Plot

Western storytelling has a formula: introduce a hero, give them a problem, make it worse, then resolve it through struggle. Conflict is everything. Heroes need villains. Protagonists need obstacles. Stories need tension. But what if there’s another way? What if you could tell a compelling story with zero conflict, no antagonist, and no struggle-and still keep your audience completely engaged? Welcome to kishotenketsu (起承転結), the East Asian narrative structure that’s been creating beautiful stories for over a thousand years without relying on conflict at all. ...

Bad dialogue is characters talking at each other, exchanging information the writer needs us to know. Good dialogue is characters doing things to each other with words. Dialogue isn’t just communication-it’s action. Every line should move something forward: plot, character dynamics, tension, understanding, or emotion. If you can cut a line of dialogue without losing anything, it shouldn’t be there. The “Dialogue as Action” Principle Traditional writing advice separates: Action = physical events (fights, chases, building things) Dialogue = characters talking (conveying information, feelings) This is wrong. ...

Every screenwriting book tells you the same thing: stories have three acts. Act 1: Setup (establish character, world, conflict) Act 2: Confrontation (escalating obstacles, rising stakes) Act 3: Resolution (climax, falling action, denouement) There’s a problem though. Most of your favorite movies don’t actually follow this structure. Or rather, they follow it so loosely that calling it “three acts” is misleading at best and creatively limiting at worst. Let’s be clear: the three-act structure isn’t wrong. But it’s not a rule-it’s a retrospective description, not a prescription. And treating it as gospel might be why your story feels forced. ...

Most storytelling advice tells you to start slow: establish the ordinary world, introduce your characters, build context before introducing conflict. The Fichtean Curve says: screw that. Start with a crisis. Then another crisis. And another. And another. Keep escalating until you reach a climax, deliver a brief resolution, and you’re done. No leisurely setup. No patient worldbuilding. No gentle easing the audience into the story. Just: Crisis. Crisis. Crisis. Boom. ...