Story Structure Architect

280 Pages·2010·18.07 MB·English

10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 1
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 2
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 1
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.writersdigest.com
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 2
Story Structure Architect© 2005 by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Manufactured in Canada.
All rights reserved. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote
brief passages in a review. Published by Writer's Digest Books, an imprint of F+W Pub-
lications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236. [phone]. First
edition.
09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct
100 Armstrong Avenue
Georgetown, ON, Canada L7G 5S4
Tel: [phone]
Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles
Brunel House, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4PU, England
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link
P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756 Australia
Tel: [phone]
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schmidt, Victoria
The story structure architect : a writer's guide to building dramatic
situations and compelling characters / by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.-- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58297-325-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Fiction--Technique. 2. Plots (Drama, novel, etc.) 3. Characters and
characteristics in literature. I. Title.
PN3378.S36 2005 2005000590
808.3--dc22
Edited by Michelle Ruberg
Designed by Lisa Buchanan-Kuhn & Claudean Wheeler
Cover design by Lisa Buchanan-Kuhn
Production coordinated by Robin Richie
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 3
Dedication
To my second family—Mike, Cathy, Cindy, Mike, Kevin, and Matt.
Thanks for being there.
To Cyndi, Cathy, Carol, and Maggie. Thanks for creating stories
with me all those years ago. Wally, Anne, Eileen, and Paul, too!
And also to Mom, Dad, Tom, Oliver, Angie, Kim, and Barbie. Bobby,
Ada, Debbie, Randall, Randy, and Pam
About the Author
Victoria Schmidt is the author of the popular book 45 Master Char-
acters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters.She is a
graduate of the film program at UCLA and the MFA screenwriting
program at Loyola Marymount University, and she holds a Ph.D. in
psychology. Visit her Web site at www.CharactersJourney.com for
more information on upcoming books and writing resources.
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 4
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................1
Part 1: Drafting a Plan
How to Use This Book................................................................4
The 5 Dramatic Throughlines....................................................9
The 6 Conflicts ..........................................................................15
The 21 Genres............................................................................20
Part 2: Building the Structure
How to Use the 11 Master Structures ....................................28
The Roller Coaster Ride ..........................................................34
The Replay..................................................................................39
Fate..............................................................................................44
The Parallel................................................................................49
The Episodic..............................................................................55
The Melodrama..........................................................................60
Romance....................................................................................66
The Journey................................................................................73
Interactive..................................................................................82
Metafiction..................................................................................88
The Slice of Life ........................................................................93
Part 3: Adding Stories
Introducing the 55 Dramatic Situations........................................99
Situations 1 & 2
Supplication and Benefaction....................................................103
Situations 3 & 4
Deliverance and Sojourn............................................................109
Situations 5 & 6
Vengeance for a Crime and Rehabilitation ................................115
Situations 7 & 8
Vengeance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred and
Appearance of a New Kinsman..................................................121
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 5
Situations 9 & 10
Flight and Pursuit........................................................................128
Situations 11 & 12
Disaster and Miracle..................................................................134
Situations 13 & 14
Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune
and Becoming Fortunate............................................................140
Situations 15 & 16
Revolt and Support ....................................................................145
Situations 17 & 18
Daring Enterprise and The Healing Journey..............................151
Situations 19 & 20
Abduction and Reunion..............................................................158
Situations 21 & 22
Enigma and Invention ................................................................164
Situations 23 & 24
Obtaining and Letting Go............................................................170
Situations 25 & 26
Enmity of Kinsman and Hero to Kinsman....................................176
Situations 27 & 28
Competition and Concession......................................................182
Situations 29 & 30
Adultery and Fidelity..................................................................188
Situations 31 & 32
Madness and Genius..................................................................194
Situations 33 & 34
Imprudence and Caution............................................................200
Situations 35 & 36
Crimes of Love and Sacrifice for Love........................................206
Situations 37 & 38
Slaying of Loved One and Conviction ........................................212
Situations 39 & 40
Self-Sacrifice and Self-Preservation..........................................218
10961 FrontMatter.qxd 2/25/10 10:56 AM Page 6
Situations 41 & 42
Discovery of Dishonor of Loved One and
Discovery of Honor of Loved One ..............................................224
Situations 43 & 44
Obstacles to Love and Unconditional Love................................229
Situations 45 & 46
Conflict With a God and Supernatural Occurrence....................235
Situations 47 & 48
Mistaken Judgment and Intuitive Judgment ............................241
Situations 49 & 50
Remorse and Empathy................................................................247
Situations 51 & 52
Loss of a Loved One and Rescue of a Loved One ......................253
Situations 53 & 54
Odd Couple and Fish Out of Water ............................................258
Situations 55
Blank Situation Template............................................................263
Part 4: Finishing Touches
Research ..................................................................................266
Index ........................................................................................273
10961 section 1.qxd 2/25/10 11:01 AM Page 1
Introduction
“Trust that still, small voice that says, ‘This might
work,’ and try it.”
–DIANE MARIECHILD
S
tory Structure Architecthas really been a labor of love for
me, and I am honored to share it with you. While creating
this book, it almost seemed as if it existed in the ether just
waiting to be plucked down and written. Many times I thought I
would write about one subject only to have several other subjects
reveal themselves. Once the Writer’s Digest team suggested the ad-
dition of story structures, as opposed to standard plots, the book
really took off in some exciting directions.
I guess this is what writing is all about—plotting a story, or in
the case of nonfiction, mapping a direction to go in and then leaving
room to allow the story to take you in the direction it wants to go.
There’s a certain balance to be found between demanding control
over a piece of work and surrendering to the writing process and
seeing what develops organically.
There are many writers who choose sides between control and
surrender, which may compromise their work. They strictly obey
plotting rules and structure or they strive to not have plot or direc-
tion at all.
But, as yoga philosophy teaches, I have always found the mid-
dle path between two extremes to be the most advantageous. The
middle path is what granted the Buddha enlightenment, after all!
When the Buddha first participated in extreme meditation practices
that did not grant him enlightenment, he left his teachers and sat
by the side of a lake praying for guidance on what to do next. Sud-
denly a man and his son in a small boat paddled past the Buddha. The
father was teaching his son how to play a sitar, and his words float-
ed toward the Buddha, answering his dilemma:
Tune the sitar neither low nor high.
The string overstretched breaks, the music flies, The string over
slack is dumb, and the music dies.
Introduction 1