10 Elements of a Story Structure

     Every good story includes 10 main elements that make the story worth listening to, seeing, or reading.

1. A hero
2. A goal of the hero
3. A plan of the hero
4. An adversary
5. A flaw
6. An apparent defeat
7. A self-realization
8. A final confrontation
9. A resolution
10. A theme of life

     The funny thing about this is that The Good Story has all of the elements. We have our hero, Jesus Christ. His goal is to provide justice by absolving those who have sinned and repented. His plan is to become a living sacrifice that makes a way for us to enjoy that justice. His adversary is Satan. His flaw is that he is God (in that He then cannot live on Earth with sinful man). This was overcome by becoming man, while retaining his God nature. His apparent defeat was His death on the cross. His self-realization is leaving Hell, and destroying death's hold on us all. His story's resolution is rising from the dead. The theme of life should be the Christian's theme of life, that we are all originally condemned until we lay down our pride and actively acknowledge who Christ is and who we aren't.

     The other funny thing about these elements is that we realize that every good story has elements of The Good Story. People love stories, but they have to be good. Without any of these plot elements, the tale becomes boring or pointless. Nobody likes boring and pointless stories. They must stir the soul and be profitable to hear and analyze. But it is hard to find a story that is so good, that it holds the keys to Eternal Life. And what story displays each of these key ingredients perfectly? What story has a theme of life so applicable? What story has an adversary so deplorable? Christ's story.