{"id":95606,"date":"2023-03-15T21:03:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T01:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=95606"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:29:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:29:18","slug":"what-makes-a-story-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-makes-a-story-good\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes a Story \u201cGood\u201d? Robert McKee Explains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes a story good? What basic human longing does it fulfill, and how does it fulfill it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert McKee began teaching stories in a university class and has since become one of the most sought-after lecturers on the topic. In his book Story<\/em>, he discusses why people love stories<\/a> and shows writers how to take advantage of this obsession. He also explains why writers should learn story theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn McKee’s ideas on what makes a story good as well as the purpose of story theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0Shortform\u2019s guide to storytelling<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crafting a Good Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Humans are drawn to stories, whether we hear them from our friends, movies, books, TV shows, plays, or any number of other mediums. But, what makes a good story<\/a> so compelling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKee argues that, contrary to popular belief, we don\u2019t seek out stories primarily as a way to escape our boring or unpleasant reality. Rather, we\u2019re obsessed with stories because they fill a core human need: We need to find <\/strong>meaning<\/em><\/strong>, truth about the world that influences how we live our lives. <\/strong>When we encounter new meaning, it\u2019s an intense, emotionally satisfying experience, and it\u2019s a craving for this experience that motivates us to seek stories. The best stories are rich in meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In Man\u2019s Search for Meaning<\/em><\/a>, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl takes this idea further, arguing that meaning is more than a core human need\u2014it\u2019s the strongest motivating force in life<\/a> for everyone. People who feel like they\u2019re doing something important in life are happier, healthier, and can endure any amount of suffering, as long as they believe that pain is serving a greater purpose. Frankl explains that anything you find important can fill this need for meaning<\/a>. With this in mind, we can see stories as tools that humans use to create meaningful lives. Truths told to us through stories help us identify what matters to us, making our subsequent actions feel more meaningful.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since stories are meant to fill the human need for meaning, McKee asserts that good stories are always true to life<\/em>. This doesn\u2019t mean that good stories have to be something that could realistically occur\u2014rather, every detail in a good story reflects life as it truly is.<\/strong> For example, even though Pixar\u2019s Finding Nemo<\/em> is about a talking clownfish, it\u2019s true to life in the way it reflects how a father traumatized by the death of his wife would truly react if his son was kidnapped. If, instead, the clownfish Marlin were to flippantly laugh about losing his son (perhaps a screenwriter\u2019s attempt at a joke) the story would no longer be true to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKee explains that even stories that are totally detached from reality convey truth about life. For example, a surrealist film in which characters change form and random events occur may convey that life is fundamentally absurd and has no unifying meaning\u2014yet this in itself is still a truth about life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nietzsche\u2019s Argument for Subjective Truth in Art<\/strong>

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche disagrees with McKee\u2019s assumptions here, arguing in multiple books that it\u2019s impossible to accurately understand and express truth. Instead, art is valuable because it creates the illusion<\/em> of expressing truth<\/a>\u2014the illusion that life is ordered and meaningful when in reality it\u2019s neither of these things.

However, despite disagreeing with McKee\u2019s assumptions, Nietzsche does agree with his conclusion\u2014that we should attempt<\/em> to create art that expresses a universal truth about life.

Nietzsche argues that, as long as your art creates the comforting, subjective illusion of truth, it\u2019s a worthwhile, meaningful pursuit. This is because the alternative\u2014using pure rationality to discover meaning in life\u2014is a depressing and ultimately fruitless endeavor.

Judging by this philosophy, it\u2019s possible that, ironically, Nietzsche may have preferred Finding Nemo<\/em> to a surrealistic, nihilistic art house film. If the surrealist film represents (in Nietzsche\u2019s view) a more rational yet pessimistic attitude toward life, it may have less existential utility than the more superficially meaningful Pixar film.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Purpose of Story Theory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

McKee argues that writers must learn story theory<\/em>: what elements of a story<\/a> make it meaningful and why. These aren\u2019t rules dictating what you can and can\u2019t write\u2014rather, they\u2019re an explanation of what elements in a story give the audience meaning and how they do so.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to McKee, an understanding of story theory helps you write good stories in two ways. First, it clarifies the ideal writing process. When you have a process you can trust, you\u2019re free to let your imagination run wild in the world of the story instead of constantly worrying about whether you\u2019re \u201cdoing it right.\u201d Second, story theory is necessary to understand how a story functions after you\u2019ve written it. In this way, it helps you diagnose which parts of your story work and which you need to revise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: These two benefits of story theory have one thing in common\u2014they encourage you to write without judging what you\u2019re writing as right or wrong. However, many writers try to use story theory to achieve the opposite: To determine what the \u201cright\u201d story events are while they\u2019re writing. This often involves rigid story formulas and results in stories that feel mechanical<\/a> and fail to reflect life as it is. For example, a writer might misuse story theory by thinking, \u201cI need an Act One climax on page 30 of my script. What crazy thing could happen then?\u201d Take care not to think in terms of abstract story principles while you\u2019re writing\u2014only while you\u2019re revising.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What makes a story good? What basic human longing does it fulfill, and how does it fulfill it? Robert McKee began teaching stories in a university class and has since become one of the most sought-after lecturers on the topic. In his book Story, he discusses why people love stories and shows writers how to take advantage of this obsession. He also explains why writers should learn story theory. Continue reading to learn McKee’s ideas on what makes a story good as well as the purpose of story theory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":39997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,9],"tags":[938],"class_list":["post-95606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-psychology","tag-story","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Makes a Story \u201cGood\u201d? Robert McKee Explains - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Humans are drawn to stories. But, what makes a good story so compelling? 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