Plotting Your Story, Part 3: Structure

lotting Your Story, Part 3: Structure
by Jacquie Rogers

Without Conflict, There’s No Story!

This is the third class in a four-part workshop exclusively at Texty Ladies, Plotting Your Story. If you’d like to read the other classes, they are:

Part 1: Theme
Part 2: Character

Today’s class is on Structure.

In the first class, we developed a solid theme–a premise that plunged our characters into a life-changing journey. In the second class, we let the characters reveal themselves to us. We learned their strengths and weaknesses, their vulnerabilities, secret hopes and genes, and personal guilts and shame. Our situation is set and our characters are there.

Now all we need is for something to happen.

Ever look at a blank screen and wish something would magically appear. I have, but nothing has magically appeared yet. I’ve had to plow through some hard-thinking, some brainstorming, bother all my friends, ask my husband and kids a few hundred questions, and at some point, all this information solidifies into a story.

Let’s take a look at events. Events are what create emotion in the character: his reaction to a dilemma. Readers read because they want to experience the character’s feelings. So what must an event do?

Several things. First of all, each event must up the stakes to some degree. Granted, some events don’t up the stakes much, but always at least a little. Rising action carries the reader along. It’s what makes a book a page-turner. An event blends the action with the character to create conflict.

Without conflict, the character has no dilemma.

Without dilemma, the character can never be multi-dimensional.

No matter how fantasic the premise is, or well-drawn the characters are, the story will fall flat if the events don’t allow the characters to change. Each event should carry the character to an emotional place he’s never been before. We read to see how the character handles that. We read to feel his feelings.

That explains why we have to have events, but just exactly how do we know which events will help in our pursuit of eliciting character growth? Most writers have an inate understanding of what makes a story work, but describing it is a little more difficult. That’s why I rely on those who have ventured into this territory before me.

Carolyn Greene has a fabulous method for plotting a story. Actually, she touches on all aspects of storywriting. Her workbook as well as Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Dwight V. Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer, and You Can Write a Romance by Rita Clay Estrada and Rita Gallagher.

All the above, as well as workshops given by Stella Cameron have contributed to the form I use to develop the structure of my story, Story Bones. Let’s take a look:

***Note: This form is a bit antiquated because many houses have now gone to actual computer word count rather than page count at 250 words per page. I have intended to update it for about six months now . . .

Call to adventure

This is the change in the protagonist’s life the propels the story forward. I judge half a dozen contests a year and in nearly every judging packet, half the entries start with backstory. Please don’t. Readers want to know what’s happening now. That means something must be happening now. Go to the NYT Bestsellers rack and read all the opening paragraphs. In nearly every bestseller, you know the character, the conflict, and the story question right out of the gate. Questions that arise from that, backstory, and whatever else, is fed in bits at a time . . . later.

First Turning Point

The first turning point signifies the end of the story set up and the beginning of the escalating conflict. In a romance, the hero and heroine should be at least smitten with one another, and the event you chose for the first turning point should give them a platform to show their growing attraction (even if they’re annoyed with one another) as well as up the stakes in the external conflict.

Crunch

The crunch is generally a reversal, whatever you expected to happen, the opposite did. Just as the protagonist thought she was getting somewhere, back down the hill she goes. This event, should set up the house of cards for the midpoint. In a romance, there will be growing affection as well as attraction by this point.

Midpoint

At the midpoint, everything appears to go along swimmingly: the quest is on track, the romance is getting hot and heavy (maybe some hot sex) . . . but then . . . Yep, you guessed it, everything goes to h*ll in a handbasket. The treasure map is burned, the only car is stolen, and the cat’s mad at them both. And the lovers know that true love is elusive, if not lost. All is not lost,however, because we’re saving that for later. This is only a medium crisis, but it is a crisis.

***Note: Keep in mind that if you plot your story with high action at the midpoint, it will be impossible for your book to have a sagging middle, and you’ll be the envy of all your friends.

Third Turning Point

Christopher Vogler calls this Tests, Allies, and Enemies. (Actually, he would include anything from the first turning point on, but I find that too big a chunk of story to process at once, so I like to break it down more.) So now the hero and heroine face a series of challenges, physical and emotional. They must determine who’s the enemy and who’s the friend. There might even be a mentor thrown into the mix. And romance fills the air. The hero and heroine are falling in love and each event draws them emotionally closer.

In all these events, the author needs to keep tabs of the characters because sometimes it’s easy for a character to depart from her established path, confusing and annoying the reader. I remember a mini-series called A Town Like Alice. The British heroine, Jean Paget, was a wonderful character and throughout the series she’s shown overcoming hardship, making lemons out of lemonade. She’d find out what the townspeople needed and empower them to meet their own needs. A wonderful character. Until Jean got to Willstown in Australia. All of a sudden, she starts telling the townspeople what they must do, a complete departure from her established character. What a disappointment for me as a viewer. I’d greatly admired the character until she pulled a magic switcharoo on us. (I haven’t read the book, but I’ve always hoped the book didn’t have this flaw.)

Fourth Turning Point

I only stuck this fourth turning point in because this is the event that has to set the ball rolling toward the Black Moment. Everything looks good–the quest is on track, the enemies are sorted out from the allies, the Force is with them, and the hero and heroine are madly in love, even if they know obstacles will keep them from ever being together–they still have hope.

Dark Moment

I used the term dark instead of black because I write humor and, well, things really shouldn’t get too dark in a lighthearted book. All stories require a moment of utter loss, though, or else the dawn’s light simply won’t look as bright. In a romance, this is where the protagonist has to sacrifice his or her goal in order to save the person he/she loves. All is lost.

Resolution

But things work out! The character reaches deep inside and because of their character growth, can overcome even the darkest obstacle. The trick here is to remember this is ALL about the character’s arc, and each one of the above turning points is a milestone in the character’s journey. The resolution and in a romance, Happily Ever After, come from the character’s growth and realization of self in relation to his/her partner. The characters are happy, the author is happy, and the readers are happy. Whew!

What a journey for us, too.

I’ve enjoyed hearing about all the character development methods. Thanks to all you who commented or emailed me privately. You’ve given me even more great ideas and you can bet I’ll be trying them on for size. I’m really looking forward to hearing what people have to say about structure, conflict, and events. (And yes, I know this was too much to cover and I skimmed a lot, but we’ll be discussing more about these topics in 2009.)

OT: I’m happy dancing about Book Reviews by Crystal’s review of my latest release. Thank you, Crystal!

Happy Magical Monday!

Jacquie
Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues (See the Book Video)

Tags: conflict, events, Jacquie Rogers, plotting, story, Writing