StoryCraft Novel Challenge Day 7: The basic story structure every writer should know
You’ve probably seen Freytag’s Pyramid before. It shows the basic shape of most Western stories and features an introduction, inciting incident, rising action, climax, and resolution.
This is called Narrative Structure, and it’s the very foundation of a dynamic story. When we have each of these critical elements, we make sure the reader has the best possible experience. We introduce our world, present a major change, add conflict and crisis until it all reaches a head in the climax, and then resolve. The vast majority of stories follow this structure because it works, and if you’re missing an inciting incident or a climax, readers will likely feel it missing even if they don’t understand why.
You can also visualize the story as a circle. As part of the StoryCraft Process [Course | Workbook], we like to add in a hook to begin the story as well as a midpoint in the middle.
Looking at story as a complete experience and visualizing where the core Narrative Structure elements fall can help determine the pacing and story symmetry. What will the inciting incident for this novel be, and where should it fall in the overall experience? Do you want to launch the reader into the action by placing it early in the circle, or do you want to lay out a solid foundation first to heighten the emotional experience?
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We’ll be outlining our story using this structure later on in the challenge, but for now, it’s a good idea to start thinking about each of these elements. What’s the hook for this story that will draw readers in? What’s the big, emotional moment at the midpoint? How will all the conflict come to a head? How does the story end?
Use the hashtag #StoryCraftNovelChallenge to share your progress and connect with other writers. We’ll see you tomorrow as we dive into some of the main traditional structures and how learning them can help you find the best story for this book.
Happy Writing,
Jess and Theo