Story Design: Change Stories
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How can you add more inner conflict¸ fear or change¸ and wonder of discovery to your transformation adventures?
Story Design Volume 12 - In a change story something upsets the protagonist's life in a significant way. The character then has to adapt and come to terms with that change. It can be something normal yet tragic¸ like the death of a loved one or being diagnosed with terminal illness. It can be a good yet scary thing¸ perhaps moving to a strange new place or winning the lottery. The change can be a physical transformation¸ such as gaining superpowers. The change might simply be a realization or shift in awareness¸ like discovering that wizards exist and you're one of them. The focus is on the process coming to grips with the upheaval in the protagonist's life¸ and settling into a new status quo.
Examples of the change plot include The Catcher in the Rye¸ The Last Picture Show¸ My Fair Lady¸ The Paper Chase¸ Red Badge of Courage¸ and Straw Dogs.
Story Design: The Change covers all of the elements you need to prepare in order to tell a transformation story. It's based on concepts explored in Story Structure for Writers and Roleplayers ¸ also published by Dancing Light Press. It's a big book that goes into greater detail on how to get the most out of the three-act structure¸ as well as developing a three-phase series (campaign¸ if you prefer) with a clear beginning¸ middle¸ and end. If you want to use your favorite roleplaying game system to tell stories with more depth than kill monster¸ get treasure¸ repeat (not that there's anything wrong with that)¸ it is worth looking into.
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