By Valerie Gordan
This year has been rife with challenges.
Uncertainty. Unease. Distress.
We have no idea how it’s going to turn out.
And that’s what makes it such a fabulous story…
It’s not a story we enjoy living through, but the kind we’ll tell someday with newfound appreciation, the wisdom of hindsight and perhaps a bit of humor.
That’s because the key to a great story relies on the challenge, typically in the form of conflict.
In a story’s narrative arc, it’s the “inciting incident” that puts plot into play. The introduction of conflict throws the protagonist off-course, creates adversity, and requires development and growth. Eventually, on the other side of the heroine’s journey, she’ll experience what ultimately makes the story satisfying: the glory of triumph.
