The Cracker That Reminded Me of Narrative Structure

My youngest daughter knows how to negotiate.

Recently, she stood by the foot of her bed — pajamas on, holding on to her butterfly stuffie — and said, "Dadda. I go to sleep if you give me one more snack, keep the light on, and play one more song."

I said no to all three.

She cried.

I reconsidered the snack.

We landed on one cracker, the hall light, and a song she fell asleep thirty seconds into — which means she never needed the song.

Only the cracker.

I think she knew this from the beginning.

Later, I thought, "That was a perfect story."

My daughter wanted something. I got in the way. Something happened as a result.

Desire.
Obstacle.
Outcome.

This is the whole engine.

Not a framework some writing professor invented — just the way life actually works. Someone wants something, the world gets in the way, and something happens as a result. Not always what anyone planned.

I've sat down to write hundreds of times, convinced I had a real story, and ended up with what I can only call a very detailed list of things that happened. It doesn't feel like a listicle in the moment. It feels like a story.

It is not a story.

A story has someone who wants something, an obstacle in the way, and a result worth caring about. Without those three things, you have a summary. With them, you have tension. And tension is the only reason anyone is interested in reading.

Your stories already have this.

Every memory lodged in your chest has a desire at its center, something that blocked it, and an outcome you're still turning over.

Pick one. Ask: What did I want? What got in the way? What happened?

Write those three sentences. Everything else comes after the engine is running.

Happy Telling!

-Carlos

P.S. If you want to go from three sentences to a complete, finished story in four days, The Story Frame Sprint was built for exactly that. Next sprint starts March 9th.