Thread by @Spaztique

A Story (Structure) Reboot: A thread summarizing Narratology for #storytelling and #writing.

Part 2: Reviving the Dualist Form of Story Structure

From our last part, I said we were taught stories as a singular whole of “plot + theme + characters + setting + text.”

Forget that.

Under this system, you got a singular entity made of a few basic parts, and if you change one, it usually means changing the others; especially the plot. It’s why many of us have to rewrite and revise our stories so many times, while others can create a series that writes itself.

(Re-)Introducing the Dualist Form of Story Structure:
The Fabula and the Syuzhet!
Or, the Storyworld and the Discourse!

Storyworld = Settings, Characters, and ALL possible Events.
Discourse = SELECTED Events, how it’s organized, how it’s told, and in what way.

Comparing the Monist Structure to the Dualist Structure of Story is like comparing editing a video on an analog VHS deck vs. digital non-linear editing software: instead of a strictly linear series of events, the storyworld becomes a color pallet or musical scale of choices.

“But Spaz,” you might say, “Isn’t this no different than just writing an outline or story bible?”
As someone who uses both, the big difference is that it explicitly separates the outline and story bible from the actual drafting process.

The storyworld is all about defining the rules: what’s possible, impossible, all the possible events, the basic where’s and who’s, and so on.
And what are fanfictions and alternate universe stories? It’s using storyworlds to build new discourses, resulting in new stories.

If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many ridiculous anime premises that somehow work, or use characters based on advertising mascots, it’s because storyworld design, “Scenario Culture,” is a big deal in Japan.
That’s what spurred me to research this in the first place.

The Discourse isn’t just how you tell the story, but in what way, what do you focus on, how long, how closely, and most importantly, from who’s perspective, also known as Focalization.
Focalization isn’t just “point of view”: it’s what even *should* be viewed in the first place!

If it’s any help, Focalization also determines things you don’t have to focus on and can just gloss over: if your setting doesn’t run on complex relationships or backstory, good news: you don’t have to write them!
And this news should be helpful to plotters AND pantsers!

Let’s dive into the Storyworld, first with Setting.
I’m sure you’re familiar with setting: made up of time (when and for how long the events take place) and space (location and culture). Basic stuff.
But in addition to “Macro-Setting,” Narratology introduces “Micro-Setting.”

Micro-Setting adds in rules within settings, mini-locations within larger locations, and props and important objects. Basically, what should be focused on *within* the macro-setting?
And if your focalization doesn’t call for it? Don’t worry! Focus on something else!

Now for the meat of the Storyworld, the characters.
Characters have three main traits:
1. The Realistic (Mimesis): How are they like us?
2. The Unrealistic (Synthesis): How are they unlike us/as we wish to be?
3. The Thematic: What ideas do they represent?

Audiences tend to relate to the Realistic dimension, are attracted to by the Unrealistic, and are fascinated by the Thematic.
The typical “safe” everyman protagonist is usually high in Realism, but low in Unrealism and Theme.
Meanwhile, archetypes are high in Thematic.

Here’s the part where I’m supposed to cover flat/round and static/dynamic characters, but this is normally taught in literature class. One’s got few traits, one’s got a buncha traits. One doesn’t have an arc (but can still show deep character), one has a character arc.
Moving on.

But now let’s go into roles, and I don’t just mean “protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, mentor,” or whatever.
I’m talking about the roles any character can shift to at any time (or can occupy more than once).
We’re going to look at the Actantial Narrative Schema Model!

If we boil down the possible roles in a story…
A main character (subject) has a goal (object).
A character can help (ally) or hinder (opponent).
Something empowers that object (sender), and the object empowers something else (receiver).
From this, we can build whole casts.

“But Spaz,” I hear you, “That’s only six roles! Actually, I don’t even think those last three count! So, that’s just three! What am I supposed to do with THAT?!”
Each role can be filled by as many characters in as many possible variations you can think of…

From the Ally/Opponent roles alone, we could have…
-Sidekick and villain
-A supporter and an intimidator
-A teammate and a rival
-A mentor and a skeptic
-An ideal and a temptation
-A false villain and false hero
-A sour ally vs. a friendly competitor
That’s 14 characters!

And that’s not even covering the different archetypal roles you can fill them in with. If you use all 12 Jungian Archetypes in each Ally/Opponent slot, you get 24 characters easily. And then combine them with other personality schemas, the numbers become exponential!

But what about the other three roles? The Object, Sender, and Receiver?
The Object is often played by what’s called a “Stakes Character”: they represent what the protagonist wants (or wants to be like). In a romance plot or subplot, that’s quite obvious, but less in other genres.

Senders represents the “Want to Do”/“Have to Do” for the Subject. It can range from an encouraging friend to a scheming blackmailer.
Receivers represent who’d benefit from the Subject achieving the Object. (And since anyone can occupy multiple slots, they can be Subjects too.)

“But what if I have a story with *less* characters than these roles? What if I can’t make a character to represent the Object? Or what if there are no Opponents or Allies? What if the Sender is also the Subject?”
No worries: that’s where the Canonical Narrative Schema comes in!

Acting as a patch to the Actantial Model, the Canonical Narrative Schema looks at how all these characters behave. It has five parts:
1. What do they want to do?
2. Can they do it?
3. How well can they do it at the time?
4. What’s compelling them?
5. What are the results?

What does this mean for the Actantial Model? It means you no longer need characters in any of the other roles: opponents and allies can only aid or hinder the protagonist.
And the Canonical Narrative Schema can apply to more characters than just the Subject!

That’s all the space I got for this thread. We’ll continue in the next thread discussing character creation and event design.
For now, I hope this preview of the Fabula and Syuzhet has wetted your appetite for more.