The Essential Elements of Storytelling

Are you ready to learn the secret formula to great storytelling? You may be sad to learn that there isn’t one. 

What there is, though, are the essential elements of storytelling that you should learn in order to master the craft and become a better storyteller.

Let’s take a brief look at each element, I’ll also include a link for a more in depth article on each one, but first, let’s define what storytelling actually is…

• What Is Storytelling?
• What Are The Essential Elements Of Storytelling?
• Keystone Message
• Plot
• Character
• Story Setting
• Conflict
• Story Arc
• Story Craft
• Get Sketches & Storytelling Delivered to Your Inbox.

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What Is Storytelling?

Storytelling is the art of sharing a narrative, whether through spoken word, written text, visual media, or performance. It involves conveying a sequence of events, characters, and themes in a way that engages the audience’s imagination and evokes emotions.

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What Are The Essential Elements Of Storytelling?

Storytelling has many components, far too many to include in a single article so I’ve boiled it down to the essential elements of storytelling. These are the elements that you can’t tell a story without. Even if just one of them is missing, your story will feel flat.

• Keystone Message: The purpose and the underlying idea or information that you’re delivering to your audience through your story.
• Plot: The sequence of related events that connect your audience to your protagonist and the goal they’re striving to achieve.
• Character: The living elements of your story who are affected by the events of the plot.
• Setting: The time and location where your story takes place.
• Conflict: The struggle between opposing forces which can be internal, external, or both.
• Story Arc: The path your story follows and how it’s structured and shaped.
• Story Craft: The expert ability and skill to tell a compelling story that captivates your audience and evokes emotions.

Keystone Message.

The Keystone Message is the purpose and the underlying idea or information that you’re delivering to your audience through your story.

Why are you telling this particular story? What are you trying to communicate? Is there any purpose to a story without a message?

The very essence of storytelling is to communicate an idea, offer guidance, impart wisdom, or teach a lesson. Stories are a vehicle for delivering information in a memorable and relatable manner, and it’s no secret that the stories which are usually remembered and passed on through generations have an underlying message that resonates with those who hear it.

An important part of the definition of message is that it’s much deeper than just a theme, which is more of a surface-level element. For example, we see multiple themes running through the Steven Spielberg classic, ET — family, friendship, adventure, and more.

The Keystone Message of ET, however, is more specific and highlights the importance of accepting others who are different from yourself and showing empathy.

And that’s just one brief example of why theme and message are different.

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Plot.

Plot is the sequence of related events that connect your audience to your protagonist and the goal they’re striving to achieve.

Just like in real life, a story relies on a series of plot points in order to flow in a way that’s both logical and engaging. Simply put, it’s what happens in the story.

As well as defining your story and what the audience will experience, the plot sets up the motivations, challenges, conflicts, objectives and paths of your characters. It should be a sequence of cause and effect — this happened because that happened, and then this happened, etc.

The focus of the plot is usually the protagonist’s primary goal or challenge, the central problem. Each event that occurs in the story must push the protagonist toward a climax of either success or failure in resolving the central problem. For example, let’s take a look at the film synopsis for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship Of The Ring:

“A young hobbit, Frodo, who has found the One Ring that belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron, begins his journey with eight companions to Mount Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.”

Here we see the entire story of The Lord of the Rings boiled down to a simple plot. It identifies our protagonist (Frodo), the central problem (the One Ring), and his goal (taking it to the only location it can be destroyed).

The stakes should get higher as the plot progresses with the suspense and tension increasing until reaching a climax — the moment where the tension peaks and is followed by the resolution of the central problem and the tying up of any subplots.

When storytelling is done properly, all plot events are necessary to the main story and relate to the central problem, to the extent that any event being removed would result in breaking the story. A story shouldn’t contain unnecessary filler regardless of the reasoning behind it. As soon as you deviate from the plot you’ll lose your audience. 

Your audience will be engaged with your story only if your plot is well crafted. They’re there only if they care about your characters and they want to find out what happens next.

Do you know how many different plot patterns there are?

Learn more about the main plot patterns used to create every story.

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Character.

Characters are the living elements of your story who are affected by the events of the plot.

In fact, the events that take place throughout your story are defined by the way your characters think, feel, act and respond to them, even when those events are outside of their control. The actions and reactions of your characters will drive your plot forward and determine the overall flow of it. 

For effective storytelling, you need well-defined, consistent characters that your audience can believe and empathise with. The audience needs to be able to deduce a character’s traits to see the justification behind their actions, good or bad.

There are many types of characters used in stories, but for the purpose of this article, let’s look at three of the most important…

Protagonist.

Your story’s main character and the one the audience primarily follows and empathises with. By the end of the story, the protagonist should be changed in some perceivable way from the beginning.

Antagonist.

This is the character created to oppose the protagonist in an attempt to stop them from achieving their goal. An antagonist doesn’t have to be a person, this character can be presented in the form of anything representing a huge obstacle to your protagonist.

Contrast Characters.

Sometimes referred to as foil or clone characters, Contrast Characters are used to exhibit traits that contrast with those of the protagonist and clearly highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s illustrate the point with a favourite story of mine — Star Wars: A New Hope

• Protagonist: Luke Skywalker
• Antagonist: Darth Vader
• Contrast Character: Han Solo

Most stories use multiple Contrast Characters, and this example is no different with the both the antagonist and the chosen Contrast Character highlighting the qualities and attributes of the protagonist.

As with all well-defined Contrast Characters, they have their underlying similarities — all wanting to be pilots and taste adventure in the wider universe outside of their home planets.

Han Solo is introduced as a self-serving, streetwise and cynical smuggler with an egotistical nature. The traits we see from Han stand in direct contrast to the Luke Skywalker that we meet. We meet Luke as a compassionate, naive farmboy who believes in a better future and knows his limitations.

That is in very short form, how contrast characters work to highlight the key attributes of a protagonist. 

For your audience to connect with your characters they will need to have depth and substance, relatable flaws and motives that make sense. Only real, relatable characters that the audience can connect with and care about will keep the audience on the journey. 

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Story Setting.

Simply put, the setting of your story is where your story takes place. It’s the universe, realm, world, time, location, you get the point. That’s the setting.

For a great story, your setting should be much more than just a static backdrop, it can be used to influence the pace, plot and conflict of your story through the way your characters view it. After all, in some ways, your characters will be defined by their setting and as a result, their perceptions and world views will be shaped by it.

You can also use your setting to influence dialogue and action between your characters. Take Jurassic Park for example and think of the difference in the characters as a result of a changing setting. 

We have our first setting which is a safe park with beautiful blue skies and nice high electric fences to keep the dangerous dinosaurs contained. Then we have our second setting — rain lashing down in hurricane-like conditions, and deactivated electric fences that are rendered useless against the now loose and roaming deadly dinosaurs.

In the example of a story as well structured as Jurassic Park, it’s clear to see exactly how the setting influences the characters as well as the pace, plot and conflict of the story. 

You can also use the setting in a symbolic and metaphorical manner to highlight key points about your story or characters. A good example of this is the Elephant Graveyard in The Lion King — a geothermally active, barren wasteland that reeks of death and danger. It’s also the very place where the hyenas live, the enemies of the lions with personalities that reflect the death and danger of the setting they live in.

However you use setting in your story and whatever you choose to include or leave out, it should be intentional and provide a context for your characters and the story itself. 

Story setting is made up of five main components:

• Geographic Location
• Physical Location
• Environment
• Time Period
• Social and Cultural Environment

It’s vital to understand the fundamentals of story setting if you want to create a world for your characters to inhabit that engages your audience and creates an immersive experience.

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Conflict.

Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces which can be internal, external, or both.

Without conflict, you don’t really have a story, just a list of happenings. It’s how your characters move, grow, and achieve their goals. Conflict adds tension to your story and keeps your audience engaged, eager to see how it unfolds.

There are many ways to indicate conflict in a story and whichever you choose, it should be difficult for your protagonist to resolve.

There are two categories of conflict:

Internal Conflict.

Internal conflict is the conflict your character is experiencing within themself that they need to overcome so they can achieve the goal that’s been motivating them from the beginning.

External Conflict.

Any conflict that exists outside of your character and acts as an obstacle between them obtaining or achieving what they want.

Nobody is interested in a story without conflict, if everything goes to plan without any mishaps or obstacles your audience will get bored and drop off. For an audience to fully engage with a story they need to be unsure of how it will turn out, or at least have doubts.

Some of the most powerful storytelling centres around characters that have to overcome their internal struggles so they can succeed in resolving their external conflict. Let’s use Buzz Lightyear from the original Toy Story movie as an example…

Buzz Lightyear’s external conflict includes isolation from the other toys, the nasty Sid kid next door, and his need to get back home. But as an audience, we’re more keyed into his internal conflict. The internal struggle for Buzz is that he believes he truly is Buzz Lightyear and not a toy. 

It’s a great synergy of internal and external conflicts, Buzz’s internal conflict being the relatable struggle of who you think you are vs. who you really are.

Let’s add some further storytelling magic with a couple of plot examples from Toy Story.

Plot One (without conflict)

Buzz Lightyear, a new addition to the toys in Andy’s room immediately fits in with the others and they all move to a new house together.

Plot Two (with conflict)

Buzz Lightyear, a new addition to the toys in Andy’s room believes he is a real spaceman and is desperately trying to return to his home planet. Meanwhile, Andy’s family move to a new house with Buzz and Woody left needing to escape the clutches of the sinister boy next door that enjoys destroying toys.

Which version would you be more intrigued to watch? Again, conflict is what keeps an audience engaged with a story waiting to find out how it ends, which is why it’s crucial to understand the different types of conflict used in stories.

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Story Arc.

Story Arc is the path your story follows and how it’s structured and shaped, using the events in your story and plot sequence to set the pace it moves at and any peaks and valley. 

Although there are many variations of story arc, every story can be broken down into the three parts a story arc describes — the beginning, the middle, and the end.

In general, Story Arc is a simple structure that can make a story stand out as different once some flesh is added to the bones and narrative momentum has been established.

Let’s look a little closer at those three parts:

Act I: Setup.

This is where you set the scene, introduce your characters, establish the rules of your world and sow the seeds of conflict. 

Act II: Build.

In this part, the tension will be rising and your characters are learning, growing, and changing in response to their internal and external conflicts as well as the circumstances established by your plot sequence. Your characters will be trying to resolve the main problem as the conflict escalates to a climax with a major decisive turning point for the protagonist.

Act III: Resolution.

Here’s the part where we see the main problem resolved, the characters changed and the story ends. 

As a storyteller, understanding story arc is essential for defining your story’s structure and keeping everything on track with a steady momentum. 

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Story Craft.

Story Craft is the expert ability and skill to tell a compelling story that captivates your audience and evokes emotions.

Without Story Craft, all you have is words on a page, paint on a canvas, or noise leaving your mouth for no apparent reason. 

Story Craft is missing from far too many essential storytelling lists when it should feature on all of them. It’s how you skillfully bring together all of the essential elements of storytelling into a whole, cohesive and engaging story. 

Getting a grasp of Story Craft comes mostly with experience so it’s best to get stuck into learning as much as you can. There are many ways to become a better storyteller and inform your own practice. Before too long, you’ll have the fundamentals down and can continue honing your skills and mastering the art of storytelling.

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So, mastering storytelling isn’t about following a rigid formula, or unlocking some ancient secret — it’s about understanding the essential elements and using them intentionally to craft compelling narratives.

Whether you’re developing rich characters, refining a Keystone Message sure to last for generations, or stringing together a gripping plot, each element plays a crucial role in engaging your audience.

But beyond structure and technique, storytelling is ultimately an art form — a skill that improves with practice, curiosity, and a deep appreciation for the stories that move us. So, keep learning, keep experimenting, and most importantly, keep bringing your stories to life, one page at a time.