Adam, I concur. That shared sense of 'story' is likely a combination of nurture -- via the thousands of stories each of us has read, heard, or seen; education in the craft of writing -- and nature -- something akin to the collective unconscious, ancestral memories which somehow exist 'under' our consciousness; an innate sense of narrative as archetype. Whatever it is, it is critical, in my view, that writers go *into* their Self when crafting and writing a story. Yes, screenplays are strucure, as William Goldman said, but how we *get* to that structure -- working with our characters, leaning into our own storytelling instincts -- is essential. In contrast to 'outside in' writing which focuses on figuring out what scenes go where according to whatever narrative paradigm the writer is using.

As I say: Begin with characters. End with characters. Find the story in between.

Thanks for your comment, Adam!