what is this thing called focus? It’s the synthesis of three elements that work in unison to create a story: the protagonist’s issue, the theme, and the plot.

In a story, plot-wise, what all other considerations bend to is the protagonist’s external goal. Sounds easy enough, until you add the fact that what her external goal bends to is her internal issue—the thing she struggles with that keeps her from easily achieving said goal without breaking a sweat. As we’ll see throughout, this internal struggle i

Stories allow us to simulate intense experiences without actually having to live through them.

Is there a sense that “all is not as it seems

Is there conflict in what’s happening?

a good story doesn’t feel like an illusion. What it feels like is life. Literally.

Sara’s pains are coming ten minutes apart now. Every time one comes, she jolts herself against the side of the car, trying to disappear. Everything outside is whizzing past her from the car window because Jack, her father, is speeding, something she’s never seen him do before. Sara grips the armrest, her knuckles white. She presses her back against

Elmore Leonard famously said that a story is real life with the boring parts left out.

The seminal element—the protagonist’s issue—stems from something we mentioned in the last chapter: the story question, which translates to the protagonist’s goal. But remember what we said? The story isn’t about whether or not the protagonist achieves her goal per se; it’s about what she has to overcome internally to do it. This is what drives the