Against the wall: 36 situations

In movies and works of fiction there is only one possible outcome to the story at hand and that is the best way according to the director/writer. And to be honest: any other way would probably be artificial. Which is no surprise. According to ancient theatre writers there are only 36 situations we base our stories on. And with situations I mean action demanding situations like 'Disaster' (situation number 2), 'Murderous adultery' (situations number 15), 'Slaying a kinsman unrecognized' (situation number 19), 'Rivalry of superior and inferior' (situation number 24), 'Obstacles to love' (situation number 28), 'Loss of loved ones' (situation number 36).

The German poets Goethe and Schiller tried to find a 37th situation but they had to admit they failed at the task. Strangely enough there are other people who believe there are over a million situations we can base our stories on. So they say. And they have based their opinion on research and story-describing formulas that seem almost mathematical. Don't be fooled by them. There may be a million possible story situations, but there are only a limited number of interesting situations. Exciting situations. Thrilling situations. Sensual situations. And that's one of the reasons why interactive fiction and games are so hard to create.

Hitchcock's favorite situation was number 33: 'Erroneous judgement''. In a lot of his films a man is accused of something he has not done and as a result he has to flee while trying to proof his innocence. In interviews Hitchcock stated that this situation is extremely powerful to let an audience experience suspense, because it knows the main character is not guilty and that's why everybody feels for him. With every turn he takes. The result is the greatest amount of effect with the least amount of effort.

'Against the wall' could be based on one of those situations, depending on the things the main character has done or is about to do. It could be number 33, the same situation Hitchcock liked to use or it could be 'Falling prey to cruelty or misfortune' (number 7). But these situations only explain how the story started.

Now picture this: you're standing with your back against the wall and you're about to be executed. Maybe you are as guilty as sin and maybe not. Anyway in this brief moment before the bullet hits you, you think about all the things you could have done but never did. Which would make it 'Remorse' (situation 34). Or maybe you know you will be executed tomorrow and you believe this is your last day on earth. But you want to do something about it. As in real live, there may be a dozen things to do, and some of these thing may lead to your escape from this horrible situation. Which makes it a 'Daring enterprise' (situation number 9).

But although there may be only a limited number of interesting stories, the ways one can tell a story is unlimited. So one could write a children's version of the above mentioned story where our hero escapes the evil prison and lives happily ever after, or it could be a communist version, or it could be a catholic allegory where the prison guard is the personification of all evil. It's up to you. But the basic dramatic situation is the same.