Brandon_5_Q

“And if you peel any human being’s “want list” back to its core, they all look very much the same. If you want to influence others, to tap into another’s momentum instead of using yours, your best bet is to tap into the things that we all want. If your story can tap into one of the core human needs that we all share, you’ve got yourself some pretty good bait.

I think that if you ask enough questions about any situation, you will eventually get down to the basics of what people “want.” Keep asking “why,” and the answers to the question will continue to become more generic and basic.

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From p.110:

“I want a million dollars.”
Because?
“Then I won’t have to work for someone else.”
Because?
“I don’t like someone else telling me what to do.”
So it isn’t a million dollars that this person wants… it is personal freedom.

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I think this series of questioning can be applied to any story. Eventually, the answer received will be the same basic answer that is received from other stories.

So is there really any story that doesn’t, at its bare roots, apply to something that people want?