As a freshman in college just beginning architecture school, I expected to learn about famous architects, how to design skyscrapers or famous landmarks, and how to put our stamp on the built world. Yes, we did all that but we were also introduced to something even more important. It was a simple three-part concept:
- Entry, Path, Arrival
It’s profound. It suggests movement, progression, change—in just three simple elements.
For Architecture
These steps became three physical places that someone might move through:
- A house – a foyer, hallway, living room
- A museum – a lobby, an escalator, a gallery space
- A garden – a gate, some stairs, the garden itself
Add “>” and now you have movement as someone moves through each space from one to the next to the next.
- Gate > Stairs > Garden
For Storytelling
These steps could define an entire story as beginning, middle, and end. It could also be a small aspect of a story, three moments of interconnected time, one after the other. Or it can be actual architecture to help define more fluid spaces where your story happens.
“Diane entered through the tall gate but paused for a moment. She walked up along the stone stairway carefully, brushing past the overgrown leaves. At the top, she arrived at the lush garden to see her….”
‘To see her…’—her what? Now it is a story. A character started somewhere, journeyed along a connected and meaningful route, and finally arrives at someplace new.
How can you use this concept in your stories?
How can entry, path, and arrival move your story forward? How can these places bring out the best (or worst) in your characters? How can they help reveal your character’s emotions?
Tip: Create locations that make your characters feel something.
Your dream customers need to feel the same so they place themselves into your story so they pay attention to see what happens next.
Want to know more about storytelling and how to use entry, path, and arrival? Join us here at Fire Came Later.
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