Conventions and Obligatory Moments

As writers, we all struggle to transform the messy raw materials in our minds into stories that will reach readers’ hearts. When it works, it feels like magic.


But what really makes that magic happen?


A few essential components, which Story Grid calls conventions and obligatory moments, can span the distance between writers and readers. It’s those conventions and moments that fulfill readers’ expectations in every story—from gripping action tales to tender romances.


In Conventions and Obligatory Moments, veteran Story Grid editors Kimberly Kessler and Leslie Watts provide the first comprehensive Story Grid guide to these essential elements of the writer’s craft. Kessler and Watts illustrate each concept with examples from classic masterworks, including Treasure Island, Murder on the Orient Express, and Pride and Prejudice. And they situate conventions and obligatory moments within the larger world of the Story Grid methodology, including the Four Core Framework and the Five Commandments of Storytelling. They teach writers precisely how each genre’s conventions set up critical changes, and how obligatory moments pay off those changes to meet readers’ expectations.


Ready to make your own magic?