When I decided to write seriously and chose novels as my vehicle for telling a story, I’d never thought about story structure. I had no idea how much I had to learn. I’d written short stories for family and friends over the years and was comfortable with that form. I’d taken creative writing courses, but never one specifically about writing novels. I thought I’d learned all I needed to know through the millions of books I’d read over the years. I’d even managed to write over 40,000 words for one story and thought it was a good beginning draft of a novel. How wrong I was.
I excitedly sent that first attempt at a full-length book off to an editor who’d agreed to work with me. Then I got brave and had my first face to face visit with her. She’d read my offering, and I have to say she was very kind, but almost laughed. She said, “I’d call this a good first treatment.” I smiled, nodded, and she kept going. She recommended that I show not tell, outline my plot, define my theme and central question. Lots of things I’d never thought of. I left that meeting with my head spinning.
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In the month following that meeting, I read everything she recommended about writing and more. The most basic thing I learned was that story structure is the primary building block upon which a good story stands. After learning the basics of story structure, I now find it hard to watch a movie or read a book without analyzing it. If you plan to write, be forewarned; this will happen to you too!
“Story structure is the main building block upon which a good story stands.”
There are so many books and blog posts about story structure out there that I find it almost impossible to believe I’d missed them. It’s like when you buy a new car. You take your first drive, and everywhere you look there are cars like yours. Before you selected that particular make and model, there were just as many out there; you weren’t keyed into seeing them. That’s how I was with structure.
The majority of romance novels are character-driven stories. Stories that follow, usually, a heroine as she falls in love. Readers live vicariously through those exciting times of meeting a great guy, falling for him, almost losing him, then reuniting for the long run. The main thrust of the book (pun intended) will be about your heroine and the changes falling in love puts her through. Most romance stories follow the basic three-act structure. Basically, in the first “act” you set your heroine up – she meets the hero, act two she works through confrontations and obstacles to love, and act three brings resolution and a happy ending.
Let’s talk about act one. You’ll need a dynamite opening that will grab your reader’s attention and make them curious about what’s to come. Soong, she’ll meet the hero, which will set her on a new course. This is called the inciting incident. She is now on a new path. She may have some second thoughts, but by the end of the first quarter of the book, she’ll be on her way to love. At the end of the last chapter of act one, she’s set up for the obstacles she must face going forward.
Act two will encompass half of the book. You’ll need to place hurdles that she must overcome. These can be internal or external – or both. Your readers will follow as she unblocks each impediment. She’ll face at least two by the middle of the book. Then, right around the halfway mark, throw a new snag that will change her direction. This will keep your reader interested. We all love books that surprise us, right? It’s been said that good writers torture their characters. Act two is where you get to do this. After the twist at midway, she’ll face another obstacle, get past it and then comes one that is a total disaster. This will be a very low point in her story that will lead to a crisis. She’ll be sure that she’ll never have the hero’s love. Leave her there at three-quarters of the way through your story on a climactic note that will have your reader turning the page to see how she overcomes this stumbling block.
Act three will continue building on the last disaster/ crisis until you bring the story to its climax. She’ll figure out the miscommunication; he’ll vow his never-ending love. Bring them together with a bang. This is the climax. Your heroine’s high point. That should come at about the ninety percent mark. Everything after that is easy going. Clean up loose ends, have your couple overcome any outstanding obstacles together. You’re almost there. Now comes the denouement. Here, you’ll wrap it all up to leave your characters and readers with that much anticipated happily ever after.
Sound easy? Maybe not at first, but with practice that structure will become ingrained. Even those of us who aren’t outliners will find ourselves following these basic patterns.
Here are a few books and blog posts that will help you if you’re struggling to make all those words on the page come together into a coherent and compelling story.
Super Structure: The key to unleashing the power of story by James Scott Bell
5 Secrets of Story Structure: How to Write a Novel that stands out by K.M. Weiland
Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 core competencies of successful writing by Larry Brooks.
What have you learned? If you have a favorite book about Story Structure, Contact me and let me know!
eeds dirt and rain to make a flower. First comes the seed. Then dirt and rain. But, you may ask, won’t that make mud? It would if you didn’t add a fourth ingredient: sunshine. Only after the sun shines through can your plant flower. The same is true for your story. You need a seed. I usually start with an idea of who my main characters will be. They’re lovely people in my mind. After all, I want them to fall hopelessly in love. But I know they will never get to that blissful state unless they work through inner and outer turmoil.
