the audience will experience satisfaction in watching the hero overcome it.

If the villain’s plan is weak, we won’t care.

If your case for your solution is weak, your potential buyer won’t care.

Another thing about stories before we close out this newsletter.

Follow the rules of storytelling and your story will spread because stories are memetic. They tend to make copies of themselves.

Stories that are truly awe-inspiring can galvanize people to rally around a great cause, better stories than that can make or break countries, empires, even entire civilizations.

Some stories are so good that they become intergenerational templates for how to operate in the world, like an unbroken strand of narrative DNA stretching for thousands of years. We call these stories myths.

And what is the DNA of stories? The Storytelling Dialectic.

Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis.

Thank you.

I’ll see you on the path,

Patrick Christell

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I was a professional storyteller for 20 years. I’ve synthesized everything I’ve learned into a self-actualization framework wherein anyone can apply the structure of epic storytelling to radically change the arc of their destiny. For more information, check out my newsletter or follow me here: https://twitter.com/actualizedstory. If you have any questions, or just want to chat, feel free to reach out on twitter DMs or via my website.