Story Particles
Below is an incomplete list of what Philip Pullman calls “story particles” (AKA image schemas or experiential gestalts). I first read about them in Pullman’s Daemon Voices [1]. Check out Pullman’s essays called “The Writing of Stories” and “Poco a Poco”. In short, story particles are fundamental building blocks of human experience that require context for emotional coloring.
Like all things with storytelling, this is nothing new. But it is an observation not often talked about. I plan to write a brief and pratcial introduction to image schemas in a series of posts on metaphor at some point. Meanwhile, here’s the main idea: Use this list to structure the emotional events of a story. Repeat the structure with variations to make your point.
The list below has image schemas with their “opposites”. Keep in mind how this can be used as a tool to create conflict, change, and contrast. I built this list from my own observations and from a variety of sources including Daemon Voices [1], The Literary Mind [2], Metaphors We Live By [3], and More Than Cool Reason [4]. I’ll update this as I discover new ones.
| Story Particles |
|---|
| pouring (container, source, what is poured?, where is it poured?, why?) |
| moving away / moving toward (attraction, repulsion) |
| pulling apart / putting together (building, taking apart) |
| opening / closing |
| growing / stagnant |
| push / pull |
| going out / coming in (of what container?) |
| moving upwards / downwards (up/down of internal experience) |
| getting smaller / larger |
| carrying something |
| holding something |
| striking something, knocking, tapping |
| cutting, separating / linking, merging |
| giving (handing something to someone) / taking, stealing |
| reflection, mirroring, echoing |
| journey (source, path, goal) |
| balance (equilibrium) |
| repetition, cycles |
| lightening / darkening |
| giving / taking |
| creating / destroying |
| heating / cooling, burning |
| turning, spinning (cycles) |
| container (interior, exterior, surface) |
| stuck, bound / unstuck, free |
| lost / found |
| hiding / showing, revealing |
| getting clearer / unclear, foggier |
| going faster / slower |
| controlling (grasping) / not controlling |
| understanding (grasping, holding) |
| getting louder / quieter, silence |
| saving / throwing away (holding / letting go) |
| chasing / running from |
| getting heavier / lighter |
| blending, mixing, stirring something (cycles) |
| softening / hardening |
| holding on / letting go (contraint / release) |
| awakening / sleeping |
| death / birth, rebirth (creation / destruction) (leaving and never returning) |
| searching for something and finding |
| hurting / healing |
| same / different (comparision, reflection) |
| hesitation, uncertainty / decisive, certain |
| wonder, curiosity / closed-minded, fear |
| belief / disbelief |
| time (before / after) |
| dropping something (height, up / down) |
| rougher / smoother |
| collection, group / single, alone |
| contact / no contact (touching, communication) |
| waiting for something |
| stationary / motion |
| resting -- stationary / motion -- healing, recovering |
| scaling something (getting bigger / smaller) |
| inward / outward (oku) |
| spacing (ma) |
| wider / narrower |
| tangible, real / intangible, fake ... celestial, otherworldly, imagined |
| between two or more things (twilight) |
| near / far |
| container (interior, exterior, surface) |
| center / periphery (balance) |
| left / right |
| straight / curved |
| forced / spontaneous |
| degree of intensity |