#STORY ROBERT MCKEE TRIAL#

Although they sometimes end by resolving one of the characters’ main problems, this resolution is rarely intended to create a sense of closure or finality.

Similarly, there isn’t really a climax at the end of Kishōtenketsu stories. Thus, they don’t need an inciting incident that radically upsets the characters’ lives. They often depict an ordinary time in their characters’ lives rather than a dramatic, life-changing turn of events. The focus of Kishōtenketsu stories is internal growth rather than external conflict. You may be familiar with Kishōtenketsu from the anime films of Studio Ghibli, such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, which typically follow this structure. For instance, many stories in China, Korea, and Japan follow a four-act structure called Kishōtenketsu, and they don’t include an inciting incident or climax as we typically think of them. Contrasting Western and Eastern Story StructuresĪlthough McKee frames this story structure as universal, some argue that this structure is primarily a Western one, with roots in ancient Greece. The inciting incident of Finding Nemo is when Nemo is kidnapped by a scuba diver, and the climax is when Marlin and Nemo are safely reunited. These two events form the core of your story. In short, your inciting incident raises the central question of your story, and the climax answers it. This is the goal the protagonist will be chasing for the entire story, until the climax. This major change throws the protagonist’s life into chaos and uncertainty, causing them to take action toward the goal they believe will give them a predictable, desirable, normal life. To effectively create a meaningful climax, you also need to write a well-crafted inciting incident: a scene early in the story that creates the first major change in your protagonist’s life. Additionally, the climax definitively “proves” your theme by revealing the ultimate consequences of all your protagonist’s actions. The climax is where the protagonist risks the most and either succeeds or fails to achieve their goal. The climax of your story is the most meaningful scene and impacts the audience more intensely than any other scene because of the intensifiers we discussed in the previous section. McKee argues that the most important scene in all stories is the climax: the final, most extreme, and irreversible change in your story. The Key Parts of a Story: Climax & Inciting IncidentĪccording to Robert McKee, story structure is the pattern that all well-written stories follow. They follow a consistent pattern that organizes all of the devices, such as escalating risk and a coherent theme, that make up the story.Ĭontinue reading to learn what McKee teaches about story structure. What are the various pieces of a story? How do they all fit together?Īccording to Robert McKee, story structure is a critical element of the most impactful stories.

#STORY ROBERT MCKEE TRIAL#

Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading. This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to 'Story' by Robert McKee.

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