In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, Tiffany Yates Martin offers advice on developing a story structure organically and originally. “Trying to impose a particular mold onto your story and make it fit is writing from the outside in, rather than letting the story grow from the inside out,” she writes.
First, Yates Martin says we should building a writing toolbox, but without feeling obligated to use every tool in every situation. “Think of all these craft approaches—many of which offer valuable, actionable, useful suggestions—as items in that cornucopia you can choose from at different times, with different stories,” she says. “Take elements from various approaches, mix and match—find the right tool at the right time for the right job.”
Whatever your structure – and there are way more than three-act, hero’s journey, and Freytag’s pyramid – they each hit key story elements: A character has a goal, something stands in their way, and their failure or success will bring about a meaningful change. “Keeping those guiding principles in mind, you don’t have to unspool that story strictly to the three-act structure—or any prescribed system—as long as you hit certain key notes,” Yates Martin says. Motivation, the stakes, obstacles, setbacks, and choices are your building blocks.
Structure provides a way for you to keep your story moving, and regardless of which you choose, there are ways to propel your protagonist forward:
- Your characters should urgently pursue their goals and every interim goal should support their ultimate aim.
- Set the stakes high and make sure your readers know what will happen if your character fails.
- Raise questions and uncertainties to create suspense
- Maintain friction, opposition, and conflict
- Show how your characters are affected by revelations, setbacks, and wins.
“Worry less about adhering to a particular system of story structure and more about developing the essential elements of story, and it will free you to grow it organically, as you describe—and more originally,” Yates Martin writes.
