http:\/\/www.donnellannbell.com\/youre-not-a-cop-till-you-taste-them\/<\/a><\/p>\nMore often than not, short stories leave me feeling unsatisfied, even when they’re more than 5000 words in length. I used to think that short stories left me flat because they didn’t have the space to develop 3-act structure or the time for me to invest emotionally in the tale. But “You’re Not a Cop Till You Taste Them” proved to me that a short story could truly satisfy. How did it accomplish its task?<\/p>\n
I used to think of three-act structure as the essence of a story, but now I think it’s more a side-effect. My current theory is that a story is two decisions connected by a journey: the first is the “Fateful Decision” and the second is the “Climactic Decision.” The “Fateful Decision” is a decision made by the protagonist which determines whether or not there will be a story. The classic example is the Matrix, when Neo has to choose between the red and the blue pill. The “Climactic Decision” is also a choice between one of two things. One decision gives the protagonist an easy way out. He\/she can get what she\/he wants, but has to sacrifice his\/her principles a little bit. The other choice is fraught with possible danger and\/or martyrdom. When the protagonist chooses this option, he\/she becomes worthy of achieving her\/his goal and the resolution can follow.<\/p>\n
The Fateful Decision in “You’re Not a Cop Till You Taste Them” comes in paragraph 5, when the protagonist decides to ask the tall grey-haired officer what it means to say you aren’t a hero till you “taste them.” We now know what the hero wants, and thus the story begins.<\/p>\n
The Climactic Decision comes in paragraph 9, when the protagonist decides to stop and see if the little girl is having any trouble. Key details make this moment important: (1) only five minutes remain until the end of the shift, and it’s been a hard day, (2) there’s no good reason for him to think the girl’s in trouble. It would be easy for the hero to justify driving home and having a beer. By choosing to stop, he proves that he’s not just a good police officer, but an exceptionally committed one.<\/p>\n
The rest of the story is resolution, the consequence of the hero’s choices. He gets what he wanted, namely to know what “tasting them” meant. It’s a hard price, and so when the grey-haired police officer assures the hero that, “There was nothing you could have done differently.” We feel the bittersweet reward in all its fullness. The hero is no longer a rookie.<\/p>\n