Every story has a Main Character (MC). Every MC has a Desire as well as Conflicts that are preventing her from obtaining it.
In Story Therapy, we slow our thinking down and introduce one concept at a time. It is difficult to define a concept without introducing others, but this is what we will strive to do. It won’t be completely possible, but as we continuously reign our minds in, we will achieve the value we set out to obtain. As we move forward and add more concepts, can you try to do that too? The goal is to organize all the concepts into a structure, not just throw them into our writing in a chaotic way.
When we discuss concepts or variables in Story Therapy, we will use capital letters for them. So far we have three variables: MC, Desire, and Conflict.
Main Character (MC): The main character is the central figure in your story, the one who experiences the journey and undergoes development or transformation. The MC is the focal point through which the audience experiences the narrative.
Desire: Your MC’s Desire represents what she wants to achieve or obtain throughout the story. It’s her goal, motivation, or what she is actively pursuing. This desire often drives the plot forward and creates tension.
Conflict: Conflict refers to the obstacles, challenges, or opposition that your MC encounters in the pursuit of her Desire. Because she has a Desire, it is a given that there is a Conflict that is currently preventing her from obtaining it.
The plot of your story is based on how the MC resolves the Conflicts that prevent her from obtaining her Desire. As she works to overcome these obstacles, she obtains abilities and her character evolves and grows.
Note about Male and Female Pronouns
For simplicity’s sake, I use the female pronouns when referring to the MC even though the person who plays this role can be a male or female. Later on, I use the male pronouns to refer to the Cause character (another concept we will explore soon) even though the person playing that role can be male or female as well.
Next up, we will dive deeper into the concept of Desire.