Being told that what you write must have a ‘beginning,’ middle’ and ‘end’ must be the oldest and stalest tip in the book.
Made worse because it’s true. Every written piece needs structure, whether it’s a 300-word blog entry or a 600,000 word magnum opus, fiction or non-fiction. Even lists need an organising principle – giving structure.
But what does that really mean?
Over-arching structure varies depending on what you’re writing. Academic essays must have a ‘tell you three times’ structure – abstract, argument and conclusion. In fiction – let’s say the ‘hero journey’, the beginning is the normal world; the middle the second act, where the hero learns; and the end the third, climactic act. Think Star Wars or Wizard of Oz.
Blog posts or feature articles (same thing, writing-wise) use the inverted pyramid – broad-spectrum grab-line, expository, and punch-out, usually on a specific point.
The trick is being able to express it – to make ‘what’ you are writing fit in with ‘how’ you want the work to be structured.
Let’s say you’re writing a novel and you’ve got a list of cool scenes for your character. Or an idea for non-fiction. What do you do?
First off, set the scenes aside. The first steps in the journey from germ of idea to published work have little to do with the ‘what’ of the content, and a lot to do with the ‘how’.
Start by creating a log-line – the sentence that describes what you are trying to do. In non-fiction or academia it’s called the ‘thesis’ – but it’s functionally the same thing. (Academics call a document with supporting argument a ‘thesis’, but technically it is the sentence defining what they’re trying to argue).
I’ve posted many times before about the importance of having a log-line first as a start point. This is why.
The log line gives you the journey, which means you can plan out ‘how’ you are going to do it. This is the key step. Let’s say your logline reads ‘Downtrodden girl has to find strength in herself to save a kingdom and so make her dreams come true.’
Focus on the emotional side – on the character arc – for example:
1. Beginning. Introduce characters from the POV of the downtrodden girl.
2. Middle. Follow experiences of main character as she begins to grow and realise she can break free, if only she knew how. A challenge is laid down; she so wants to meet it, but is prevented by her oppressive family. She is shown how to break free by a mentor, who helps her achieve what seems to be her dream.
3. End. What appeared to be her dream is not her true dream; but because she has gained new confidence she is able to step out and seize the moment when it comes. Her character arc is complete and the story ends.
Notice how I managed to not mention fairy godmothers, wicked witches, ugly sisters, handsome princes, tin men, lions or wizards in emerald cities. The details of the plot – come later –Wizard of Oz or Cinderella, depending on choice. But that’s the point. At this over-arching structural stage, the ‘scene by scene’ details are less important.
They come later – well, next week, in fact.
Meanwhile – have you had experiences with structure? Do you start with a logline?
Copyright © Matthew Wright 2013
Excellent post. Theme is also important for me – this does seem to divide people but it’s how I generate ideas and how I write. So before I begin a novel/screenplay I try to ensure I’m absolutely nailed on my logline and theme.
Thank you. Yes, theme’s definitely important. I’m running a few posts over the next few weeks exploring the different ways of deconstructing and approaching structure for writers – next weeks’ is on ‘organising principles’. One of the interesting things I’m discovering is that, quite often, these aspects of writing are given different labels at different times or places, but when you dig into the concepts they’re often about different aspects of the same consistent idea.
It’s always good to hear the professional perspective clearly defined Matthew – thanks for that. Hey, how’s ‘Convicts’ going? What’s the most effective way you promote it?
It’s done pretty well by current NZ standards (not that this says a lot…sigh… ) Penguin did a really excellent job on release of getting the promotions going – some pretty high-saturation media content. Longer term, my effective promotion, for me, involves a lot of foot-work; mainly, visiting the indie bookshops. The big chains, these days, are centrally run and there’s no real option to hard-sell to the staff. Indies are another matter, and there’s a wonderful one here in Wellington NZ where I’m a regular visitor, making sure I’ve got as many copies of my own books signed up as possible. Autographing is a pretty effective sales tool.
OK – I’m trying the online route (not much success yet however!) – although I am in my local Waterstones here in the UK, but again central policy changed and signings are limited to ONE local store only!! Donate to libraries here and there too.
Another excellent post, Matthew. As I think I have mentioned, your series on writing is really helping me with my current novel manuscript. Specifically, your series allows me to step back a bit, even in my initial draft phrase, rather like signposts, and I say, “Oh, yes. I need to think about that.” Again, much appreciated, Matthew.
Karen