I enjoy reading Robert Mckee’s “The Substance of Story” very much. He sounds so sassy!

I imagine a good story is similar to a stretched rubber band. A rubber band because, like the flexible and tangible object it is, a story “is about life lived in its most intense states… a circumference of experience defined by the nature of the fictional reality.” We can stretch them to extreme possibilities that excite players/readers but we are conscious of its limits too.

One end of the band is pulled by the protagonist’s goals and the other end pulled by his/her obstacles. The story has a sad or happy ending, depending on which end gives up and lets go. The tension represents the character’s will while the existence of opposing forces represents his/her conflicting desires.

The plot continues to thicken as the tug-of-war continues, increasing the danger of snapping the rubber band. Will there be a winner? Or will the rubber band snap and all becomes lost?