I think one of the mistakes some writers make is that they listen to too much advice. There is so much out there (and I’m only adding more), but I think all the advice is people just saying the same things in different ways, hoping that one of the methods will click with writers. That’s especially true for story structure. There is The Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat!, 7 Point Story Structure, and so much more. Today, I want to talk about not falling into the trap of trying to use everything you know. Pick one method or create one based on their similarities that works for you.
I love that James Scott Bell states in his book, Super Structure, that you can narrow his story structure method down to just five points. It’s simple, and it’s what I used when I started writing. Trying to make things fit into a certain formula can be a hindrance for new writers. Keep it simple. When you get your feet under you, pick more elaborate structures. Or, maybe you’ll always keep it simple. The point is you don’t want to be so bogged down in the craft that you lose the heart of the story. I’m not saying to ignore story structure, but don’t let it keep you from writing either.
A Simple Story Structure
I recently came across a simple outline for a story. It was posted by Emma Coats, a Pixar story artist. The simplicity of it grabbed my attention. It doesn’t make up its own terms or try to make each story a twenty-point outline. It’s almost childlike in its advice. Ross Hartmann in his book, The Structure of Story, expounds on Emma’s structure slightly to include the story’s internal arc as well as the external arc. Below is the final outline.
Once upon a time…
The Structure of Story by Ross Hartmann
And every day…
Until one day…
And because of that…
And because of that…
Until suddenly…
And because of that…
Finally…
And ever since that day…
Simple, isn’t it? It makes me think of a story structure a pantser would follow. So, if you hate outlining before a story or if you just need to go back to the basics, put this list by your computer and try writing with it as a guide. I don’t want to complicate this story structure too much, but let’s just look at each line and what it means for the story.
Once upon a time…
This is your opening image. It’s the hook that you want to use to draw in readers. Show your world, your protagonist, whatever you think is most interesting at your story’s start. Give the reader a taste of what is to come.
And every day…
Once you’ve used your hook, you need to show your protagonist in her normal life. What does she do? Who is she? What’s her flaws? What kind of world does she live in? You need to establish how she starts out so readers can compare that to what she becomes by the end of the book.
Until one day…
Then you hit the readers with an inciting incident. What happens to shake up the protagonist’s world? What makes her change her life? This is what will get your story moving.
And because of that…
In Emma’s post, this line is listed twice. It shows that this part of the story needs to be repeated as many times as necessary to tell the story. This line is all about how one action will leave an impact which will lead to another action, and so on. I did a post on scene format and how to write this causality cycle so you can read more there. Just remember that the scenes all need to be linked together.
Until suddenly…
The story is in a never-ending cycle now. The protagonist does one thing that leads to another and another and another. Until suddenly! This is when the protagonist’s internal arc comes to a climax. She will finally learn the lesson she has been avoiding the whole book, and she’ll fix herself so she can fix the external problem. This scene is sometimes referred to the All Is Lost moment. Everything is bad, but in that darkness the protagonist finally grasps what she needs to win.
And because of that…
We have one more causality cycle, but this is where the protagonist gets it right. She has the information she needs to succeed. Now she makes a plan that will finally work and get her closure.
Finally…
Once the protagonist learns her lesson and has a good plan, she will try one more time to reach her goal and succeed. This is the external plot climax. Something big happens and fixes the problem (or not if it’s a tragedy).
And ever since that day…
Ultimately, we have the resolution. This is the closing image that should contrast your opening image. The reader should see that the protagonist has changed and is living her life accordingly. All is right in the world now (or as good as it’s going to get).
Final Thoughts
I hope that helps those of you who feel like you are drowning in story structure and outlines. If fear of doing it wrong is holding you back, let go. Choose simplicity. Use Emma’s outline to just breathe a story into life. Don’t worry about if it’s the best story. Just write it, and then go back and edit it. That’s when the magic happens. Until then, keep it simple and enjoy being creative.
Thanks for reading!
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