Normally a lot of stories, especially in the fantasy and science fiction genre, typically go for a very grand, large-scale story. The stakes are high, the world is in danger, and only the protagonist(s) can save the day. It’s the classic Hero’s Journey formula and raising the stakes is usually always a safe bet for creating some intensity and drama in the story as the lives of hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions is on the line. But often times a smaller scale story can offer a more impactful and memorable story. They can create a much more tense feeling as the stakes feel more grounded and real. If the world is at risk, it’s a bit hard to believe that the protagonist(s) will fail, especially if the book has a sequel. But if the risk is the death or suffering of a family member, love interest, or a friend, that can feel a lot more intense, especially if that relationship is developed early in the story. In a sense, smaller scale stories feel more character focused as usually that’s the main focus of them. Writing a smaller scale story can have a far more effective and lasting impact on the reader if done correctly.
Something that came as a bit of a surprise while reading The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst was that it wasn’t quite what I expected at all. The premise sounds like so many other intense fantasy-based revolution stories. An empire falls and our protagonist is flung from the life they loved, forced to flee with her spellbooks that were illegal for everyday people to use. It sounded like a story where she would have to choose a side and we’d see how the revolution played out. The surprising part was…that didn’t happen. Rather than this grandiose story of rebellion and freedom, we got a nice cozy story of establishing a nice peaceful life and finding oneself. It was such a smaller scale story than I would have expected yet it was incredibly endearing and still engrossing despite choosing not to be a grand and epic adventure. In fact, it was stronger because it was a small-scale story that focused on the life of one person and her community. Every risk that came affected a character that the reader got to know and, to an extent, care about. It’s just a heart-warming story about a small community looking after one another.
It’s no secret that one of my favorite visual novel series is the game called Arknights. I call it a visual novel series because it feels more focused on the stories and characters than the gameplay most of the time. There are so many epic stories involving nations, gods, factions, and various large-scale conflicts, but I often find that my favorite stories are always the smaller, more focused ones. One of the stories I absolutely loved was Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures which focused solely on the plight of a small backwater town on the verge of economic collapse. Our protagonist, Jessica Brynley, witnesses the tragic lives of people just struggling to make ends meet and keep their town alive. The conflict between the other characters Jessica meets, those that barely hanging in there because of their own choices or because of just rotten luck, felt easy to sympathize with because so much care and attention is placed on them in the writing. When tragedy strikes, it’s a lot more palpable as we spend so much time getting to know them. This can be done in large scale stories too, but the level and detail isn’t the same because that’s not the focus of those stories. This story felt grounded and real because it’s relatable and on a scale of something we can all understand and we can see that impact on Jessica as she comes to realize her place in the world and what she chooses to fight for.
A really good contrast between the emotional impact of a smaller scale and more personal story versus a grand overarching epic story is actually God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarok. The feeling and emotional weight of the two stories is so drastically different as the goals are on wildly different scales. The sequel deals with the classic doomsday story and adventure to save the nine realms. It still has some strong emotionally charged character arcs and dramatic moments but that all felt secondary to the overarching threat of Ragnarok. But the first game, the story of Kratos and Atreus, is one of the greatest stories I’ve ever seen from a video game. It’s solely focused on a father and son’s relationship as they fulfill the dead mother’s final request. There are so many things that come up, gods and myths that intervene, and monstrous challenges for them to face but all of that feels secondary to the relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus. The world isn’t at risk, the realm isn’t in danger, and there’s no cosmic threat to reality. The tension and drama is always focused on the relationship between Kratos and Atreus. The main focus is always Kratos protecting his son as they honour his dead wife’s last wishes and that feels so emotional because it’s so relatable to what we can understand.
And that’s part of the appeal of a smaller scale story. The story is focused on something that’s often easier to understand and relate to which makes the stakes easier to comprehend. Most people understand the struggle of trying to achieve their dream, trying to find one’s place and purpose in the world, or any kind of challenge we may face in our day to day lives. When the story is focused on one of these smaller scale and focused ideas, it’s easier to create an emotional connection with the audience. These can of course be included and an important part of grander scale stories as well, but often it’s a smaller sub story in the grand overarching plot. It’s easy for it to get overshadowed as there’s always another larger looming threat in the background. But in a smaller and more focused story, it’s easier to get the emotionally invested in the characters and their plight.
– Raphael
Raph's Cozy Musings 