Learn about the importance of obligatory scenes and conventions in storytelling. Discover how to find these elements for your story's genre and how to handle them in subplots. Understand the significance of comp titles and creating a list of obligatory scenes.
Including obligatory scenes and conventions in your story is essential for creating a story that works.
Identifying and understanding the obligatory scenes and conventions of your genre provides a framework for crafting a story that meets readers' expectations while allowing for innovation and creativity.
Deep dives
Importance of Obligatory Scenes and Conventions
In this podcast episode, the speaker highlights the significance of including obligatory scenes and conventions in your story. Obligatory scenes are the key events, decisions, and discoveries that move the protagonist along their journey, while conventions are the specific character roles, settings, and circumstances that readers expect to see in a particular genre. By incorporating these elements into your story, you can deliver the reading experience that your audience is looking for and create a story that works.
Finding Obligatory Scenes and Conventions for Your Genre
The podcast provides a three-step process for uncovering the obligatory scenes and conventions of your genre. Step one is to identify three to five comparable titles in your content genre. Step two involves noting down common elements and themes in your comp titles, which serves as the first draft of your obligatory scenes and conventions list. Finally, in step three, you refine the list by organizing the notes into scenes and conventions, ensuring you capture what character roles, settings, and circumstances are shared in your comp titles. This process helps you understand the specific expectations of your genre and gives you the framework for crafting a story that meets those expectations while maintaining your originality.
Balancing Creativity and Obligatory Scenes
Contrary to the belief that using obligatory scenes and conventions stifles creativity, the podcast emphasizes that these elements actually provide a foundation for innovation. By understanding and including the obligatory scenes and conventions of your genre, you are better equipped to bring your own unique perspective and creativity to the story. Using the example of Agatha Christie, the speaker highlights how innovation can be achieved within established conventions. It's about delivering the expected elements of your genre in fresh, imaginative ways, creating a balance between familiarity and originality.
“When a story doesn't include these key scenes and conventions of its genre, it's just not going to work.” - Savannah Gilbo
Want a framework for your entire story? Learn what readers expect from a story like yours, and then use these obligatory scenes and conventions as a framework to craft a story that works.
[03:47] What are obligatory scenes and conventions (and why are they important)?
[06:58] 3 steps to finding the obligatory scenes and conventions for your story's genre.
[10:31] Savannah breaks out most of the required scenes and conventions, which you can download by visiting the blog post for this episode.
[13:58] How to handle the obligatory scenes and conventions of your subplots vs. the main storyline.
[16:51] Final thoughts: If you don’t do the work to understand your genre, you’ll have a hard time getting your books into the hands of readers. And without readers, your story will never be experienced. That’s a terrible thought, right? To avoid this, know your genre and give your readers what they’re expecting in a new and exciting way. Give them the emotional experience they’re looking for, and you’ll earn loyal fans for life.