Structure

I became a better writer after I studied structure. Because I entered an MFA creative writing program with a PhD in economics and thirty years as a government financial manager, I was less qualified for advanced study of creative writing than my classmates. MFA courses introduced me to new authors and bodies of work. In workshops, I learned the value of instructors' and colleagues' close reading and criticism. I studied other genres. Wonderful writers and instructors overwhelmed me with generosity as mentors and advocates. I cherish the acceptance and friendships I experienced during those three years. Every day, I rely on lessons learned in the program. Yet, upon graduation, I recognized a gap, a missing something in the narrative momentum of my stories. I searched out books on writing craft. Oakley Hall’s, How Fiction Works, reinforced every lesson I’d learned. I read and re-read that book. My writing improved. But the craft book that changed my approach to writing fiction is Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. I came to understand the three-act structure at the gut level – how to develop the set-up, turning points, conflicts, triumphs and reversals, and character changes. Now, I have a book-shelf filled with craft books, and refer to different ones whenever I get stuck. Understanding the three-act structure changed the way I approach writing a novel. Before I write the first sentence, I think through the story to the end. I have a huge whiteboard divided into three sections. Across the top, I note the dramatic through-line, a sentence to remind me what the story is about. For each of three acts, I summarize what happens, note turning points, key scenes, conflicts, reversals, character roles. I visualize the novel’s final scene, and mark that down. The three-act structure lets me think about and map out the story’s direction. In truth, characters, once created, tend to dictate narrative momentum on their own terms, and finished stories vary from the initial structural design. Nevertheless, when I start with basic structure, as I build the narrative, I understand the story’s foundation, and create a better wrought novel.