joshglasser's blog

What makes a story timeless? Recent research suggests that every enduring story has a few common components. There needs to be a setting: agreed-upon facts or rules that provide context and set the scene. There must be a plot with a beginning, middle, and end, and a moral point that the audience finds compelling. Most of all, there have to be recognizable characters: a villain to cause trouble, a set of victims who suffer at the hands of the villain, and a hero (perhaps flawed in his or her own right) to step in and save the day.