Rollercoaster Storytelling
Why every story should feel like riding a rollercoaster, as long as it’s a good one...
My husband and I have recently been looking at holidays. Normally, we’re up for warm seas, relaxing beaches and leisurely lunches, but in the interest of trying something different we’re looking at Florida. Yes, the home of theme parks, afternoon storms and six-foot mice is calling our names. So recently I’ve spent a lot of time watching YouTubes about all things Disney while trying to plan the perfect trip. Which sounds easy, except that while I like log flumes and stunt shows, if he’s not being dangled upside down over an open flame, he’s really not interested.
Anyway, it got me thinking about how our preferences for which rollercoasters to ride vary as much as our preferences for which books to read. And maybe there’s something to be learned from rollercoasters that I can incorporate into my writing.
Quick note: if you’ve never been to a Disney theme park - or have no interest in doing so - this blog is still for you. There’s good stuff in here, I promise, I’m just using rides and rollercoasters as an analogy.
The Magic of Disney Stories
Disney has long been a master of storytelling. For decades they’ve dominated just about every aspect of our lives with tales of good overcoming evil. Their stories map perfectly onto the seven basic plots of storytelling but, as all good writers know, it takes more than a great plot to make a great book.
And a great story doesn’t necessary make for a great rollercoaster.
Let me explain.
The Queue
No matter what ride you choose, you’ll need to join a queue. A Disney queue features elaborately themed architecture that brings you into the world of the ride and introduces loveable characters with rich backstories. By the time you step foot into your ride vehicle, you’re primed to get the most enjoyment out of the ride itself.
When writing, we ask our readers to wait in a queue before we start the story properly. The ride queue is our Act One, where our reader steps into our world, meets the protagonists and antagonists, and experiences the inciting incident, thus preparing them for the fun and games of Act Two.
Top Tip! Don’t keep your reader waiting as long as some of the Disney queues. A five minute queue for a 20 minute ride is great, but a 90 minute queue for a three minute ride — Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, I’m looking at you — often results in grumpy riders or people skipping the ride entirely. For a writer, that’s the difference between great reviews and repeat custom, or bad reviews and dwindling sales.
The Ride
The ride itself is Act Two and Act Three. It’s the point of no return, the finale and everything in between. Just like every book is different, every ride is different, although Disney rides tend to fall into four categories: flat rides, dark rides, gravity rides and simulators.
Flat rides, like Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, tend to spin you around and leave you feeling like you didn’t actually go anywhere. Since they’re often open air and well lit, you can see where you’ve been and where you’re going, and what’s coming is just more of what you’ve already done.
A story written as a flat ride is perfectly fine. It demands nothing of your reader but offers little in return other than a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. But how often do you re-ride an attraction like this? Exactly. You don’t. A book written like a flat ride isn’t getting re-read and it risks a reader not bothering to pick up the next book you write either. After all, it’s probably going to be more of the same.
Dark Rides do what they say on the tin - the aim is you can’t see what’s coming, but this can vary. Some, like Pirates of the Caribbean, will take you on a gentle ride with small drops and wide turns, but have multiple scenes and rich stories that stay with you way past the end of the ride. Others, like Splash Mountain, lull you into a false sense of security through elaborately positioned red herrings before suddenly throwing you down a multi-storey drop when you least expect it.
A story written like a dark ride keeps a reader turning the page to see what happens next while enjoying a good old romp. It’s full of mystery but plays fair with the reader/rider, giving them teasers about what’s coming and the chance to figure it out for themselves. This sort of book gets people reading everything you’ve already written as well as being first in the queue for your next one.
Gravity Rides, like the recently opened Tron Lightcycle Run, is about high speeds, tight twists and a race to the finish. There’s a sense of urgency that keeps the heart rate up and, while you’re unlikely to get huge loops or inversions, these rides occasionally send you hurtling off in an unexpected direction.
A story written like a gravity ride keeps the reader on their toes with faster pace, higher tension and a desperate need to finish the book in a single sitting. Whether that’s because the reader “has to know” how it ends or doesn’t want to sleep with the light on doesn’t really matter, but if it’s both you’ve probably written a bestseller that your reader will recommend to all their friends.
Simulators are all about full immersion. Take Muppet Vision 3D or It’s Tough To Be A Bug as examples where a rider sits in an auditorium but their seat moves, they get sprayed with water, different smells are pumped around and they often wear 3D glasses so that spiders or pies pop out at them from the screen.
A story written like a simulator will be all encompassing, where the reader feels like they’re actually in the book, in the world, and they don’t want to leave. You’ve engaged all their senses and, providing the plot is good, they’ll keep coming back for more.
And Back to Reality
There’s no cunningly placed gift shop here, so head straight outside and talk about the ride - what you liked, what you didn’t, how it compared to your expectations and whether you want to go right back to the start of the queue to do it all again.
So what ride works best for a book? If you look at any one ride type in isolation, it’s probably either a dark ride or a gravity ride. But in reality the best ride — and the best book —is the whole theme park. No one goes to Disney World to only ride Haunted Mansion, even if it is your favourite*.
You want a little bit of everything to get the best experience. So here’s my rollercoaster guide to writing a great book...
Start with an immersive, but short, queue. Introduce your characters and their world. Make your reader care about them and want to join them on the ride. Set the story and the backstory so that your reader is not just ready, but eager, to take the next step and turn the next page.
Then while on the ride…
Have ‘flat’ moments in between the action. Let your characters pause and reflect on what has happened to them. Let your readers breathe and try to predict what’s still to come.
Have ‘dark’ moments to keep the reader guessing. Now’s the time to throw in your red herrings, hide clues in obvious places and employ a few twists and turns so the story isn’t a straight run.
Work with gravity for taller peaks and deeper troughs. Vary the pace and ratchet up the tension. Let your characters rise, then make them fall.
Make your story 3D. Show and tell. Engage all the reader's senses, not just sight. Let them hear the parade, smell the popcorn, feel the velvet seats and taste the ice cream.
One final note
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other way that a story is similar to a rollercoaster - the writing process.
The queue is you getting a great idea, jotting down some notes and maybe even coming up with a zero draft. You’re excited, you’re raring to go and you can’t wait until you can start getting real words down on real paper.
Then the ride starts and you’re thrown up, down and sideways until you can’t remember your own name and keeping your dinner down is an impossibility. Yep, that’s how it goes. And it follows the same principles that I’ve outlined above. There will be flat moments, there will be dark moments, there will be peaks and troughs. But there will also be an end, when you get off the writing ride with your legs trembling and you have to make the decision whether once is enough or you want to go again.
I think you already know the answer to that one.