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So I’ve always wanted to know the answer to this question: What is everyone’s favorite type of structure and character arc? I’m talking about the Bell Curve, the Save the Cat! beats, the Hero’s Journey, the multiple act structure, the Three Act Structure (there are endless variations on this one, but I’m talking about the classic one), and there are many more. Usually the story structure and the character arc are closely related, but some people use different structure and character arcs (like me).
So to put it simply (and in bold): What is everyone’s favorite type of structure and character arc? Or do you not believe in structure?
Also, I haven’t really done a significant forum contribution for several months so I don’t know any of the new people here on KingdomPen. Please tag people you know. I’ll start with @Daeus @kate-flournoy @writefury @hope @rolena-hatfield @jess @belegteleri
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Sure will. @theliterarycrusader @bluejay @claireC @Anna-Brie @overcomer @gretald @jess @timothy-young @dragon-snapper @julia-r @hislittlerose @spradlin @hannah-c @winter-rose @graciekry @aratrea @everyone-else-that-I-missed.
I’ve actually only heard of the Three Act Structure, so I didn’t have the luxury of picking favorites. I’d rather keep quiet and learn from everyone else; I’m not much of a writer.
Thanks @sarah-h
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
I tend to think about the three act structure. K. M. Wieland’s version of it in particular. But I don’t really plot out my stories to intentionally adhere to that structure. Her character arc method with the ghost in your character’s past, the lie that they believe and and the truth they need to learn.
I have to agree with @anna-brie. But as @sarah-h said, I’ve never really heard of any others.
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I don’t really know the names of structures. I don’t intentionally follow a structure, I just build up a story so it feels right with a beginning, middle, and end. Actually, there are two parts to the middle (or can be). The reactive stage, where the character is reacting with surroundings, then the proactive stage when the character starts to take charge and move the story himself.
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I’m only really familiar with the Three Act Structure and the Writer’s Journey. Haven’t even heard of the other ones. I prefer the Three Act Structure as it’s the most flexible and makes the most sense. I personally use K.M. Weiland’s variant of the Three Act Structure when writing. IMO, the Writer’s Journey template isn’t incredibly helpful and tends to be more limited with regards to what type of stories it works for.
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Whenever I plot a story, I first make a 3 point disaster structure. 1. Beginning–what causes the story to start 2. Middle–the major turning point in the story, like the top of a triangle 3. Resolution–the final battle or the secret revealed.
After I have a general picture of what I want to do, I do it chapter by chapter, with the scenes of the chapter inside a chapter description. Ex. Chapter 1–sitting on porch smoking pipe when a wizard named Gandalf comes along. Confusing discussion on good mornings then mentions adventure… Something like that. I usually use complete sentences and include certain lines of dialogue I want to use.
For characters, I have a character chart that I made up and fill out. It includes character’s appearances, strengths and weaknesses, family, and other things I think are important.☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
I’m not really sure what this system is called, but it has been super helpful for me. I haven’t really heard of the others…
http://characterchange.com/9-stages-of-a-compelling-character-arc/I’m afraid I don’t know very much about story structure, @mark-kamibaya . I know that it exists, and I’ve heard of the 3 Act story structure, but, so far anyway, I haven’t really studied it much …
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@mark-kamibaya
I like the three act structure and character arcs K. M. Weiland teaches on her blog. I don’t think I’ve heard about the other structures you’ve mentioned.@mark-kamibaya Whoops! Sorry I’m late.
If I’m editing someone else’s book, I will examine it for balance and consistency, although I don’t necessarily look for a certain story mold or arc, because different things work for different books and different writers. With my own writing, I don’t follow any particular structure. I just write and experiment with fleshing out the story and characters. If something doesn’t work in the long run, I either chuck it or change it. I don’t like confining myself to a set method. My mind is already geared to filter ideas before typing out words, so if I put my creativity through too many strainers, I’d get blocked up for sure. ?
Does the Hero’s Journey count as one (e.g. Star Wars)? That’d probably be my favorite if I had to pick one. That being said (as is probably evident from the fact that I write free-verse poetry), I’m a lot like @hope in that I just kinda go with whatever is happening in the story. If it follows a structure, great. If not, it’s not a huge concern as long as it’s believable and has some message/value. 🙂
Hope this helps, @mark-kamibaya!
"When enemies attack your kingdom you don't flee you show them why it's your kingdom. With your lightsaber."
Hey everyone! Let me try tagging ya’ll @spradlin @theliterarycrusader @winter-rose @overcomer @jess @dragon-snapper @hope @aratrea @clairec @anna-brie @sarah-h
I’m seeing a lot of new faces. Not a lot of the people I used to interact with when the forum began, though. Kind of sad. And happy.
So it seems like people here like the Hero’s Journey, KM Weiland’s 3 Act Structure, or just doing it as they go. And then there’s Jess’s Enneagram thing. Cool. What’s really interesting is that I see a lot of types of structure but most of you guys haven’t even heard of the ones I think are pretty well known. I guess they’re not as famous as I thought they were. Personally, I mainly use a combo of KM Weiland’s version of the 3 Act Structure and Robert McKee’s Story. One thing that I love about KM Weiland is that she acknowledges the existence of a positive, negative, and flat character arc. I love Robert McKee because he has amazing insights concerning character, scene, acts, theme, antagonists, just about anything. The only thing lacking in him seems to be a clean mouth (he’s rather crude). Oh, and he’s not as “user-friendly” as KM Weiland.
So now that that’s over. I got another question. What are examples of a satisfying character arc and effective structure? What makes the structure that you use the most effective? If you don’t believe in structure then What makes a great story? Plot? Character? What aspect of character? What part of plot? Or is it (I hope not) the fact that the author has a great haircut?
I’m gonna include the other people that were originally tagged in the hopes of getting them involved. @theliterarycrusader @bluejay @claireC @Anna-Brie @overcomer @gretald @jess @timothy-young @dragon-snapper @julia-r @hislittlerose @spradlin @hannah-c @winter-rose @graciekry @aratrea @Daeus @kate-flournoy @writefury @hope @rolena-hatfield @jess @belegteleri @everyone-that-has-something-to-say
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
I’ve only really studied K.M’s system actually. I like it because it’s fairly simple (once you get to understand it), the plot points make it easy to lay out the pacing for a novel, it is easily tweaked to fit any of the three character arcs, it corresponds directly to the character arc itself, and I’ve been able to observe it in a lot of books that I read.
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