NAH rrATIVE

Stasis
This is the “every day life” in which the story is set. Think of Cinderella sweeping the ashes, Jack (of Beanstalk fame) living in poverty with his mum and a cow, or Harry Potter living with the Dursley’s.

Trigger
Something beyond the control of the protagonist (hero/heroine) is the trigger which sparks off the story. A fairy godmother appears, someone pays in magic beans not gold, a mysterious letter arrives … you get the picture.

The quest
The trigger results in a quest – an unpleasant trigger (e.g. a protagonist losing his job) might involve a quest to return to the status quo; a pleasant trigger (e.g. finding a treasure map) means a quest to maintain or increase the new pleasant state.

Surprise
This stage involves not one but several elements, and takes up most of the middle part of the story. “Surprise” includes pleasant events, but more often means obstacles, complications, conflict and trouble for the protagonist.
Watts emphasises that surprises shouldn’t be too random or too predictable – they need to be unexpected, but plausible. The reader has to think “I should have seen that coming!”
Critical choice
At some stage, your protagonist needs to make a crucial decision; a critical choice. This is often when we find out exactly who a character is, as real personalities are revealed at moments of high stress. Watts stresses that this has to be a decision by the character to take a particular path – not just something that happens by chance.
In many classic stories, the “critical choice” involves choosing between a good, but hard, path and a bad, but easy, one. In tragedies, the unhappy ending often stems from a character making the wrong choice at this point – Romeo poisoning himself on seeing Juliet supposedly dead, for example.

Climax
The critical choice(s) made by your protagonist need to result in the climax, the highest peak of tension, in your story.
For some stories, this could be the firing squad levelling their guns to shoot, a battle commencing, a high-speed chase or something equally dramatic. In other stories, the climax could be a huge argument between a husband and wife, or a playground fight between children, or Cinderella and the Ugly Sisters trying on the glass slipper.
Reversal
The reversal should be the consequence of the critical choice and the climax, and it should change the status of the characters – especially your protagonist. For example, a downtrodden wife might leave her husband after a row; a bullied child might stand up for a fellow victim and realise that the bully no longer has any power over him; Cinderella might be recognised by the prince.

Your story reversals should be inevitable and probable. Nothing should happen for no reason, changes in status should not fall out of the sky. The story should unfold as life unfolds: relentlessly, implacably, and plausibly.
Resolution
The resolution is a return to a fresh stasis – one where the characters should be changed, wiser and enlightened, but where the story being told is complete.
(You can always start off a new story, a sequel, with another trigger…)




things humans does :

Uno. Rascarse una picadura de mosquito, hasta que sangre.

Dos. Hacer pipí después de muchas horas aguantándotelo.

Tres. Trolear a una It Girl.

Cuatro. Trolear en el muro de Facebook de una revista de tendencias.

Cinco. Trolear, en general.

Seis. Despertar después de una siesta de cuatro horas.

Siete. Abrir y cerrar los ojos muy rápido.

Ocho. Un masaje en los pies.

Nueve. Pasar por una churrería y que el olor a chocolate entre en tu nariz.

Diez. Quitar granitos de la espalda a otra persona.

Once. Quitarse los pelos con las pinzas obsesivamente.

Doce. Toser y estornudar a la vez.

Trece. Lamer la cabeza a un calvo.

Catorce. Tirarse al mar de púa, y sentir todo el frío.

Quince. Arrancarse los trocitos de piel muerta después de una quemadura solar.

Dieciséis. El olor de un cocido madrileño.

Diecisiete. El olor de un pedo propio.

Dieciocho. El olor de un bebé.

Diecinueve. El flato después de una gran carrera.

Veinte. La sensación en el estómago después de reírse mucho.

Veintiuno. Pincharse con la barbita de un hombre al besarlo.

Veintidós. Quitarse lo negrillo de las uñas.

Veintitrés. Tragar enjuague bucal por error.

Veinticuatro. Cuando consigues sacarte una legaña del ojo.

Veinticinco. Comerse una caja entera de Mikados.

Veintiséis. Que te soplen detrás de la oreja.

Veintisiete. Que te soplen en la barriga.

Veintiocho. Que te soplen por todas partes.

Veintinueve. Medirse la tensión.

Treinta. Que te cruja un especialista chino.

Treinta y uno. Descubrir que no eres la única persona a la que le cae mal alguien.

Treinta y dos. Criticar a un antiguo amigo.

Treinta y tres. Bostezar muy fuerte.

Treinta y cuatro. Mojar una patata frita en cocacola.

Treinta y cinco. Hacer caca en los baños de un museo.

Treinta y seis. Que alguien guapo te mire con ojos de deseo.

Treinta y siete. Acariciar a un gato hasta que te duelan las palmas de las manos.

Treinta y ocho. La sensación en los ojos después de haber llorado.

Treinta y nueve. Abrazar a tu madre.

Cuarenta. Bailar dando muchas vueltas, y no caerse. 



NARCISIST CHARACTERS WOULD :

1.  I can become entirely absorbed in thinking about my personal affairs, my health, my cares or my relations to others.
2. ___ My feelings are easily hurt by ridicule or the slighting remarks of others.
3. ___ When I enter a room I often become self-conscious and feel that the eyes of others are upon me.
4. ___ I dislike sharing the credit of an achievement with others.
5. ___ I feel that I have enough on my hand without worrying about other people’s troubles.
6. ___ I feel that I am temperamentally different from most people.
7. ___ I often interpret the remarks of others in a personal way.
8. ___ I easily become wrapped up in my own interests and forget the existence of others.
9. ___ I dislike being with a group unless I know that I am appreciated by at least one of those present.
10. ___ I am secretly “put out” or annoyed when other people come to me with their troubles, asking me for their time and sympathy.
11. ___ I am jealous of good-looking people.
12. ___ I tend to feel humiliated when criticized.
13. ___ I wonder why other people aren’t more appreciative of my good qualities.
14. ___ I tend to see other people as being either great or terrible.
15. ___ I sometimes have fantasies about being violent without knowing why.
16. ___ I am especially sensitive to success and failure.
17. ___ I have problems that nobody else seems to understand.
18. ___ I try to avoid rejection at all costs.
19. ___ My secret thoughts, feelings, and actions would horrify some of my friends.
20. ___ I tend to become involved in relationships in which I alternately adore and despise the other person.
21. ___ Even when I am in a group of friends, I often feel very alone and uneasy.
22. ___ I resent others who have what I lack.
23. ___ Defeat or disappointment usually shame or anger me, but I try not to show it.