Linking story's theme, character's arc and plot: the narrative wheel.

How do you maintain a map of these three pillars during the writing process, or get a quick overview when analyzing a script? (french version is here).

Test the Narrative Wheel with my free trained #AI (with HugginChat, accurate but not available for screenplay) : https://hf.co/chat/assistant/671520567fd57014347713b5

or with #ChatGPT (you can upload a screenplay, but with ChatGPT pro) : https://chatgpt.com/g/g-n21KrYlou-narrative-inspector-screenplay-analysis

Theme + character + plot = story.

Writing a story is about linking the plot to the character's psychology, around a theme.?

• A story is the initiatory journey of a character: it's the dramatic arc (the unconscious logic of the character).
• The character's choices lead to consequences: it's the plot (made of events, twists, conflicts and fun).
• Character and plot have only one function: to develop the thematic debate of the story.

I created this "Narrative Wheel" to synthesize the causalities of a story into a single mind map :

The wheel is read from the inside out (from the theme comes the main character's arc, from his or her choices comes the plot); and from the right to the left in a clockwise direction.

1) A THEME to rule them all

The raison d'être of a story is its theme. What aspect of the human condition are we inviting the viewer / player to think about playfully? The theme is the chemical ingredient that underlies the development of the characters and the plot, just as carbon is for life on earth. We don't like moralistic stories without conflicts between characters who all have the same opinion, do we? That's why the theme of the story must be broken down into four complementary and opposing philosophical values:

• The positive value (in green) is the value that your hero must spiritually move towards in order to solve his problem and change his wrong way of behaving. Often called "the theme", this is the end of the main character's journey. That's often what you believe in as an author.
• The contrary (in yellow) is the opposite of the positive value. The main character begins the story with this value deeply embedded in him/her.
• The contradictory (in red) is the value that destroys the interest of the positive value. Often, that's the value defended by the main opponent.
• The Trojan horse (in purple) is an ironic value of the theme, which often occurs near the end of act 2. Not only the hero has not yet fully understood the interest of going towards the positive value, but he is tempted by a simple but fallacious solution. It is a kind of pact with the devil, a desperate act.

Example: If the positive value is "freedom", the opposite can be "confinement", the contradictory can be "alienation", the Trojan horse can be "soft dictatorship" or "the illusion of freedom".

These 4 values are marked by 4 colors in the main character's arc and in the plot on the wheel. These are moments of thematic debate that the character will face in the course of the story. Everything that follows is a dramatization of these four values of the theme.

2) The main CHARACTER's dramatic arc creates emotions

The design of a story begins with the dramatic arc of the main character. What does this character want? What will he or she face and learn?

But first, let's make it simple and efficient : main character = hero = protagonist. John Truby's approach (Anatomy of the Screenplay) is an effective tool to characterize the psychological evolution of a character. The arc of a character is made in 7 steps, reflecting our daily human condition facing a problem to solve :

1. The initial problem (weakness and need): the character is confronted with an unpleasant situation (or more). But not just any problem: it's a metaphor for his greatest psychological and moral weakness.
2. The character's desire (or want) to solve her/his problem,
3. A great opponent, who opposes the character's desire (step 2) and reinforces his problem (step 1),
4. The plan imagined by the character to bypass the opponent,
5. The point of no return, which is the last step of the plan. Either the character succeeds or fails.
6. The character's inner revelations (self-revelations). What did he understand about himself, after all theses confrontations with the opponent ? These revelations, psychological and moral, must be a clear metaphor of the theme's positive value.
7. The new equilibrium shows how the character's daily life has changed (and how necessary it was to solve the initial problem in step 1).

3) An organic PLOT stems from the character's choices

When the main character's journey (the dramatic arc) is defined, good news: we have a story! The plot allows us to dramatize the story, i.e. to tell it in a unique and creative way. What are the revelations and narrative twists? In what order will they be revealed? That's the challenge of the structure, modeled by Blake Snyder (Save The Cat!), who proposes a smart and fun breakdown of the traditional three acts used since the dawn of time.

The third pillar of a story, the plot (or the structure - it's the same) is the?consequence?of the main charater's 7 steps. Basically, a plot is the struggle?between the need and want?of the main character.

ACT 1: The thesis

- Opening Image: first scene that suggests the coming confrontation. The hero's current state is not so good.

- Set-Up: setting up the main character, his need and their issues.

- Theme Stated: A suggestion of theme, often made by a secondary character. It's usually common sense advice that the hero will only understand at the end of the story. It is the cryptic key to the resolution of the story.

-The Need is a dramatization of the main character's weaknesses (step 1 of the character's arc : psy and moral weakness)

- Catalyst: this is the big bad news, the call of the adventure. This event, the only one to happen by chance, invites the hero to launch himself/herself into the unkown world.

- Debate yes/no: these are all the bad reasons that the hero finds to refuse the adventure. Humans are very good at diminishing, even denying, the extent of a problem. Should I stay or should I go ? A hero must go.

ACT 2: the antithesis, the world upside down driven by the want.

- Break Into 2: The hero wants something and makes a big decision that launches him into the adventure. The WANT must be a tangible and external goal and realistic to acheive.

- Fun and Games: The action starts, the hero's values are challenged. The hero is like a fish out of water. Trailer, title and poster moments ! That's what the audience came for, so it's best to serve them with taste.

- Midpoint: The middle of the plot, where the story takes a turn. Stakes are rised. It is either a false defeat (farthest from their want) or a false victory (closest to their want).

But above all, the hero's need meets his desire furtively. But the hero is not yet ready for change.

- Bad Guys Close In: The arguments of the opponents seem as defensible as those of the hero. This is a moment of intense battle between the different variations of the theme.

- All Is Lost: A fatal blow is dealt to the hero. Hero loses their want !

- Dark Night of the Soul: The hero doubts the wisdom of his approach: he would have been better off staying at home. He may even be tempted by the ironic values of the theme. This is the delicate part of a scenario, often the source of the famous "soft underbelly" of the second act. Yet its function is essential: it is the moment when the hero is bitterly confronted with the theme of the story.

ACT 3: the synthesis, the solution will come from the hero's NEED.

- Break Into 3: the subplot (B story) brings at the last minute the solution to the hero or a new hope to believe in his values that were damaged in the second part of act 2. The hero takes an action because they NEED something.

- Gathering the team : either the hero is farthest from their NEED (the team abandons hero) or closest to their NEED (team assembles).

- Storming the castle : a strong moment of hope or despair during the execution of a plan trying to beat the opponent.

• High tower suprise : Hero loses what they NEED (internal defeat)
• Dig deep down : Hero fully embraces the postive value of the theme to make the right decision and beat the opponent in Executing the new plan.
• Final Image: This last scene is in resonance (often opposite, to show the evolution of the hero) with the opening image.

Test this narrative wheel with?the breakdown of James Cameron's ALIENS.?The story is structured around a mother (Ripley) who finds peace by adopting a little girl (Newt).?

Narrative wheel's miror effect : promises and resolutions.

A good story is made with set-ups (in the right part of the wheel, until the mid-point of the story) and pay-offs (in the left part of the wheel, mainly in the third act).

The narrative wheel inspires symmetries by design, which are so exciting in a story because they give meaning to the audience. For example :

• The Dig deep down in act 3, which is the hero's real thematic questioning, must respond to the Theme Stated of act 1 which states the theme implicitly.
• Dark night of the soul is a intense thematic debate as it is in act 1 (Debate yes/no)

Jér?me Genevray, screenwriter and video games narrative advisor.

Watch "La Nuée / The Swarm" on Netflix, cowritten by Jér?me Genevray & Franck Victor :