The most fundamental way to layer the art + science of story seamlessly together is by rooting everything in a character’s desire.

1. The desire (I refer to the desire as the Want in the main Storytelling Magic program, but both terms can be used), to be most effective, is rooted in a -
   

2. wound - something from their past that has colored their worldview and affected their choices, guiding the course of their life.
   

3. From that wound, we get emotional honesty. This is the story art.
   
   Emotional honesty is simply a set of emotions that are real and honest for the storyteller. We know whether or not they were honest based on how the story (and the character experiencing the emotions) impacts us as a reader. The most impactful stories are the ones that make us feel, and this is accomplished when emotions come from an honest place within the storyteller.
   
   A storyteller can only create a truly impactful character once they are willing to tap into this set of emotions.
   

4. Finally, the desire, along with its set of correlating emotions - both of which have stemmed from the character’s wound - circle back in the climax.

 Why does this work?

Put simply, this technique works so well because readers like to be challenged.

My husband works in marketing, and we often discuss why some of his projects that he consults on take off when others don’t.

The answer is that the consumer is challenged…but not too much.

For example, he recently worked on a voice training program that is designed to help singers become better, which it does by making singing an athletic event. Develop more flexibility, strength, and coordination in your vocal cords and you’ll become a better singer. This is a surprising and unexpected approach to singing…but it’s still familiar. It still makes sense.

People crave comfort and familiarity, but they also want to grow and be challenged.

This explains why the “3 layers down” rule works so well. When you go three layers down with a character’s emotion, you arrive at something unexpected. Something that will challenge and surprise readers…but not too much.

It’s still just an emotion. It’s still relatable. Something the reader has almost certainly experienced, just perhaps not in that context.

This technique literally engages a reader’s brain psychologically. It invests them in the story more.

So the technique has a whole array of benefits going for it!

It engages the storyteller by forcing them to dig deeper with their character and craft and by making them confront unexpected emotions from a place of honesty.

And it engages the reader for the same reasons. That surprise, however subtle it may be, catches our attention. It grips us, and it makes us more likely to remember the experience of reading the story.