When building a cathedral, you cannot help but be aware of the components of what you’re making. Bricks, wood and glass. A heavy foundation. Loadbearing walls and pillars. Beams and arches designed to hold up more than just what’s above them. (Please keep in mind, I don’t actually know anything about cathedral construction.) But when you’re viewing a cathedral, walking through it, or around it, these aren’t the things you notice. What you see are its features. The nave and transept. Spires and buttresses. Stained-glass windows, bell towers and crypts.

In the previous post, we discussed the components of Story. Today, we’ll be looking at Story’s features. As with a cathedral (and again, I know VERY little about architecture), where components build the Story into what it is, its features define it in the minds of its readers.

So what are the features of a story then? Or to put it another way, what features do all stories share?