Story Structure Connections

We mention story structure every once in a while, but we don’t delve that deeply into the topic.

I think most writers interpret the mechanics differently, yet somehow we end up at the same place. Some writers want nothing to do with structure because they write wholly organically. (I need more, well, structure.) Some writers swear by the three-act structure or the hero cycle – neither of which work with my brain or writing style.

The seven-point structure finally made sense to me: hook (at or near the beginning, hooks the reader in), first plot point (around the one-quarter mark, kicks off the central plot), first pinch point (uh-oh, trouble!), midpoint (obvious placement, something happens or a reveal changes the game for your characters), second pinch-point (all hope seems lost), second plot point (around three-quarters of the way through, some plot piece that will let the characters resolve the plot), and the resolution.

Not the greatest breakdown, but that’s the gist of it. The story beats offer infinite variation in how you use them, so they’re not as rigid as they may seem. This structure allowed me to figure out how to plot my stories. Rather than pantsing everything and ending up with an unusable mess.

Story structure is all about connections – how the pieces of the story connect to and interact with each other.

I came across a writer’s blog post once, years ago. I wish I could find it again. She laid out a genius structure, but one that completely overwhelmed me with my ability at the time.

She drew out her story structure as a grid – one with only a couple more beats than my familiar seven points. The grid visual was nothing new, but the connections made it genius. I most often see plot progression drawn in a line. Not straight, necessarily, but linear. In this structure, every beat connected to those before and ahead, as well as those above and below. It allows for more effective foreshadowing and more satisfying resolutions.

I would share the post itself with you, but sadly I have yet to find it again, despite my best attempts at Google-fu. I’m fairly sure I found it around 2010, maybe earlier, which hasn’t helped.

If you know the post I mean, or if you ever run across it, be sure to let me know!

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