How to Craft a Great Story: A Teach Yourself Guide

293 Pages·12.637 MB·English

by  Chris Sykes

Teach®
Yourself
HOW TO CRAFT
A, GREAT
STORY
What is a story? (page 1) Hoco find a plot (page 19)
Building a plot (page 36) Using a plot ladder
(page 47) Conflict in storytelling
(page 71) Story versus plot (page 99)
P r o b l e m s _
with plot (page , ,1
115) Climax and w resolution (page
169) Form and structure: music
and poetry ( )Stor 7
(page 195) The three--act structure(1eW8fifl
\‘éfifi
fig?”
CHRIS SYKES
‘Chris Is a fine tutor — organized, knowledgeable, someone
"-"10 makes learning a pleasure.’
Former student, Oxford Creative Wn'ting Course
®
Teach
Yourself ‘
Find writing success with
a perfectly crafted story
Whatever the style, genre or form of your writing,
create spellbinding stories_ following the guidance
on plot and structure in this insightful book.
Knowing and understanding structure is central to
producing successful creative writing. The step—by-
step process in this book will guide you through all
the techniques for crafting an absorbing narrative,
from plot and structure to form and genre.
Chris Sykes is the author of three books of poems and
three staged plays. An experienced teacher of creative
writing, he currently directs the International Summer School
for the University of Sussex.
'ISBN 978-1-4441-6756-6
ISBN 1-4441-6756-1
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Teach
Yourself
How to Craft a
Great Story
Creating perfect plot
and structure
Chris Sykes
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First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Hodder 86 Stoughton. An Hachette
UK company.
This edition published 2013
Copyright © Chris Sykes
The right of Chris Sykes to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Database right Hodder Education (makers)
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You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must
impose this same condition on any acquirer.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this title
is available from the British Library.
10987654321
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Also available
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Contents
About the author vi
Acknowledgements vi
Introduction viii
The basics of a story
Whatisastoq?
Finding and making plots 17
How to find a plot
Relationship between character andplot
The plot-maker
Constructing a plot with pace and movement 33
Building a plot
Motivation
Revision
The plot ladder 47
Making a plot ladder
Conflict 69
Conflict in storytelling
How to create conflict in a scene where there is none
Objectives 35d super-objectives
A summary: character need and inner and outer story
What is structu re? 85
Story structure: beginning, middle and end
A simple story structure
Losing control
jumps
Story and plot: the principles'of connectedness
and causality 99
Connectedness
Causality .
Plot holes and problems with plot 115
Plotholes
Otherplot holes
Watertight plots
Other problems with plot
How to solve problems with plot
Do plot holes matter?
The 'gold' and the 'MacGuffin': plot-drivers,
confrontation and disaster 133
The 'gold’
Fool’s gold
Disaster
Goals lead to action
Building tension
Rising action
Falling action
Action and reaction
10 The four stages of a story 155
Storyshape
Exposition
Complication
Obstacles
The climax
Resolution
11 Understanding form and structure 175
Sonata form
The sestina
The sonnet
Lipogram
Writing to a format
12 Finding perfect story shape: proportion 195
Elegance and efficiency
Structuring the story
Proportion
The time/tension relationship
13 Screenwriting theory: using the three-act
stru ctu re 217
The value of writing theory
The writing process
Planning and using a plan
Screenwriting
14 Using mythic structure 235
Mythic structure
The writer'sjourney
Technology
The hero quest
Story types
The relevance ofscreenwriting theory
15 Other story models 255
Change and tradition
Other story models
Visualization
The end
Afterword 270
Glossary 272
Taking it further 276
Index 278
Contents ®
About the author
Early in his career Chris Sykes gained a B.Ed. and an MA in
Philosophy of Education from the University of London and
subsequently made a living as a writer and teacher, working
extensively in higher education. Over the past 30 years he has
written many poems which have been published in the UK
and USA. He has had three stage plays produced and worked
extensively on radio as a writer and, for a brief while, as a
sports commentator. He has taught creative writing in major
UK Universities such as Warwick, Oxford, City University
London and the University of Sussex, as well as a variety of
starting to write courses at the City Literary Institute, London.
He is the author of Your Evening Class: Creative Writing and
The Writer’s Source Book (both Hodder 8C Stoughton). He is
well versed in helping people get started, develop the necessary
skills to tell a story, create believable characters and develop
narrative and has had many pupils go on to publish their
writing. He currently lives in Lewes, East Sussex, with his wife
and chocolate Labrador, where he walks the south downs,
writes, plays bowls, guitar and piano (not at the same time)
and is the director of the International Summer School at the
University of Sussex.
Acknowledgements
Iwant to thank both Siobhan Boyer and Paula Jhung for
reading several drafts of this book, asking acute questions and
making helpful comments and suggestions.
All poems in Chapter 11 written by Chris Sykes.
Figures 12.3 to 12.15 based on originals by Siolbhan Boyer.
All other figures based on originals by Chris Sykes.
For G. Knight Boyer (1937—2009)