Today we have a post by my dear friend Micaiah on a very fascinating topic that will turn heads : story structure, and why it you don't (always) need it.
I’m going to make a lot of writers scream in horror and throw their computers at me over this statement, but here it goes: Your story doesn’t need a structure.
Sound the alarm. Close the computer. Run away. Hide under piles of carefully thought out manuscripts with their neat and tidy structures. Hold your story structure worksheets tightly to your chest. But first… Let’s talk about what structure is and what I’m talking about when I say the word “structure.”
A quick Google search will show that structure can be defined as “the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.” So in a nutshell, a story structure is the arrangement of parts and elements of a story (a complex thing).
Now, to get even farther down into the nitty-gritty, here’s what I mean exactly when I’m talking about the structure your story doesn’t need: The traditional three act story structure that we have been taught to mold our stories around. Generally, this structure has an exposition, some rising action, a climax, some falling action, and a resolution.
There’s nothing wrong with this structure. In fact, it has been used to create some of the greatest stories ever read or written. Lots of the stories that we know and love fit within this framework. The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. On and on the list goes. But here’s why your story doesn’t need that structure:
Your story doesn’t need a structure because sometimes, our adherence to structure takes away our freedom to be creative and write the story we want to write.
We skip scenes because they don’t fit in with rising or falling action. We hurry to find a dramatic climax. We try to figure out how those authors utilized a structure so beautifully and yet we seem to fumble with the same building blocks of story. We scramble for a five page resolution. Cram in another scene here and one there. On and on it goes…
Imagine what stories would look like without this need for structure, or what writing a story without agonizing over its structure would be like. What would happen if you just… Wrote a story? Any way you wanted?
I’m sure that many of you are seeing piles of pages of what some would call rubbish--unorganized, messy rubbish. But when it comes to art, there is something to be said for messiness. There is something to be said for no rules, no boundaries, no molds. In art, beautiful things, perhaps even the best things, can be made when you’re not keeping yourself in a box (or a story structure!).
Think of all of the possibilities…
What if you wrote a story by simply describing a place and the people there? Or perhaps just describing a thing?
What if you wrote a story told through commands, like Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”?
What if you wrote a story that looks like a mishmash of memories and snippets of scenes, but was all tied together by an emotional arc rather than a plot arc created by story structure?
What if you wrote a story where seemingly nothing happens, and yet a person can learn so much from that “nothing”?
What if…..?
That’s the beauty of having no structure. What if… You just wrote? What if… You just let yourself go wild and be free on the pages? What if...?
I want to encourage you to not keep your story within the confines of three acts. Create your own structure. Make a mess of the pages. Write your own story.
And stay stellar. <3
Micaiah Saldaña is, first and foremost, a follower of Jesus. When she isn’t lost in the stories she writes, you can find her reading classic novels and short stories, going on one of her many adventures, or drinking salted caramel hot chocolate. She is known for having a weakness for notebooks of all kinds, daydreaming about typewriters, checking wardrobes for Narnia, and baking dozens of macarons. Find her rambling about stories, adventures, and her faith on her blog Notebooks and Novels at www.notebooksandnovels.com or on Instagram @micaiahsaldana.
COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS IMPORTANT BUT (somewhat) CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT - WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT STORY STRUCTURE??
My stories don't have structured structures you could say. I do like to plan them out a bit, I'm not good at anything organized. But I like to have some ideas to plan out the story.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post!
astordetective.blogspot.com
I'm all for this! I'm more of a pantster, but I do like to have some idea of what I'm writing first. I never plan out any particular arcs or "beginning, middle, and end" or things like that. I let everything fall out naturally (or tweak it in edits). But my first drafts are always just bleeding words onto the page.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an eye-opening post, Micaiah! I personally like following story structure because I think that it makes plotting a novel slightly less overwhelming, but there really is a beauty to having no guidelines to follow when writing. <3
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I never go into my stories with an idea of the 3-act story structure. Often I find the basic structure will happen on it's own, but sometimes, as you say, there are stories that won't necessarily fit in that structure, and that is awesome too! Whatever works for your story is what I say you should be doing. :)
ReplyDeleteThIS bLoG POst hAS THE MOST click-BaITy TiTle I have evER sEEn And I LOVE IT.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting perspective to the topic! Honestly I feel like I'm such a weak writer that my opinion barely counts. I tend to have the story completely planned out in my head before I even create a single word document. So I guess if it's all there, there really isn't a use for additional structure, but hey...
-OOp and I also tagged you for the Sunshine Blogger award if you haven't done it already uwu
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love being flexible when I'm writing, so I mine don't have a lot of structure to them. It's more fun that way.
ReplyDelete