In a recent post, Janice Hardy discusses the importance of choosing the right structure for your novel. “Story structure is a valuable tool that helps us write, keeps our stories tight, and provides a framework for us to express ourselves,” she writes. “It’s how people tell stories, and we see it everywhere—including jokes.”
Structure does not mean you have to place certain scenes at certain points in your story or write to a formula. It merely means that your novel needs a framework – whatever form that takes. In its simplest form, structure = introduction, obstacles, resolution. Or beginning, middle, end. Having a scaffolding in place can help you weave your story and keep plot points aligned, while avoiding meandering plots and bloated writing. This works even if you plan meticulously or have only a broad idea in mind when you start to write.
Hardy shares some questions she asks that help her build structure:
- What is the word count? “Knowing the target word count lets you know how much of the novel is beginning, middle, and ending, which is important to help you find the right pace for the story, and know where your major turning points need to fall,” she explains.
- How many chapters? “This helps when outlining (if you do), and lets you know where the major turning points typically fall,” Hardy writes. “Just adjust this for whatever size chapters you usually write.” You can also draft scenes first, and then group them into chapters after you have a rough draft.
- What events fall in which sections? “Blocking out the size and scope of the novel gives you a general sense of what needs to happen when,” Hardy says. If Act One of your novel will run nine chapters, then your protagonist will have a big problem and a decision to make by the end of Chapter Nine. If you’re nearing that point and still haven’t set up this scene, you may have problems with pacing or need a better turning point.
- What are my major turning points? Before she starts planning, Hardy defines six turning points: the opening scene, the inciting event, the act one problem, the midpoint reversal, the act two disaster, and the ending. “Once I figure these moments out, I go scene by scene and connect those points until I have a fully fleshed out plot,” she writes. “If this six-point arc works, then odds are good the novel will work, too. If this is a struggle to figure out or the turning points are too vague, that could indicate the story isn’t developed enough yet to write.”
