It's author, James Harris, has put together a Periodic Table of Storytelling, complete with Identifier, Trope name and Popularity factor measured in kilowiks (thousands of links to its page via the wiki). First off, the kilowik belongs up there with the jigowatt as a cool measure of power. Also, not only is the Table very pleasing to the eye, it also represents a spectacularly creative way of looking at the storytelling world.
First off, the bottom of the page reminds us about the basis of chemistry, which is that elements seek to assemble and react off each other. This is exactly what Harris' Periodic Table encourages: assemble these elements into storytelling molecules and voila! You have the core of a story.
I firmly believe in the power of framework. Like recipes, frameworks are tools you can use to build your own story. The same framework will be used by different authors to construct different stories. It's not something to be feared or neglected. Just because you have a recipe doesn't mean you can cook, but it shows you the way and it helps you reach your goal. Frameworks let you concentrate on the flesh of your story, where the blood flows and where life is born. The bones are just the carcass, there to support the rest. That's what a framework is.
So when Harris' presents storytelling as building blocks, it breaks down the barriers that prevent people from attempting to write in the first place. It lets you see storytelling as something you can build, change, play with and fine tune. It presents a story as a living entity, able to adapt and to connect with other stories, thoughts or people. It shows you stories as the natural occurrence of everyday combinations. It puts stories within people's reach.
Beyond the sheer endurance that Harris must have deployed to put together this fantastic Periodic Table, it's the crystal clear vision that the man has for narrative that really blew my mind. You have to love stories deeply in order to be able to break them down so well, so thoroughly and so concisely. It takes affection for the medium and the form. Well done James.
Stories can be built. Stories can be assembled. Like any structure, it then requires polish and adjustment in order for the pieces to fit together seamlessly. That is where a writer's voice shines through. Some spend hours and days trying to re-invent the classic three act plot, while others write on the shoulders of giants and tell their stories high and loud.
To each his own. For me, it's just about the chemistry.
