Demystifying Story Structure

Posted on November 25, 2019December 16, 2019 by Y.P. Wright

Demystifying Story Structure

By Y.P. Wright

It comes to you during your evening commute or while your relaxing beneath the hot water of your morning shower. It’s surely destined to be the most prolific story that connoisseurs of great literature have ever seen. After your readers sink their teeth into your gift to the reading world, no one will deny your literary prowess.

But first, you must write that gift. Ahhh yes, therein lies the rub. You must actually start—and starting a story is no easy task (for most).

Seriously though, all joking aside. It’s critical that you pay attention to the elements of story structure to give your story a chance at success. It will help you narrow down the specifics of your story and make writing much easier. It will help bring clarity to your creative vision.

Demystifying Story Structure

Consider this—all stories consist of three parts. They have a beginning, a middle and an end. This is what’s known as the three-act structure and it’s the most fundamental element of storytelling.

Beginning doesn’t mean your hero’s story starts with him eating breakfast and getting ready for work. For the love of all things literary—don’t start your stories like this if you can help it.

Three Act Structure Explained

Beginning – The point at which everything is about to change. Consider this the first step of the journey. The story catalyst lives here. Your protagonist faces a dilemma of some sort that changes everything.
Middle – This is the point that your protagonist overcomes some obstacle or faces the ultimate test. He/she must master something, acquire new skills, etc. The middle is what you might consider the meat of the story. It’s where all the action takes place. This is where everything gets set for the climax to come.
The End – This is where your protagonist’s lessons or training, if you will, come into play. He/she faces their greatest test and overcomes all that your fictional world/characters have thrown their way. Climax and resolution live here.

Relatable Example: Star Wars

Most of you are familiar with this epic saga, this work of genius that supersedes nearly any other work in its genre. But, at its core, it’s really just a coming of age story. Let’s break it down.

Beginning—Luke is just living his life with a regular grind and family. He’s an average guy. The catalyst, the murder of his aunt and uncle and Leia’s plea for help, sets the story in motion as he joins Obi-Wan to rescue Leia.
Middle—Our hero, Luke, becomes a Jedi knight with Obi-Wan’s guidance. Other key characters are also introduced here, Hans Solo and Chewbacca.
End—The ultimate test for Luke as he has to trust the Force to destroy the Death Star. Following his victory, he returns to his new normal, as a hero who is forever changed by his experiences.

The example above is what’s known as the Hero’s Journey approach to the three-act structure. It’s a storytelling model that is as old as the act of storytelling and it provides the bones for your story. Its purpose is to help writer’s and storytellers outline the hero/protagonist’s transformation. This is the foundation upon which great stories are built.

Put it to the test and use it to give your protagonist and his story structure.

Writing Tips: 3 Tips to Write Better Dialogue

Posted on November 21, 2019November 12, 2023 by Y.P. Wright

Conquering the Beast: 3 Tips to write better dialogue

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By YP Wright

When you sit down to write your epic novel, you have a singular mission in mind. You want to create the greatest work of fiction known to man—obviously. You’ve lassoed the most illusive, creative creature in existence and corralled it into the holding stall of your mind. Now that it’s time to tame the beast so that it’s ready to meet the world, you feel the awesome weight of how to get that monster out of your head and onto that pristine page without ruining it with clunky, unnatural dialogue.

Great dialogue is critical to your story’s success. When submitting work for publication, editors are said to often skip ahead to sections of dialogue and make their decisions based on how good it is.

Be Mindful of What Dialogue Really is

To write better dialogue, keep 5 important things in mind:

Dialogue includes physical gesture
Dialogue is as much about what characters do to each other as what they say to each other.
Silence is considered part of dialogue
Dialogue isn’t necessarily grammatically correct.
You can make the world part of your dialogue

Use Action Beats

See, dialogue is literally what brings your characters to life and gives them dimension. When you make them speak, you are breathing life into someone who otherwise doesn’t exist.

“Look,” he slammed his hand against the wall, “I don’t care if it happened once or if it happened twenty times, it stops today,” he paused but kept his back turned to her as she wept.

“It won’t happen again—”

“It better not,” he slammed the door behind him and went upstairs to shower.

Use action beats to enhance dialogue, especially if it’s a long exchange between characters. Action beats work to give your reader a break and add touches of detail to the scene. In the example above, I used three beats to fill in the gaps. Otherwise, it would have reads like this:

“Look, I don’t care if it happened once or if it happened twenty times, it stops today,” he said.

“It won’t happen again—,” she said.

“It better not,” he said.

The exchanges between the characters are the same, but it’s flat. There’s no sense of tension on the page, so the reader isn’t experiencing the tension of the scene.

Manage Attributions & Avoid Adverbs

Another key consideration to keep in mind when it comes to dialogue, is how you manage attributions. Novice writers have a reputation for overusing attributions. Avoid using the verb said after every single line of dialogue. Writing is about maintaining the balance between just enough and too much.

Keep those speaker attributions as transparent as possible so that your writing flows smoothly. Don’t open a paragraph of dialogue with speaker attribution. Don’t use explanations or adverbs either.

Write:

“I don’t care if it only happened once, it better not happen again,” he said slamming his hand against the wall.

Instead of:

“I don’t care if it only happened once, it better not happen again,” he said angrily.

Of course, there are going to be exceptions to the rule. Adhering to these rules all of the time, is unlikely. An adverb’s biggest adversary is Stephen King—but even he uses adverbs from time to time. But sticking to good dialogue mechanics most of the time, will give your writing the touch of grace and elegance that readers love.