Writers are bombarded with advice on structure. Three-act structure, Seven Steps, 22 Steps, the Hero’s Journey–you can’t swing a cat without hitting Save the Cat! (PS – don’t swing a cat.) It’s easy to get stuck at square one, trying to decide which structure is best. We want to make the right choice at the beginning, and we’re tempted by the idea that there is one best option for crafting a story, if only we knew which one.
In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, writer, coach, and editor Lisa Cooper Ellison says that structure is an important tool, but it’s not the only tool, and it’s not the magic wand some writing advice suggests.
Ellison’s article originated with conversations she had with a client writing a memoir, but her advice is relevant to any writer of any type of story. Ellison herself sought the Holy Grail Structure early in her career, when she believed there was one right way to tell a story. She soon learned it was one of only many tools you need.
A memoir resists a classic structure, Ellison notes. A person’s life isn’t divisible into clear acts. There may or may not be a plot twist before the climax. Instead, a memoir requires an iterative process, with multiple drafts through which the story reveals itself.
Instead of structure, Ellison says memoirists need scaffolding, a temporary structure that supports the work until the walls are complete. Ellison suggests several scaffolds for memoirists, but they are relevant to novelists, as well.
- Write about a portion of a life, not the whole life. In memoirs, writers look back at what they’ve learned through their experiences, while in novels, we follow characters on the learning journey itself. In both, however, the writer chooses a finite period to portray.
- Establish a timeline. In both memoir and fiction, your story starts when a problem is presented. Once you have your problem – the beginning – you’ll have your ending in sight.
- Don’t try to get complicated. Some writers can pull off complex story structure. You might be one of them. But most writers don’t start there. For a first draft – especially for a first novel – start with a story told in chronological order with minimal flashbacks. If you use a flashback, make sure it’s immediately relevant to the point in the narrative where you drop it in.
- Let your mind wander. While perhaps more important to memoirists, who need to delve into memory to describe their experiences and lessons they’ve learned, fiction writers also need a sense of play. Prewriting and brainstorming are worthy work. You might write pages of character background – including detailed scenes and dialogue – that never make it into your finished manuscript. Your subconscious might bring up more than you expect.
- Focus on writing, instead of having written. It feels great to finish a story or novel, but anticipating that endorphin kick also can make us impatient. Enjoy your process.
