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Storytelling requires a narrative arc, but the trajectory of a dramatic arc isn't always obvious.
By tracing the abundance of "invisible" words -- pronouns, articles and other short words -- researchers were able to identify patterns shared by a diversity of stories, from Shakespeare to Spielberg, according to a study published Friday in Science Advances.
"Over the years, these 'invisible' words have been found to be related to a whole mess of psychological processes -- how people use small words like articles and pronouns tell us about a person's mental health, thinking style, their social status, and even how well they get along with other people," study lead author Ryan Boyd told UPI.
"In many ways, it was a natural progression to look at what these words can tell us how the nature of stories," said Boyd, a lecturer in behavioral analytics at the University of Leeds.
For the study, Boyd and his colleagues used a range of statistical techniques to analyze the abundance and distribution of invisible words in 40,000 fictional texts, including short stories, novels and movie scripts.
The analysis revealed a common structure -- a so-called narrative curve -- featuring three distinct phases.
During the "staging" phase, authors use prepositions and articles in greater abundance, peppering their prose with "a" and "the." These words are more useful at the beginning, when authors must set the scene and provide the audience with basic information.
The middle phase is defined by plot progression, which is revealed by a greater abundance of auxiliary verbs, adverbs and pronouns -- or interactional language. During this phase, "the house" from the staging phase becomes "her home" or "it."
During the third phase, cognitive tension is ramped up as the narrative arc reaches a climax. As the author guides the reader or viewer through the process of conflict resolution, cognitive-processing words like "think," "believe," "understand" and "cause" begin to crop up in greater numbers.
Researchers found this three-phase narrative shape remained consistent, regardless of a stories length.
"A 25,000 word story has the same shape as a 250 word story," said Boyd, lead author of the new study. "It seems, then, that we are able to do a good job of structuring our stories in an optimal way regardless of how much space we have to do it in."
The researchers set up a website showing the shapes of staging, plot progression and cognitive tension in eight texts at The Arc of Narrative website.
The patterns left by invisible words proved both good and bad stories -- tales spun by amateurs, as well as professionals -- utilize similar structures.
"Our results confirm what people have long believed about stories," Boyd said. "Like DNA, we knew about it long before we could actually see it and measure it. With these new methods, we are able to see and measure the 'DNA' of stories and understand them in more objective, scientific ways."
According to Boyd, studying the patterns of stories can offer insights into cognitive processes unique to humans.
"What these story shapes seem to tell us is that we have, to some degree, evolved to process information in certain ways," he said. "We need to understand the 'who' and 'what' in order to understand the 'why' of our everyday lives and the lives of others."
The authors of the latest story are already mining text for other language patterns that might help researchers determine whether a story-teller is telling the truth, or perhaps reveal the secrets to a "good" story.
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