Once upon a time, there was _____. Every day, _____. One day, _____. Because of that, _____. Because of that, _____. Until finally_____.
This is just one of the famous 22 Rules of Storytelling
Once upon a time, there was _____. Every day, _____. One day, _____. Because of that, _____. Because of that, _____. Until finally_____.
This is just one of the famous 22 Rules of Storytelling from Pixar, shared by Pixar Story Artist Emma Coats (and apparently originally set out by Kenn Adams). As the terms “story” and “data” get mixed together more and more, it’s worth taking a look at traditional story structure to see if we are appropriately applying the word story to data.
To understand what stories are, we need to understand how they are built. Once we understand how they are built, we can try to apply those structures to data to see whether they still apply (spoiler alert: they don’t). Having (hopefully) convinced you that we overuse the word ‘story’, we can then talk about how different groups do or don’t tell stories and ways in which they can.
The simple Pixar structure noted above can help you write and build a story, from its initial exposition to climax to final resolution. But this is only one of several story structures we can consider, and to dive into other structures and then apply them to data will, I think, demonstrate that our common use of the term is not quite accurate. (Additionally, from a data visualization perspectives, it’s fun to visualize these structures.)
In Booker’s tome (it’s almost 900 pages in what seems like 6 point font), he lays out a theory that all stories fall into 7 plot types and that all 7 follow similar structures.
Overcoming the Monster. The central character (let’s call him or her the protagonist) sets out to defeat an antagonistic force, often evil. Examples: The Guns of Navarone, Star Wars, Harry Potter.
Rebirth. The protagonist experiences an important event and is forced to change his or her ways, often for the better. Examples: Despicable Me, The Secret Garden.
Rags to Riches. The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, love, etc. before losing it all and then gaining it back as he or she grows as a person. Examples: Aladdin, Cinderella.
Voyage and Return. The protagonist goes to a strange/different land, overcomes some obstacles, and returns with some experience, typically having grown for the better. Examples: Wizard of Oz, Finding Nemo.
Comedy. Humorous character with a happy and cheerful ending (but noting that comedy is more than just humor). Examples: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Tragedy. The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw and, ultimately, his or her undoing. Examples: Macbeth, Bonnie and Clyde.
The Quest. The protagonist (usually with some companions) set out to acquire an object or get to a specific location, facing obstacles and temptations. Examples: Lord of the Rings, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.
In each plot type, there is a loose definition of story. For example, take the Rebirth plot in the movie Despicable Me (if you can’t tell by the examples above, I watch a lot of movies with my kids). The main character Gru starts out as a supervillain doing supervillain stuff. As the story begins, we see that his goal is to steal the moon. To do so, he steals a shrink ray, which is then stolen from him by another supervillain, Vector (in one of his great lines: “I’m committing crimes with both direction and magnitude!”). To get the shrink ray back, Gru enlists the unwitting help of 3 orphan girls. He finds himself caring more and more for the kids, ultimately sacrificing the stolen moon to save the girls and thus changes his ways for the better. Oh, plus, there are minions.
(If you want to see more of these structures drawn out, see this post from Gavin McMahon.)
A master storyteller, Vonnegut also showed how stories can be plotted out on a simple pair of axes: Ill Fortune to Good Fortune, Beginning to End. In the story of “Man in a Hole” (which requires neither a man nor a hole) the protagonist starts off fine, then finds some trouble, and gets out of it in the end.
In Vonnegut’s diagram of the “Boy Gets Girl” story, the boy finds something wonderful, then something bad happens (e.g., the girl and boy fight), but then he gets it back again.
You can watch Vonnegut present these structures himself in this great presentation, and you can read about other structures here.
Campbell’s structure is based on hundreds (thousands?) of years of folklore and fairytales. In Campbell’s structure, the hero/heroine begins the story in an “Ordinary World”—he/she is living the Status Quo. There is then some Call to Adventure where the hero must decide whether to follow a new path. The hero usually finds some assistance—sometimes in the form of an elderly figure (e.g., fairy godmother in Cinderella), a magical being (e.g., Genie in Aladdin), or some other form of help (e.g., the fellowship in the Lord of the Rings).
The hero then Departs the Ordinary World for the “Special World”. The Special World can be anything really