What defines a Great Story?

What is the most meaningful and useful definition?

Defining story is not an easy task. To become a great storyteller you need to identify and understand the essential aspects of impactful stories. Existing definitions vary in specificity and amount of detail.

To a certain degree, what gives a precise definition will vary according to the context in which the term is used. 

How does one of the most reliable online dictionaries, Oxford English Dictionary, define story?

"A narrative of imaginary or (less commonly) real events composed for the entertainment of the listener or reader."

This is a broad definition that may not be particularly functional for storytellers. However, the definition contains essential elements, 

- indicating that a story is a sequence of events.

- specifying that the events can be fictional or  factual (imaginary or real events).

- indicating the purpose is to entertain the listener or reader (purpose of entertainment).

Entertainment must be understood as more than "popcorn movies without serious dramatic content" (Wiktionary). Obviously, entertainment also includes stories with "a weighty message, or intellectual depth." This last point must be highlighted, no matter how evident.  

All these factors are central in the most impactful stories, but additional definitions may help us.

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Breaking Bad (2008) explores themes of change and transformation in human beings, and the motives behind the actions of the main character, Walter White.

According to John Truby, Places in the Heart" (1984) features a "thematic revelation": an impactful scene that transcends the specific story world, leading to profound reflections that resonate with the audience’s own lives (The Anatomy of Story, 2008).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) can be described as a popcorn movie, created purely for entertainment.

In the following I will combine three useful definitions of story.

In his book The Anatomy of Story (2008), John Truby defines story like this:

"A speaker tells a listener what someone did to get what he wanted and why."

In one of his audio classes, Truby gives an alternative definition of story:

"A description of a sequence of events, where one person acts against another, and we find out why."

These definitions indicate that moral and ethics are key when defining and explaining story. John Truby's writing on storytelling is characterized by his focus on the moral argument of a story, the "hows and whys" of our lives. Characters who represent opposing values create a moral battleground, which allows the audience to decide what they believe is the right way to live and treat others. Here lies the potential to develop a great theme and convey an important message.

Lastly, in his book Storynomics (2018) story theorist Robert McKee presents this definition:

"A dynamic escalation of conflict-driven events that create meaningful change in a character's life."

Here, we need to explain some of the terms used:

The fundamental definition of "dynamic" is:

"Of or pertaining to force producing motion: often opposed to static." (Oxford English Dictionary).

So, in the context of a story, "dynamic" refers to a narrative that is characterized by change or progress.

According to McKee, story events involve change, or else it's just activity without deeper meaning. In his book "Story" (1999), McKee writes:

"A STORY EVENT creates meaningful change in the life situation of a character that is expressed and experienced in terms of a VALUE.

McKee states that change is meaningful, when the character experiences a shift in a story value, a shift that has real impact on her:

(...) STORY VALUES are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative or negative to positive. from one moment to the next. For example: alive/dead (positive/negative) is a story value (...) All such binary qualities of experience that can reverse their charge at any moment are Story Values. They may be moral, good/evil; ethical, right/wrong; or simply charged with value. Hope/despair is neither moral nor ethical, but we certainly know when we are at one end of the experience or the other."

To sum up: our task is to explain and define what makes a great story. In "The Anatomy of Story", John Truby describes a trait that only the ultimate stories possess:

"In great storytelling, the theme achieves its greatest impact on the audience at the thematic revelation. The thematic revelation is not limited to the hero. Instead, it is an insight the audience has about how people in general should act and live in the world. This insight breaks the bounds of these particular characters and affect the audience where they live. With a thematic revelation, the audience sees the total design of the story, the full ramifications of what it means, on a much greater scale than just a few characters."

If we look at the three definitions I have presented together, what would be the best explanation and definition of a masterful story? A useful and detailed combination of the key definitions from Truby and McKee may look like this:

"A story is a dynamic narrative where a sender communicates to a receiver a sequence of escalating, conflict-driven events, detailing how a character acts against opposition to achieve a desired outcome. This narrative explores the motivations behind actions and results in a meaningful change in the character's life, expressed through a value shift and achieved through overcoming conflict or as a result of failing to overcome those opposing forces."

This text was composed by Story Worlds in tandem with ChatGPT, and reviewed

for accuracy by our team.