The secret of structure

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can make all the difference.

As a Melbourne copywriter and author, I rely on various structures to help order my ideas and my stories...

But what is STRUCTURE and how does it differ from plot?

In its most basic form, a structure provides a framework on which to hang your story. Stories themselves, with all their twist and turns, are often complicated and messy. A story structure helps organise plot.

If plot is the WHAT of a story, structure is HOW the author chooses to tell it. And, while plot is unique to your story, in that each character and event is distinct, story structure is often not.

Although Greek philosopher, scientist and all-round intellect, Aristotle, is credited with articulating one of the most famous structures — the Three Act Structure — human stories have naturally fallen into a similar pattern for eons.

In his definitive text, Poetica, Aristotle, observed that stories, specifically tragedies, must have a beginning, middle and end, in order to satisfy. And that all stories use ‘common beats’ to engage audiences, such as conflict, tension and, of course, resolution.

Aristotle’s simple structure has stood the test of time. Turn to any novel, Netflix series, film or even song, and you’ll discover examples of the Three Act Structure — in its traditional and modified forms.

These days there are many structures for writers to choose from, including the Three Act Structure, but the basic principles, as Aristotle pointed out, are mostly universal.

 

Whatever style you write in, it’s handy to understand structure and to have one or two of them up your sleeve.

Personally, I refer to Michael Hague’s Six-Stage Plot Structure when developing a new novel, which elaborates on a traditional Three Act model. However, there are many others worth exploring, including but not limited to:

·       The Snowflake Method

·       Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey

·       The W-plot Model

·       Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid Model

Next blog, I’ll delve into these structures in more detail. In the meantime, Google your heart out, or contact me — a Melbourne copywriter who specialises in a range of creative and business copy. I can enhance your business with marketing support, SEO website copywriting, a new LinkedIn profile, proofreading, editing, and much more.  

Visit my services page — Copywriter Melbourne or Contact me via my website for more information.