Problem Solving in Storywriting

Then we have Problem solving. I set up dramatic structure in a problem/solution context. Conflict is a “character with a problem,” no matter how small that problem might be. What will the character do on a boring afternoon? How will the character make friends in the new neighborhood? How will the prisoner escape the dungeon? Many kids are tempted, of course, to jump ahead to a solution: Timmy moved into a new house where he didn’t know any of the other kids in the neighborhood. He felt sad. Then he went outside and met the kid next door and was happy. Such glib, and essentially boring, storylines are discouraged by the requirement to go through the Complication stage, the longest and most involved, of dramatic structure, related to sequencing. In this stage, the writer is encouraged to explore various ways of trying to solve the problem that do not work and/or to send the character on an adventure to solve the problem.