12/17/2023 0 Comments Butcher planner studioSeven Point - An Expanded Version of the Classic Three Act Model In Medias Res - Literally Translated as "Into the Middle of Things"Ĭlassic Three Act - The Historically Most Widely Used Model for Narrative Fiction The Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell's Theory of the Monomyth We won't take the time to go into any sort of detail on the most common story structures, but here are links to solid descriptions of several. The end is also the moment in the story where loose ends are tied off and teasers are provided for the next book (if a part of a series). The protagonist either loses, wins, or loses and wins by sacrificing one thing for another or failing to win in the way they had intended in order to win in another. If the story ends here, readers are going to be upset, and for good reason.Įnd or Resolution: Ends come in a few general categories. Don't confuse this moment with the ending or the resolution. The most common generality during this section is that each of the crises should progressively grow worse until it feels overwhelming or nearly overwhelming for the protagonist.Ĭlimax or The All is Lost Moment: This is the point in the story where it appears that your protagonist has lost or failed. Series of Crises or Rising Action: This is the section of the story where the protagonist is hit with conflict after conflict in order to ratchet up the tension. If you are having trouble with the inciting event, you've most likely started your story in the wrong place. This is also where you introduce the antagonist (person, mindset, force, entity, etc.) to your protagonist. The Inciting Event: This is the catalyst that forces the main character out of their status quo and into the action of the story. The stakes (physical or emotional) must be high enough to justify the rest of the story. The Opener or Hook: This element can also be known as "The Who" or "The Status Quo." This is the time in the story to introduce the main character and their motivation, challenge, goal, or quest. The Elements of Story StructureĪt the most basic level, almost all stories will include the following elements: Before you do that, we need to cover the basics of story structure. Your optimal method for organizing and writing a story may not line up with how you like to organize the rest of your life, but knowing how you like to attack a challenging project will give you a good place to start. When you go on vacation do you prefer to have every detail planned in advance? or do you like to play things by ear? Does spontaneity give you anxiety? Does structure feel like a prison?ĭon't get me wrong. Do you make important life decisions with your head or your heart? Are you a list maker or do you prefer sticky notes? Are you a file cabinet person or a pile person? After all, writing a book is simply a steroid-injected extension of your natural decision making and creative processes. But you don't have to go into the process blind. To a certain extent, the only way to completely nail down your style is to start writing. How do you know if you are a planner or a pantser? The reality for most writers will shake out somewhere in between extreme planning and extreme discovery. Narrative is the frosting on the cake for a true planner. Will decide on devices and fully develop characters and settings in advance. In advance of beginning the narrative, a story planner will map out plots and subplots. Once the outline is finished, all that remains is to fill in At the extreme end of story planning, the writer will craft an outline with as Jim Butcher and James Patterson areĮxamples of planners. Story planners or outliners are writer's who map out the plot first. Discovery writers will do stuff like kill off a main character without premeditation. With discovery writing is that the process of writing the narrative is the main guiding force of the In this case, the story itself emerges from the conflicts and/or needs of the world. One form of discovery writing involves heavy world building in advance of the actual narrative process. Perhaps the author has the beginning in mind, but knows nothing of where the story will go from there. Sometimes a discovery writer will start with a climactic scene envisioned and no idea how the characters They may haveĪ main character profile previously developed, or they might begin with only the ending in mind. A pure discovery writer is someone who dives into the narrative straight away. What exactly is a planner, and what is a discovery writer?Ī pure discovery writer is a rare animal, but they certainly do exist.
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