This is a question that can often lead writers down the wrong path. Many try to answer this through the complexity of their story, stylistic flair, or their world-building skills, hoping that if they arrange or mix these elements in the right way, a good story will emerge.
But a good story truly starts from the human urge to try to make sense of something.
At the heart of every story, a character moves toward something they believe will offer them some kind of resolution. Yet, what they are moving toward is not that thing itself, but the meaning they have attached to it. This meaning is what creates the tension.
In this way, a story isn’t just about what happens. It’s about a character’s experience and transformation, and how their understanding of the world shifts.
In this article, I’ll break down what makes a good story into a framework you can apply to your own writing. This includes:
- The four essential elements of a story: Desire, Conflict, Surrender, Transformation
- Dilemma as the core of your narrative
- How to diagnose whether your story is actually working
Ultimately, the question is not whether your story is interesting. It’s whether it changes something. Lastly, I’ll give you a Story Weapon to get to the heart of your story.
What makes a good story? Your character will suggest the plot and as they traverse it, they will be guided into a choice at the core of who they are. In deciding how your character changes, you will reframe your understanding of story to build a satisfying narrative for your audience. Once you understand all the components, use a practical checklist to make sure you build around the dilemma.
Character suggests the plot
A good story is built by a character’s experiences throughout the narrative, and their journey toward transformation.
Remember these key parts of your protagonist’s journey.
Desire: The engine of the story
This is the non-negotiable “want” of your character. Without it, there is no story. You need to think not just about what your character wants, but why they want it.
Their desire is, in turn, fueled by a false belief — a flawed idea about themselves or their world.
Conflict: Where the tension lives
Story is alchemy. Without antagonistic forces, there can be no transformation for your protagonist. It is only through the escalating conflict or tension between your protagonist and your antagonists that meaning gets conveyed.
Surrender: Where the story breaks open
There comes a point in your story where your protagonist can no longer move forward in the same way they have been. They realize that even if they try harder or push further, they are not struggling with a problem but a dilemma.
The meaning they attached to their goal is no longer sustainable. What they believed to be true collapses under the weight of their experiences.
When your protagonist endures real suffering, they are forced to let go of their old identity in order to move forward. Surrender happens when there are no moves left to make. They are not surrendering to the antagonists, but to their new way of seeing their world.
Transformation: The real resolution
The change your protagonist goes through isn’t about finding a way to achieve their goal. It’s about seeing it differently.
By the time we reach the final act, the protagonist accepts their new reality and acts on that new understanding.
Once they gain this new understanding, they come to see what they truly need. It is this shift in perception that leads them to make a difficult choice, thus dramatizing their transformation.
If your story arrives at a conclusion without this internal shift, your protagonist’s journey won’t feel complete, and will lack meaning.
The story’s core: Dilemma
On your protagonist’s journey to transformation, they encounter a dilemma.
- A problem is external and can be solved.
- A dilemma, on the other hand, cannot be solved. Any choice the protagonist makes, any solution they try, creates another problem.
Your protagonist becomes “trapped” by their dilemma. They realize that in order to move forward and resolve their dilemma, they need a shift in their perception.
It’s this tension that drives the story forward.
Why dilemma drives story
When your story is built on a true dilemma, every character decision, scene, and action carries weight and pushes the story toward transformation.
A story risks becoming mechanical if it doesn’t have this. Events happen throughout the story, but they don’t matter on a deeper level.
Your goal as a writer is to explore your protagonist’s dilemma. It’s the exploration that helps the story reveal itself. When you fully connect to the experience of the dilemma, then situations, scenes, and ideas will naturally emerge to support it.
The identity shift: Why your protagonist needs to change
One question you can ask to evaluate your story is: Does my protagonist need to grow or change in some fundamental way in order to achieve their goal?
If the answer is no, it’s possible your story needs more exploration in order to reach a satisfying conclusion.
When your protagonist has to come face-to-face with who they are, when they need to confront their limits, your story becomes meaningful. Their beliefs are proven to be flawed. Their strategies fail. Their identity begins to collapse.
This is what it means when I say that your protagonist needs to “die” to their old self.
It’s a psychological death, not a physical one. They have to let go of their assumptions, definitions, and previous ways of navigating the world.
Only when this happens can transformation take place.
Diagnosing your story: A practical checklist
Making a good story takes a deep understanding of all the different components.
For a quick diagnostic tool to check if your story works, you can use this:
- Clear desire – What does your protagonist want? Make it primal. Ie: freedom, survival, belonging, connection, success, peace, meaning, purpose, etc.
- False belief – What do they believe achieving this goal will accomplish for them?
- Dilemma – Notice how this primal desire and false belief create a dilemma that sets them on their quest.
- Antagonists – Do you have worthy antagonists that are going to test this false belief?
- Surrender – Do you see how it is impossible for your protagonist to get what they want based on their false belief? Ask yourself: What is their cry into the void? Ie: I can’t go on. I have failed. I’m invisible. I can never get home.
- Transformation – Do you see how they take action toward giving themselves what they need, and thus, are transformed as a result of their surrender.
Exploring these elements will help you move in the direction of marrying the wildness of your imagination to the rigor of story structure.
Reframe the question, “What makes a good story?” and ask instead, “Who does your character become as a result of what happens?”
Your story weapon: Build around the dilemma
If your story feels unclear or flat, there’s always one place you can return to: the dilemma.
To be human is to struggle with a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist has a dilemma, but the specificity with which you have explored it.
A protagonist with a goal has direction, but a character caught in a dilemma gives your story true weight and meaning.
It will take more than effort and force of will to solve a dilemma. In fact, by definition, it is literally impossible to solve a dilemma — a dilemma can only be resolved through a shift in perception.
A clear dilemma forces your protagonist to confront who they are and removes any easy solutions. Your protagonist is pushed inexorably towards surrendering their false belief so that they can truly transform.
When you understand that your protagonist’s dilemma is the source of your story – the source from which all conflict arises – the mist begins to clear and everything else — the plot, the stakes, and the emotional impact — begins to fall into place. This is what makes a good story.
FREE STORY DILEMMA GUIDE: Every great story begins with a dilemma. If your plot feels unfocused or your tension falls flat, this FREE Dilemma Guide will help you identify, explore, and sharpen your protagonist’s central dilemma to reveal the most dynamic version of your story.
