WOARO and Story

Over the years, I’ve tried many approaches to story. Some were complex, others overly formulaic. Ultimately, I found WOARO (Want, Obstacle, Action, Response, Outcome) is the most straightforward yet powerful framework for discussing and crafting engaging stories.

WOARO distills storytelling into its essential elements, providing a flexible tool for all forms and genres: film, television, short stories, novels, narrative poems…almost anything.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ It also can be applied to any part of the story: scenes, sequences, acts, or series. 

So let’s explore what WOARO is, why it’s effective, and how to apply it in your writing.

How I got to WOARO

When it comes to stories, there are many approaches with different terminologies.

Plenty of guides are out there to help writers, suggesting multiple plot points that you must hit on specific pages.

But I find all this overcomplicates the idea of storytelling and plot—or makes it too formulaic.

That was when I discovered Jerry Cleaver’s Immediate Fiction, which broke the story into a simple formula:

Conflict + Action + Resolution = Story

I took this and developed the idea through teaching and practice to end up with WOARO.

( Want/ Obstacle) + ( Action/ Response) + Outcome = Story

To put it into story form:

A character wants something, but an obstacle stands in her way. Therefore, she takes action, which gets a response, creating conflict. She will continue taking new actions and facing new responses until she comes to an outcome that is either positive or negative.

A breakdown of each piece

Before we dive into how WOARO works and why it's effective, let's break down each element:

Want

These are the goals that drive your characters, and two types occur in a story:

• External: These wants operate within the boundaries of the story and push it forward. It is often what the audience expects from your story: get the treasure, find the killer, get the romantic love interest. They are external and specific, pushing your character to take action and propel the story forward.
• Internal: These operate often beneath the main story but carry more weight. These are the big character goals that move with us through life, like happiness, love, wealth, power, or status. They are internal and abstract and not always defined by a concrete goal. They rarely can be fully achieved.

We must create wants that are dramatic, so our story engages with the audience. The thought of not achieving it must feel unbearable.

Lastly, the want is the flag you, as a writer, set in the ground to signal the end of your story.

Obstacle

The want can’t exist in a vacuum. There is always something in conflict with want.

Obstacles can be other people with separate wants, actions, and responses. They can also be inner desires, drives, or ghosts that haunt a character’s past. And of course, they can be anything that stops a character's progress such as walls, holes, or animals.

The resolution of an obstacle leads to an outcome.

By understanding and showing want and obstacle in a story or scene, good storytellers can orientate their audience in its telling.

Action

Actions are what a character does or says to get what they want. These are the moment-by-moment actions and dialogue that you show on the page.

Whatever a character does in your story has an intention to get or do something. They are always trying to achieve something, even if it’s to be left alone or to do nothing.

Actions are active and often being done to someone or something else. For example, Tom hits Bill, Sally kisses Greg, or Bob breaks the wall.

With scriptwriting, we must place these actions on the page. They must be external.

Response

Actions need a response. Responses are the consequence of the hero or villain taking an action. There are two levels of responses:

• An external response, like fighting, yelling, running away.
• An internal response, like emotions or internal thoughts.

When writing for the screen, we focus on showing external responses. Internal responses are the focus of the director and actor.

When creating protagonists, we should focus on active characters, but sometimes stories give us passive ones that only respond to the world around them. However, if you’re a student in my class, I will always expect you to write active characters.

Lastly, wants, actions, and responses all define a character.

Outcome

The outcome occurs when the want is either achieved or isn’t (win or lose) at the end of the story.

It happens when our characters achieve their want, or reach the limits of their resources and abilities when no further responses or actions can be taken.

Remember that wanting never ends. Even if the character achieves their goal or fails to do so, their desire persists in some form.

Lastly, whatever the outcome is, it must be shown on the page. Some stories will hide it, but unless there is a thematic reason, this choice can come off as lazy or indecisive. As writers, we should always do the hard emotional work to make those choices and show it.

Why WOARO Works

The beauty of WOARO is its simplicity. It's neither complicated nor formulaic. I find it easy to teach and use, and it's an effective tool for almost any story problem, regardless of genre.

• It offers a balance between plot and character. Stories are driven and shaped by character’s wants and actions.
• It creates a self-contained piece of the action. We know a scene or story is complete when the want is achieved or failed to be achieved.
• Because it is self-contained, it can grow and be reshaped to fit a 2-3 page scene, an act, a story, or up to a TV series or multi-film story arc.
• Finally, it reflects all human actions. We all have wants, take actions, and get responses, and all of these things define our character.

Using WOARO to Build Out Story

WOARO isn't just for individual scenes—it's a versatile framework for shaping entire narratives. Understanding how WOARO scales and nests can help you structure more dynamic, layered stories.

Scaling WOARO

Micro to Macro

WOARO can be used to grow a story from its smallest elements to its largest. Start with a single WOARO cycle in a scene, then expand and connect these cycles to build larger narrative structures:

• Scene Level: Build out individual scenes.
• Sequence Level: Shape a series of connected scenes.
• Act Level: Build those scenes across an act.
• Full Story: Apply WOARO to the entire narrative, from beginning to end.
• Series: Build each episode into a season or many seasons.

Macro to Micro

Or you can go the other way:

• Start with the overall story WOARO, then break it down into acts, sequences, and scenes.
• Each smaller unit should contribute to and reflect aspects of the larger WOARO structure.

Flexibility in WOARO

WOARO can be applied flexibly to suit different storytelling needs:

1. Nesting
   • WOARO structures can be nested within each other, showing how wants evolve and sub-goals emerge.
   • Example: A cop wants to do good in his community (overall Want). He encounters a criminal and fails to stop them. This creates a new, nested Want: to catch this specific criminal. The cop still wants to do good overall, but now has a more immediate focus.
   • Any WOARO element can contain its own complete WOARO structure:
     • An action/response might require its own WOARO cycle.
   • Nesting can occur within a single scene, across a sequence, or over the course of the entire story.
2. Episodic
   • Use self-contained WOARO units with a consistent overarching want.
   • Each episode or chapter can have its own complete WOARO structure.
   • The overarching want provides continuity across episodes.
   • Example: A detective series where each episode features a new case (WOARO unit), but the detective's overall want to solve crimes remains constant.
3. Interconnected
   • WOARO elements flow between scenes and acts for a tightly woven narrative.
   • Each WOARO element leads naturally to the next, creating a chain of cause and effect.
   • The Outcome of one WOARO cycle often becomes the Want or Obstacle of the next.
   • Example: In a thriller, the protagonist's actions to overcome one obstacle lead directly to new complications and wants, driving the story forward.

Tips for Effective WOARO Implementation

1. Ensure each WOARO element, regardless of scale, serves the overall story.
2. Use WOARO to identify and eliminate unnecessary scenes or plot elements.
3. Regularly examine how your micro-WOARO structures support your macro-WOARO.
4. Use WOARO as a diagnostic tool when your story feels unbalanced or lacks drive.

WOARO's versatility in scaling, nesting, and application makes it a powerful tool for crafting compelling narratives, from individual scenes to complex, multi-act stories.

Considerations about using WOARO

Should you always use WOARO?

No. It's valuable to understand it, because it can help build your story or solve a story problem, but you may only want to use it when your story isn't working.

Is WOARO the only way to go?

No, there are plenty of different approaches to storytelling. However, most follow a similar model because WOARO-like structures create engagement with the audience and are prevalent in Western storytelling.

There are alternative forms that explore anti-plot, no plot, or non-causality. These are valid and interesting approaches to storytelling.

However, I believe it’s valuable to master the fundamentals first. Understanding these basics provides a solid foundation to explore and experiment with other forms more effectively.

For beginners and students in my class, we’ll focus on these fundamentals. This structure will serve you well, whether you remain with it or experiment later in your writing journey.

There’s always room for creativity. Elements like open-endings and non-linear structures can be incorporated effectively.

If you choose to use these, be prepared to explain how they enhance your story and why you made those choices.

Remember: Knowing the rules well allows you to bend or break them more purposefully and effectively when the time comes.

Putting WOARO into Practice: Essential Questions to Ask

Whether you're planning out your story or trying to identify and resolve issues in your draft, the WOARO framework can help you craft a compelling narrative. By asking the right questions and examining each element closely, you can strengthen your story and keep readers engaged from start to finish.

Consider the following questions as you apply WOARO to your writing process:

1. Want:
   • Who wants what?
   • Where is the want on the page? Can it be stronger? Can it appear earlier?
2. Obstacle:
   • Where is the obstacle? Where does it appear?
   • Can it be introduced earlier? Can it be stronger? Can it be impossible to ignore?
3. Action:
   • What's the action? Where is it?
   • Can it appear earlier? Can it be more assertive or direct against the obstacle and towards the want?
4. Response:
   • What's the character or world’s response to the action?
   • How does it affect the direction of the story?
5. Outcome:
   • What is the outcome?
   • Do you show it?
   • Does the character get what they want? Why does it happen? If they don’t get it, why not?

Whether you're outlining a new story or revising an existing draft, asking these questions can help you craft your story into something resonant and impactful.

Remember

WOARO (Want, Obstacle, Action, Response, Outcome) offers you a streamlined approach to storytelling that balances plot and character development.

• It’s a flexible tool, not a rigid formula
• It can be applied to scenes, acts, or entire stories
• Use it to diagnose and improve your writing when needed
• Most importantly, it is a reflection of who we are as human beings

Remember WOARO is just one of many storytelling approaches, but its strength lies in its simplicity and adaptability.

As you continue to develop your writing craft, always consider it when trying to get to the heart and soul of your story.