Your Story’s Big Bridge
Isn’t it satisfying when everything comes together at the end of a story?
Other than the obvious methods of tying together plot threads and solving mysteries, how does this happen? What makes a story’s ending fulfilling in a way that’s deep and difficult to put your finger on?
The answer is the story’s bridge.
Good stories are about asking a question…and then answering it.
But I’m all about getting into the weeds of story mechanics, so in this post, we’re going to discuss when to ask that question, what the question should be, how to answer the question through the middle of the story, and when/how it all comes together at the end.
It’ll go like this:
The Question (when + what)
The Middle (when + what)
The Answer (when + what)
To illustrate this storytelling technique, we’ll be looking at one of my husband’s favorite movies: The Social Network, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher.
Spoilers Ahead
The Question
WHEN
If you’ve been around Project Published very long, you know that I love story structure. More specifically, the 3 Act Structure. This isn’t the only way to approach storytelling, but almost every story you come across can at the very least loosely be viewed through the lens of the 3 Act Structure.
The Social Network is no different.
I bring all this up to answer the question of when the Question (capitalized and said in a deep booming voice) should be asked.
The answer is in the story’s Inciting Incident (the BOOM moment in a story).
The Inciting Incident is the place in the story when things shift. It’s when we understand what the story will be about.
The reason we understand what the story is about is because the story’s big Question is posed during this Plot Point (whether implicitly or explicitly). (In Save the Cat, this moment is the Theme Stated.)
Did you catch that? Theme!
The question that is posed during the Inciting Incident is not only relevant to the story events about to unfold, it encompasses the entire theme of the story. It’s posing a question about the world that the rest of the story will set out to answer.
Which brings us to WHAT.
WHAT
So what does this question look like?
To really understand this and therefore be able to answer the question of WHAT your story’s Question will be, you have to know what your story’s theme is.
In The Social Network, the theme centers around the cost of success. The Question being posed is whether or not success is worth showing dignity, compassion, empathy, and kindness to others.
The reason I wanted to use this story to explore this concept is because this Question that sets us out on the story’s bridge is quite easy to spot.
In the opening scene, Mark Zuckerberg is on a date with his girlfriend. Over the course of their conversation, things get heated. At the end of the scene, his (now ex) girlfriend gets up to leave, but before she does, she throws this left hook.
(To Mark)
“You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because you’re a nerd. And I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole.”
BOOM! There you have it. The Inciting Incident posing beautifully and succinctly the story’s big Question (and therefore stating its theme).
This is the Question that will propel us as the audience over the story’s bridge, taking in the story’s events with the Question in mind until we finally receive the Answer.
In this single paragraph of dialogue, we have the big concepts the story will explore: success, the “right” way to treat others, and whether one is worth sacrificing for the other. Now we know on some level to spend the rest of the story looking for an Answer to this Question.
Is Mark really an asshole? Will he be successful? If he is, will it happen in part because he was a jerk? Will it be worth it?
Again, I love this so much because right off the bat we are asking ourselves insightful questions about the world at large and the story specifically. We are reflecting on interesting nuances within the world in which we live and within ourselves.
That’s good storytelling.
The Middle
WHEN
When does the middle of the bridge happen? The answer is exactly what you’d expect. It happens in the middle of the story.
Your story’s events will give evidence one way or the other for your story’s Question, preparing the audience for the Answer they will receive at the story’s end.
WHAT
In the middle of The Social Network, we gather evidence for Mark’s relationships and his successes (the two things posed in the Question).
Specifically, his friendship with Eduardo - the closest relationship he has in his life. Mark has already lost his girlfriend, so we can gather Eduardo’s is the big relationship that will be put to the test. It is what is at stake.
Also, we see Mark begin to experience success with Facebook (a crucial event as the story’s theme centers around success).
We also meet Sean Parker.
In last week’s post, I discussed using multiple characters in a story to explore and strengthen its theme. Sean Parker does exactly this. He has decided - and therefore represents - that anything is worth sacrificing for success.
But what will Mark decide? As our protagonist, he will ultimately give us the most conclusive answer to the Question posed in the story’s beginning.
This encompasses the middle of the story’s bridge. Let’s move onto the Answer.
The Answer
WHEN
Yes, we know the Answer comes at the end of the story, but when exactly?
In order to pack the most punch, the Answer comes during the climax of the story. More specifically, the Climactic Moment.
This is when everything is revealed, when all the cards are on the table, and when we get the full brunt of the story’s theme.
WHAT
In my opinion, The Social Network’s climactic scene is what makes it so great. We’ve gathered evidence in order to answer the story’s Question, now the time has come. Likely, we have formed our own conclusions.
But what about our protagonist? What does he think? Was success worth sacrificing his relationships? Is he really an asshole?
(Note: the most climactic moment of a story is the apex of the protagonist’s character arc. It is when they complete their transformation, and that’s what I’ll be focusing on here. This may or may not happen in tandem with the story’s climactic moment. I.e. when the plot comes to a head.)
Let’s take a look at the last scene in The Social Network, and see if we get an Answer to the Question posed at the beginning of the story’s bridge.
Mark: “I’m not a bad guy.”
Marilyn (one of the attorneys in his case): “I know that. When there’s emotional testimony, I assume that 85 percent of it is exaggeration.”
They discuss the case and what will happen next.
Marilyn: “You’re not an asshole, Mark. You’re just trying so hard to be.”
She leaves. Mark looks up his former girlfriend on Facebook (the one from the Inciting Incident) and sends her a friend request. He refreshes his browser again and again, waiting for her to accept.
This is the final shot of the film:
Aah! I seriously geek out over this. It’s SO GOOD.
We can conclude from both Mark’s dialogue and his behavior in this moment that he has decided success was not worth the cost of his relationships. He’d rather not be an asshole. He is alone and unhappy (strategically in this moment and in the larger sense).
BUT, it’s not explicitly stated.
We get to draw our own conclusions based on the evidence presented over the course of the story and this Answer to the story’s opening Question. His Character Arc is complete. His transformation finalized.
The fastest way to write a strong story is with an effective outline that plots your novel’s beating heart.
In Outline Your Novel, you’ll learn exactly what these beats are, why they matter, and how to outline them effectively to make your story sing.
