Choosing the Right Narrative Structure for Your Book
Are We Losing the Plot?
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
— Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I love this quote because at its heart, this is narrative structure. This is storytelling. And it’s simple.
You could follow the White Rabbit down the hole and come out with one heck of a story. Pun intended. All you have to do is follow the world’s simplest directions for telling a story.
Yet, it’s not as easy as the King would have us believe, right? Otherwise, everyone would be a writer, and we’d all be wildly prolific.
In the spirit of keeping it simple, let’s break it down…
What Is Narrative Structure?
A narrative is a story.
Structure is “the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.” (Source: Oxford Dictionary)
At its core, narrative structure is how you tell...
How to Write a Book that Works: Revisiting the Classic 3-Act Structure
As writers, we can get swept up in the plot and subplot(s) of our stories and books. So much so that we might forget to check and make sure that all our plots and subplots actually have beginnings and endings that make sense.
And of course, the last thing we want is to leave things hanging—so we have to go back and fix them.
But that can make our revision process a long one that requires a lot of metaphorical heavy lifting.
That's where the three act structure comes in! It's a classic structure, but as Rhonda Douglas tells us in this episode to kick off Season 2 of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, it’s not one that should be dismissed. Using the 3-Act structure can ensure our stories are complete AND save us more work in the revision process. Can we get an Amen?
Listen to learn:
- The essential elements of the three act structure
- The benefits of keeping your novel outline simple
- How to use the three act structure to write an...
