Exploring the Story Curve – How to Craft a Compelling Story (Part 1)

While the saying goes “Facts tell, Stories sell”, we would add that stories only sell if they are told well. Whether it is in written or verbal form, your child needs to be able to plan, craft and present a powerful story that engages your audience attentions. A strong story can bring the audience on a journey, making them feel the emotions and experiences of the characters. While a story may not be useful all the time, it is one of the common requests we hear from parents looking to bring their child’s writing abilities to the next level.

For us, a key component of the story-building process is the use of the Story Curve or the 4Cs. This consist of Characters, Conflict, Climax and Conclusion. The Story Curve is a simple, starting point guide on how good stories are crafted – it is an easy tool for your child to use to learn to introduce tension or conflict into a story. That said, it is not enough to just apply the Story Curve mindlessly. To help your child apply this to their daily writing, we have prepared a short article series to bring them deeper into the application of the Story Curve. In Part 1, we will explore the Characters component in building a story.

Characters, Scenes & Details

The first component of the Story Curve is also the oft-neglected component, based on our experience. Students mistakenly assume that the introduction of a story is redundant and often gloss over the important parts of this scene-building component. Instead, the Characters component of a story is the first attempt at reaching out and capturing your audience’s attention. Your child should understand this process as a world-building process – the bigger and more dynamic the world they create, the more compelling their story will be.

The magic component for this part is details. Encourage your child to introduce at least these three components under Characters – scene-building, character-building and purpose-building. Scene-building looks at the parts where your child describes the scene, location or even physical objects. It paints the initial picture as your audience steps into the world they are creating. The aim is to create a wide expanse, playing with the audience’s imagination. Character-building is the next phase. After your child has set out the foundation of his/her canvas, start thinking about the characters that they plan to include. These should be material characters who will play a big role in their eventual story. Likewise, details are key – encourage them to incorporate as many details as they can about the characters they are introducing.

Purpose-building is a direction element. It reminds your child to stay on track and maintain the same direction in their story. This ensures that they do not just craft the scene and characters without setting themselves up for the rest of the story curve. This is also the part where your child will start to think about the conflict that their characters will face and how they will build up to that conflict. Having an objective also helps to bring your audience on a journey – it sets up an expectation which will be subverted by the upcoming conflict.

One effective exercise to train this component is to engage in a descriptive exercise by getting your child to look at a real-world scene (e.g. a coffee shop or library) and describe the scene in detail using the three parts here. As part of the exercise, remind your child to build in the purpose component by brainstorming possible storylines that can emerge from the scene. Doing so will help them to be comfortable with the task of scene, character and purpose-building. Your child will be able to craft a multi-layered, dynamic and immersive environment right at the start of their story!

Next Up – Let’s Raise the Stakes!

While only the first part of the Story Curve, the Characters segment is a crucial component in capturing your audience’s attention. Most well-crafted stories can draw their audience in and retain their attention from the get-go. This is what your child should aim to achieve with their story. The Story Curve may just be a starting point but we hope through our guide, your child will be able to build a compelling story for any situation. Do tune in for Part 2 of this series to find out more about how to build your Conflict!

Public Speaking Academy strives to help students with both types of communication:

For written communication (covers Paper 1 Essay Writing, Paper 2 & Oral Exam):

PSLE English Tuition for Primary 5 & 6:

http://bit.ly/psaenglishclassp5andp6

For verbal communication:

Public Speaking for Kids/ Children:

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/