In this 5-minute interview with Colum McCann he talks briefly about a lot of things. Go ahead, take a few minutes to watch it. It’s good stuff.
The part I keep replaying in my mind starts around minute 3:30. He says how having a structure before you start forces you to stuff your story into a “preassembled box.” He goes on to say how you have to let your writing be wild and let the structure emerge.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I’ve gotten a lot of questions from readers lately about structure.
Story Structure
I’ve been hesitant to write about story structure because, well, frankly, it is a difficult topic. My philosophy, in a nutshell, has always been that whatever structure you choose, if you can make it work, then it works, which is remarkably unhelpful to anyone looking for advice on structure.
Story structure is one of those things that can’t be given in a formula. Not that people haven’t tried. Take a moment to google the topic and you’ll find hundreds of people telling you exactly how to structure your novel. But it just doesn’t work like that. I’m with McCann on this one, you kind of have to let yourself go wild, then figure out what your structure is. Then keep working. For me, structure starts to take place about mid-way through the process of writing a novel.
But there are two things I can share with confidence that might help someone struggling with structure.
1. Somebody, wanted, but, so, then, finally
This handy little diagram was drawn by my (clearly brilliant) daughter when she was 5. It is, in a nutshell, everything you need to know about structure: somebody, wanted, but, so, then, finally.
It’s about putting obstacles in the path of your main character. They want something (see my recent post on Making Your Characters Want Something), but something goes wrong, so they try something else, and something else happens, then finally they end up somewhere.
I know this is a gross oversimplification, but I’m telling you, without these basic ideas in place, you’ve got no story.
2. Read, read, read
If you read a lot you have a deep understanding of story. You may not even realize it, but you do. (And if you’re not reading a lot, you’re not really a writer. Adjust accordingly.)
This is the part that cannot be taught. It has to be absorbed. Then, when you start writing your own story, you come to understand what it is you’re trying to say and a structure begins to present itself.
Because structure is complicated. Even if your novel is a straight down the middle, close third, past tense, linear narrative, there will be moments where we learn a bit of backstory – are those little paragraphs of memory, or whole chapters of flashback?
And once you jump away from that basic structure, the permutations are countless. So yeah, I come back to McCann’s advice to just start writing.
I’m working on formalizing a few more ideas on structure – including some exercises I’ve used in the past to spark ideas, so stay tuned.
First of all your daughter is brilliant. That is a great drawing. A young mind can see the world in a way so many of us adults miss..
Thank you for posting the interview. A few things that caught my attention:
Know your characters. This is so important. If we are going to write about them we need to know them. Pretty simple. Most of what we know of them will never reach the story but still….we have to know.
Structure: For a long time I struggled with this. For a while I felt lost. But one day I didn’t care and I wrote the thing without a worry in the world and it was fun. I’ve learned not to worry about the first draft. It’s all about settling in to the story and understanding the characters and, without realizing it, structure was taking place.
Operate on the Fumes of a Gut Feeling – Bumper Sticker! 🙂
And finally: I agree – Us writers are emotionally clever.