Bible Blossom - Storyteller's Handbook

T E L L I NG T ALES : A B I B L E B LOS S OM P RIMER ON S TORY TELLING • 21

2. What are the aspects of narrative suspense revealed in the story? • What influences make us sympathize with the characters? • What produces disgust and aversion between us and the characters? • How are we made to approve of what the characters did? • What events or happenings cause us to disapprove of the characters? 3. How are the characters tested, and what choices do they make? • What is the dilemma/problem/conflict the protagonist is seeking to overcome? • What character quality is tested in the protagonist? • What alternative life choices are open to the characters in the story? • Which decisions do the characters make, and what is the result of their decisions? 4. How does the story unify itself in its various parts? • How does the organization of the story contribute to its unity? • What is the sequence of events in this story? (Beginning, Middle, and End) • In what way does the story’s end resolve the questions raised at the beginning? 5. How do the characters progress and grow (or decline and fall) in the story? • Where do the characters begin in the story? • How do the experiences of the character affect their development? • Where do the individual characters eventually wind up as a result of their experiences, and the choices they made within them?