I Had an Ephphany!

I think I like all different kinds of stories. I like seeing the Freytag all mixed up. But, studying the ways inwhich this can be accomplished has been a wonderful exercise for me--both as a student and as a teacher.

Yes, I do want the protagonist to always win. I think that if I invested a lot of time in reading or watching a story unfold only to have the protagonist lose, I would be VERY disappointed. I am one of those who seeks catharsis.

I am going to say that I do believe a character must grow or somehow be altered in some significant way to have a "real" story. Otherwise, it would be a "slice of life" story and I HATE those.

I suppose I have written stories that included an epiphany. Sometimes, the epiphany may come later--maybe when the story is over but life goes on as in my Peanut Butter and Jelly story.

In reflection, my stories probably follow the Freytag pyramid most of the time. I believe this is true because I have practiced every day for 37 years how to present a lesson in logical order from "no knowledge" to "bigger knowledge". And, this flow must be in a very sequential order. I don't "map" my stories out, I just like to start at the begining and plod through to the end.