How to Tell a Story By Mark O’Bannon storytelling. 2 Storytelling Stories consist of three parts. The beginning, the middle, and the end. Traditionally, this is why stories are broken down into three acts. There are six parts of a story contained within these three segments: Act I 1. Introduction. 2. Rising Action. Act II 3. Complications. 4. Crisis. Act III 5. Climax. 6. Resolution. The beginning (Act I) has three goals. The first goal is to get the ball rolling by introducing the main characters, & the setting they are in. The second goal is to hook your audience with something that is exciting and interesting. The third goal in the start of a story is to introduce the villain and the main story goal. 3. One of the marks of an amateur Storyteller is to use up a large part of the early story introducing characters. 4 5. 6 A good character will always have some level of internal conflict. Inner conflict is created by the character’s inner need rubbing against a main character flaw. often design his plots to affect the characters internal conflicts, so that the characters will be able to overcome their flaws., 7 8. 9. 10 The beginning (Act. Act I could consist of a single scene, or it could be two or more scenes in length, depending on how much time the Storyteller wants to spend on the story, & the desired pace (how quickly the story progresses). 11 The middle of the story (Act. Act. 12 13 The end of the story (Act. 14 Act. There will usually. 15 Hopefully, you will have enjoyed this short treatise on How to Tell a Story. More details on the art of storytelling can be found in the upcoming book, “The Storyteller’s Guide” by Shadowstar Games, Inc. Shadowstar Games, Inc. Better Storytelling 16 17