The origin of the name for this Substack comes from my time of being a teacher (before my departure in 2020 to work remotely, freelance writing and proposal writing). CHARACTER + OBSTACLE = STORY was a literary equation that I came up with to try to explain the how in the creation of stories. I thought, 2 + 2 = 4, everyone knows that and gets that, how stories become what they are should have an explanation of a similar fashion. I wanted this for my students and what I ended up with has become the bedrock for me both as an educator and as a writer.
I have always believed that the how of things was more important than the why and when it comes to storytelling and its process, especially when attempting to teach literature or writing, the how of it should be addressed. In my opinion, how stories come into existence is the product of two forces: A character and an obstacle. These forces clash and from the beautiful struggle comes story or plot. When I taught this, I made sure to make the connection between the world found in the story and the real world, to ensure that my students understood storytelling’s relevancy. See, storytelling is not done by accident. There’s no Big Bang and BOOM! the world within the story is created. Stories have a designer and the design has purpose, author’s purpose, which is to convey a message. Consequently, that message is delivered through the character and his/her/their/its run-in with the obstacle.
The relevancy of storytelling is in the parallel between the world in the story and our world: The connection between the characters in the story and the people in the real world, the obstacles in the story and the obstacles that exist in the real world for real people. In the classroom, to add credence to this position, I used an analogy of the mirror and how we as human beings use mirrors…
It’s a funny thing, really, if you think about it, that as sentient, living beings we are unable to see ourselves. I mean, sure, we can look down at our body, hands, arms, legs, feet, etc, but we cannot look directly into our own faces — not without help. The mirror is that help, it’s the tool that we used to see our face, to see ourselves. Storytelling is very much the same for us, it is a way/the help/the tool that we use to see ourselves, but not the external this time, but the internal. Storytelling is a pure reflection of the human condition, which is transferrable through time and transcendental. To tell a story is to touch a life because the metaphorical speaks to the literal and the reader or audience absorbs it and the mind processes.
This is why CHARACTER + OBSTACLE = STORY is so important. This is how I explained it to my classroom of learners so long ago and still do. It was one of the first things that I talked about last year when I went back to the classroom, and it will at the top of the list this year, leading the instruction.
As always, thank you all for being a part of this community. I am sorry that I’ve been away so long, a lot of stuff going on — business and personal. But it is my commitment to continue to share and build this community with you all. I am very much looking forward to talking more about storytelling and, hopefully, hearing more of your stories in the comments, on notes, and in the threads.
Talk soon,
B
Brian + insights = stellar! ✨
Thanks for another great newsletter! Your students are lucky to have you.