By: Bruce Black,
on 3/2/2008
What does making a Cat's Cradle--a game that children play with string--have to do with writing (aside from serving as yet another way to procrastinate)? Well, a few weeks ago, while preparing a lesson for my local library's young writers workshop, I was looking for a way to help the children better understand the structure of stories. Exploring structure, I felt, would give the children a
By: Bruce Black,
on 1/6/2008
One of my friends who happens to be a fine YA novelist often finds herself bewildered by the notion of structure. "I suck at structure," she laments each time she reviews one of her works-in-progress. "What is structure, anyway?" It's a question every writer has to ask at some point in the writing process... in order to understand why a story works or fails to work. If you feel your story
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 9/20/2007
Response:
Mostly it's all about the writing and staying fluid.
But, I, too, find benefit in the movement, the lining things up getting-ready-ritual. I'm sure you're jumping forth between writing and organizing by now.
Keep imagining,
martha
Original email:
Thanks again for all your help. I've printed your scene tracker 20 times, labeled, and laminated back to back (10 laminated sheets) so I can use dry eraser and reuse them from story to story. Watch all this organization throw me into a writer's block. Oh, please say it isn't so.
I've even gone as far as laminating my blank master GMC charts, storyboard, plotline, character, conflict, conflict comparison, pertinent backstory for character GMC, character arc and romantic conflict/connection worksheets so that I can use dry erase on them and reuse them.
Geez, talk about anal, but at least it feels like I'm becoming organized. lol
Great post, Bruce. I often study screenwriting to help with structure. One of my favorite books is MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT by Linda Seger. I find that scripts are similar to children's books in that they must be well-paced and relatively short - and the action carries them along.Thanks for all the great links.Barbara
Barbara, You're so right. Screenwriting books are an excellent way to study structure. Thanks for suggesting the Seger title. (She has more than one, I think, that readers might enjoy.) Syd Field has written a number of books on screenwriting and seems to have a loyal following, too. I've got his books on my shelf to turn to when I get stumped on a structural issue. One of the best books that
Excellent points, Bruce. It's those two things together that give you the emotional heart of a story as well, and tie the reader to your characters. Thanks for the post!
Bruce, My plan was to take the Christmas tree down today...then I sat down to read this week's Wordswimmer. I have been submerged for the past two and a half hours in the sea of information you presented in this post -- taking notes on everything from Aristotle to plot strategies (including a wonderful plot checklist from Cheryl Klein -- a site I've added to "my favorites.") I've resurfaced for
Rose,The emotional heart of the story... that's a subject well worth exploring in a future post! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.Jude,Glad to help out. Maybe you'll start a new tradition with a tree at Easter! :)
I just found you. Thanks for the well-composed and helpful article.
EricThanks for stopping by.