O.C. Writers

By Andrea Lewis // 

When one of the members of The Lake Forest Writers’ Roundtable needed help with structuring his story that followed one treasure through various eras, advice from our versed members poured in. I am not sure if we helped him or, by giving him a wide variety of options, merely confused him, but I felt that I needed more insight on the matter.

I. Definitions

Across the platforms researched for this article, it is generally understood that the structure of a story, be it short or novel size, refers to the way its narrative is organized. It is the order in which events happen, characters are introduced, and all elements work in a cohesion that takes the story smoothly from the first to the last page. Thus, “structuring the plot well creates a satisfying narrative experience that accomplishes the author’s aims,” write the staff at Reedsy on their blog.

It is one of the most important tools that helps writers map out the plot events in a story. Thanks to its equivalence to organization or order (of events), the way stories are built has been likened to:

• The skeleton of the human body. To novelist and author of books on the craft of writing, Jerry Jenkins “The order in which [writers] tell [their] story, determines how effectively they create drama, intrigue, and tension, all designed to grab readers from the start and keep them to the end.”
• A map. For the staff at Masterclass, structure operates like a map that guides the creativity of the writer’s mind.

Alternative terms used are narrative structure, storyline, plotline, or plot structure.

II. Importance

Since the frame heavily influences the story, it has been associated with:

Science: the staff at Reedsy call it “the one part of the [writing] craft that is closer to science.” Writers that skillfully connect events that ‘happen’ to the ones that ‘matter,’ will become “masters of story structure.”

Skill: On her blog, Helping Writers Become Authors, K.M. Weiland echoes this opinion and establishes that “understanding […] story structure” is the skill that differentiates writers from authors.

III. Absence of structure?

Even pantsers should follow some type of organization, according to fantasy author and Kindlepreneur Content Manager, Jason Hamilton. The framework allows writers to “identify and focus on the moments in [their] story that are most important.” A story or a novel is never a simple juxtaposition of events. It must be a sequence of important events that tie together and influence the course of the story.

For Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French structure is the carrier of the writer’s message. Without a solid construction to their story, writers are not able to convey their “profound or illuminating vision.”

In short: no structure, no story.

IV. Types of narrative structures

The abundance of narrative outlines is born from variations on a few basic ones, and also from the “different frameworks used to analyze stories.” (Reedsy) The starting points of all modern or traditional storylines are either the three-act or the five-point structure.

Thus, plotlines:

a. Are usually named after the writer who successfully or predominantly used a certain type in their work.

b. Can be grouped by:

• the element that they favor most: plot or character
• the types of stories where they are used.

 

A. Basic storylines

1. The five-act or five-point structure and its variations

One of the most basic frameworks, includes elements or “beats” shared by all stories. The editors at Reedsy outline them as:

• The status quo: the protagonist is shown living in their normal setting/life but has a greater desire or goal. This is usually the first part of the story, but not always.
• An inciting incident: sometimes called a catalyst, this is an event that sets the story in motion, forcing the protagonist out of their comfort zone.
• Rising action: the protagonist pursues their goal and is tested along the way
• An all-is-lost moment: the protagonist believes they have failed
• A resolution – the protagonist gets what they want, or doesn’t get what they want, or doesn’t get what they want but realizes that they have something that’s more important

Variation: In Bird by Bird, Ann Lamott writes about a model used by Alice Adams in some of her short stories, the ABDCE formula. It consists of five steps, in a slightly different order than the one above.

A – Action: strong, compelling beginning meant to draw readers in

B – Background: readers find out more about the people in the story, what was going on in their lives before finding themselves in the story

D – Development: readers learn what the characters care about; the plot (drama, actions, tension) will develop out of that care. These elements are moved around till everything comes together in the climax

C – Climax: after climax, things are changed for the characters

E – Ending – focuses on the readers’ “sense of who these people are now, what are they left with, what happened and what did it mean?” (Lamott)

Variation: Freytag’s Pyramid, named after the 19th-century German playwright and novelist inspired by the classical Greek tragedies. This plotline is characteristic to classical literature and encompasses the five basic elements of a story, with a tragic outcome of the events, but it can be adapted to comedies, as well, according to Jason Hamilton. The staff at Reedsy describe the five steps as:

• Introduction: the status quo is established, the inciting incident occurs
• Rise, or rising action: the protagonist actively pursues their goal the stakes heighten
• Climax: a point of no return, from which the protagonist can no longer go back to the status quo
• Return, or fall: in the aftermath of the climax, tension builds, and the story heads inevitably towards…
• Catastrophe: the protagonist is brought to their lowest point. Their greatest fears have come true.

2. The three-act structure.

Ann Lamott simplifies the narrative of a story to three main parts:

Setup: tells what the game is

Buildup: is where writers would put all the moves, the forward motion

Payoff: answers the question (“why are we here anyway?”)

These parts essentially overlap with the three acts, which, according to the editors at Masterclass are a better fit for short stories, due to the compressed timeline. This type is also favored by screenwriting and modern storytelling. 

Act 1 – Introduces the world of the story, the main characters and sets the stakes. The first incident takes place and thus brings the story’s first climax.

Act 2 – Consists of a series of events, obstacles that challenge the characters, and provoke them to react to those struggles.

Act 3 – the resulting build-up of pressure leads to the final major climax, and the eventual fall-out and resolution.

Jason Hamilton at Kindlepreneur sees the three-act plotline as the most “common in all storytelling, particularly in modern time,” mostly thanks to Hollywood productions. Many of other types use the three-act as a backbone. Hamilton breaks down each act into three steps:

Act I: Set up

1. Exposition: introduces an “ordinary world,” or a moment when the status quo is normal
2. Inciting incident: an event that starts the flow of the story
3. Plot point 1: the protagonist’s decision to deal with the conflict

Act II: Confrontation

4. Rising action: the hero is confronted with various challenges that increase the risks and tension
5. Midpoint: one event that shakes everything, threatens the protagonist’s chances of achieving their goal
6. Plot point 2: the main character fails at a challenge, everything is in jeopardy, success is questioned

Act III: Resolution

7. Pre-climax: a moment before the final climax where the main character prepares for the final confrontation
8. Climax: the final clash with the antagonist or main source of conflict, usually ending with (but not always) a success on the protagonist’s part
9. Denouement: all loose ends are neatly tied, and the consequences of the climax are clearly spelled out.

B. Structures with focus on narrative arc are mostly plotting methods, variations either on the three-act or on the five-point storylines. I have included those here, as well.

• Three-act and Five-point structures
• Snowflake method. Fiction writer Randy Ingermanson made this method popular through his novels and through his book dedicated to this method. Jason Hamilton considers it a “metaphor for plotting.” Authors who like outlining their stories use this method often.
• Fichtean curve. A basic, classic story construction that can be used to build almost every story. It has three basic parts: rising action, climax and falling action.
• In Medias Res: “in the midst of things,” the book/story starts in the middle of an action, thus, the reader feels immersed into it. The five elements of the story are the same, only the order is reversed in that the book/novel starts with the rising action, then moves to the explanation or the backstory, to give the reader the “why” this is happening. From there, the climax, falling action and resolution follow as in the five-point structure. Jerry Jenkins quotes the beginning of Toni Morrison’s 1997 novel Paradise: “They shoot the white girl first.”

C. Structures with focus on character arc weave character development with plot points:

– Hero’s journey. Common to mythology, Hero’s journey is mostly used in heroic narratives, or as Jason Hamilton advises, “when you have a hero that must accomplish some great thing and grows in the process.” It works well in fantasy, science fiction, and is adaptable to the specific needs of the story. Hero’s journey is based on the three-act storyline, each act encompassing four or five steps. With slightly different wording, both Hamilton and the staff at Reedsy break down the three acts into a comprehensive outlining, with examples from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Lord of The Rings.

1. The hero leaves their ordinary world / Departure

• The ordinary world
• The call of adventure
• Refusal of the call
• Meeting the mentor
• Crossing the first threshold

2. Goes through various trials and challenges / Initiation

• Tests, allies, enemies
• Approach to the Inmost cave
• The ordeal
• The reward

3. Tries to return to their ordinary life / The return

• The road back
• Resurrection
• Return with the elixir

– Save the cat beat is another version of the three-act structure. Jason Hamilton attributes its creation to Hollywood screenwriter Blake Snyder, and its name – to a moment in the setup of the story (usually a film) where the hero does something to endear himself to the audience. The work sheet includes page numbers assigned to each step.

– Freytag’s Pyramid

D. Writers’ Digest – The four story structures that dominate novels

Author Orson Scott Card analyzes narratives considering the four elements present in all stories: milieu, idea, character, event. “While each is present in every story, there is generally one that dominates the others.” The dominant element is decided by the writer. Card associates the process of discovering a storyline to a process of self-discovery.

1: The Milieu Story. Every story has a milieu, a world where everything happens but in some stories, it takes center stage. Orson Scott Card exemplifies his statement with Gulliver’s Travels. The main character moves from one strange world to the next, but those worlds are the thought-provoking element. Stories with an “arriving character” will use this structure.

2: The Idea Story. Characteristic to mystery, idea stories are based on a quest of finding the answer to a question. They begin by raising a question (when a crime takes place: ‘who did it?’ and ‘why?’); they end when the question is answered” (when the identity and motive of the criminal are revealed).

3: The Character Story. Zooms in on the character’s transformation through the story. “Character stories begin with the moment the main character becomes so unhappy in their present role that they begin a process of change. They end when the character either settles into a new role (happily or not) or gives up the struggle and remains in the old role (happily or not).

4: The Event Story. “Something is wrong in the fabric of the universe; the world is out of order.” Card exemplifies it with classic literature, where a monster appears (Beowulf), or a king is murdered by his brother (Hamlet). The real beginning of such stories is the moment the character becomes involved in the events, and “end when a new order is established, or more rarely, when the old order is restored.”

Closing remarks

Structures guide writers in organizing their work in progress. They vary by genres, by focus on certain elements, by writer’s choice for plotting. However, as Ann Lamott writes in Bird by Bird, authors “cannot impose any plot on their characters.” If they focus on “the people they write about, something is bound to happen.” The writer’s role is to construct the story in a way that does not emphasize the scaffolding, but that weaves the elements of the story smoothly, with a natural flow of the events.

Do you think of structure when you write your story? Does it help you outline your story? Share your insight here so we can learn together.

 

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ANDREA LEWIS lives and writes in Huntington Beach. She was born in Romania and moved to the United States at the age of 34, after meeting and marrying her husband. She writes memoir and personal essays, with a recent attempt at freeform poetry. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times.