Ask These Girls

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All creative writers are bound to an invisible law of journalism. From Genesis, the same story structure has been used. These things are laid in stone. But after this lesson, you will see that story structure is far more than the initial breakdown:

· Exposition – the beginning, what the story is about

· Conflict – conflict with man vs. man, man vs. nature, or man vs. internal conflict

· Climax

· Resolution

If you Google “story structure,” you will find variations of the story structure. You might find plot, conflict, conclusion – or theme, climax, and conclusion. No matter how you word it, the basic answer is the same. All of these things are necessary to the story line.

But you must expound on the following things, no matter what kind of story you are writing:

· Point of View

· Plot

· Theme

· Setting

· Characterization

· Dialog

· Action

· Writing style

· Genre

If you want to transfer your reader from their sofa or chair to the scene in your mind, you must use settings. Using settings wisely is the name of the game; if a curtain blowing in the wind works for the scene, use it. One of the best openings is picking up halfway in the middle of a scene. This ploy will grab your audience by the throat.

There is a difference between plot and theme. The plot, usually associated with the center climax, tells what the story is about. But theme = the not so easily seen driving force and motivation. Flopping curtains will only be part of the setting, but it will lead to the larger picture, the plot. Each time an event occurs, ask yourself questions: “Why is the window open? What was the point in having an open window? These questions lead you to the theme of the story. Answer these questions: who, what, where, when, why, how. The answer to these questions is the theme that drives the story.

Point of view tells how the reader views the story. The reader will see the story through your eyes if you use first person point of view (I went to the store… ). When the story is told through the third person point of view, (She went to the fishfry… ), the viewer will see through the character’s eyes. New writers usually like to write in first person, but most editors are now buying mostly third person. If you want to sell, you must follow what the editors are buying.

A few words on the above: Characterization – concentrate on attitudes, quirks, failures, and descriptions. Accents are hard to read, so don’t use them with the main character. Settings: Choose them wisely; try to use scenery that ties into the plot or theme.