How does one tell a satisfying story?
In his new offering, Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird, author and teacher Henry Lien, who writes both speculative fiction and nonfiction, examines this question. This he does by discussing story-telling techniques and their relative merits employed in both the East and the West, using examples familiar to the reader.
In the West, the most common method is a narrative model called the three-act structure. Widely practiced in both creative writing and filmmaking, the three-act structure, also referred to as the “Hero’s Journey,” concentrates on the growth and development of the protagonist. It divides up a narrative into three distinct parts: Introduction, confrontation and resolution. Conflict—the central dilemma confronted by the main character—steers the story forward.
However familiar it might be, this structure is but one of many blueprints for storytellers to pursue. With that in mind, Lien introduces a new twist, the four-act structure, or kishotenketsu, used in the East. This structure divides a story up into four parts: inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, and resolution. Such a framework, more complex, allows for better pacing and enhanced character development.
The four-act structure is already being used in the West, particularly in screenwriting. Along with video game illustrations (such as those by Nintendo), Lien offers examples from well-known novels (such as Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World) and such popular Hollywood films (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Rashomon, and Parasite).
Lien continues with his exploration by introducing other methods of construction, which are practiced in the East but also commonly in the West: circular and nested story structures. In a circular story structure, the plot ends where it began, thereby literally coming full circle. An example is Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon. A nested model is a story within a story, a layering device in which the main narrative serves as a frame for one or more smaller narratives. A famous example is the epic collection of folk tales known as The Thousand and One Nights.
Lien also attempts to show how collectivism versus individualism, as practiced in different parts of the globe, affects the construction of a story.
Discussions and case studies abound and there are “Questions for the Reader” at the end. Ultimately, this book, which has been delivered in an accessible manner, can be appreciated not just by writers but by a general audience as an aid to better understand a story.
