Stories come to an end for one of two reasons: the characters either run out of time or they run out of options. Being told that there are only two ways of bringing about the end of a story can seem very stifling to an author; how can you possibly reduce the entirety of narrative fiction down to an either/or choice?

As with all things, a slight change in perspective can make all the difference.

It is true that when it comes to the Story Limit there are only two choices: a Timelock or an Optionlock. But there are different degrees of subtly that can be had when looking at this part of a story. It all comes down to where you place your focus on that Story Limit.

Timelocks

Take for instance, the Timelock. You can look at a Timelock as either a deadline or a duration of time. It’s a subtle thing, but one that speaks to the elegance that can be had with a slight change of perspective.

The first kind of Timelock, the deadline, has you focusing on what is lacking (the deadline that has not yet been met); the second, the duration of time, has you focusing on what is there (the hours that are quickly ticking away). Armageddon¹ has more of the latter: there are only 18 days left to save the Earth from ultimate destruction. While that could be viewed as a deadline, the true focus in that story is on the time that is quickly running out. Notice how many times Billy Bob Thornton’s Truman peers through sweat-stained eyebrows at the glowing LCD clock slowly ticking away his own mortality - that’s a Timelock focused on a duration of time. If the thought of Armageddon makes you cringe, think of 48 Hours with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte.

This is in contrast to movies that come to an end because of a deadline, like The Philadelphia Story starring Cary Grant. Here the focus is on the all-important wedding taking place at noon on Saturday. The characters focus their attention on that impending appointment rather than on the hours ticking away. High Noon would be another good example of this.

Both versions are Timelocks, yet as you can see, both have completely different ways of weaving that limit into the story.

Focus Determines Meaning

This shift in meaning reminds me of a helpful analogy that can be used when trying to determine the Main Character’s Growth. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Main Character’s Growth (what is commonly referred to as their Character Arc) basically clarifies whether the Main Character is moving away from something or growing towards something in their personal growth. If they are moving away from the something their Growth is said to be Stop. Conversely, if they are growing towards something, their Growth is said to be Start.

It’s a subtle difference, but one that can be made easier by imagining the Main Character’s personal issue as being a cup half-filled with either sludge or coins. One kind of Main Character will have you focusing on what is there; the other on what is lacking. The cup filled with sludge resembles the Main Character who focuses on what is there and moves away from it. The cup filled with coins resembles a Main Character who focuses on what is not there and grows towards that emptiness.

As you can see, this analogy can be helpful in determining the kind of Timelock that exists in a story. The Timelock focused on a deadline has the characters focusing on what is lacking, like the cup half-filled with coins. The Timelock focused on a duration of time has the characters focusing on what is there, like the cup half-filled with sludge. 

But what about Optionlocks?

Optionlocks

In an Optionlock story you either have a finite number of options that run out or you have a pre-determined amount of space from which to operate in. As with Timelocks, the difference lies completely in where you wish to focus your audience’s attention.

The first kind of Optionlock, the finite number of options, again has you focusing on what is there. This limit exists in movies like Seven. In that film, serial killer Kevin Spacey methodically works his way through the seven deadly sins. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt know that once that seventh and last sin is visited upon them, the story is officially over.

The other kind of Optionlock Limit exists in stories that are defined spatially. Movies like Rainman or any other road movie where the characters work their way through a pre-defined limited space. In these films the characters can take as long as they want, but when they hit the end, it’s all over for them. As opposed to the first kind of Optionlock which has a set number of objects, these kinds of stories have a set amount of spaces or places that the characters can go through.

Instead of checking things off, as characters would in the first kind of Optionlock, this second one has the characters focusing on how much space they have left; they’re focusing on what is not there, like the cup half-filled with coins. It’s probably more helpful to think of this kind of limit as more of a Spacelock rather than an Optionlock.

Binary Does Not Equal Boring

Spacelock…Optionlock…they both describe the same thing just seen from different angles. Your point of view determines the meaning of what it is you’re looking at. While many of the choices you have to make in writing a story boil down to a seemingly black or white choice, like a Story Outcome of Success or Failure or a Main Character Resolve of Change or Steadfast, the degree with which you can temper that answer rests primarily in how you look at it.

The artistry of your own story lies within your use of the various shades of gray that exist between those choices.

Footnotes for this article

1. Used here as an easy example, NOT as an admission of great storytelling!↩

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