Week 3.4.2 Structuring your story - ideas from Story Jumper

Whenever I have created stories with students I get the creative writing part done first and then in the editing time which comes later we try to bring a structure into it.  This seems to work well.  Let's look at a couple of structures:


A. THE SIMPLEST STORY
I mentioned this in the previous post. A story has a beginning, a middle, and a cleanly wrapped-up ending. Whether told around a campfire, read from a book, or played on a DVD, a story goes from point A to B and then C. It follows a trajectory.  Sometimes it starts in the middle and then goes back to the beginning before getting to the end. 

_________________________________________________

B. STORY JUMPER RESOURCES - TELLING YOUR STORY IN SEVEN STEPS

Story Jumper is a wonderful digital writing resource.  I really liked the way it approaches structuring a story in its section for teachers. 

1. Choose a character
First, your story needs a character.
Who is this story about?

• Your main character doesn't have to be human. It can be an animal or a fantastic spirit. It could also be an object such as a rock. Use your imagination - sometimes the simplest objects in our everyday lives have stories to tell. 
• Once you've created one character, you probably want to create more characters -- friends, enemies, heroes, villains, and so on.
• Perfect characters are boring. To create tension in the story, give your characters weaknesses and flaws. If you use the character's weaknesses to get the character into even more trouble, the tension will build, and you'll have a better story. (We'll cover the importance of story tension more in the next step.)
• Remember, to keep your story believable, your character should react to events in the story according to the personality you've given them.

2. Challenges
Every great story involves a problem or challenge to be solved by the characters. 

• An interesting challenge is what turns a boring list of everyday events in to an interesting and exciting story for your readers. The challenge is what creates the tension.
• No matter how interesting your character and settings are -- you need an interesting problem to solve or your story will be B-O-R-I-N-G.
• Try coming up with a few challenges that your characters might struggle with, and write these down. If you need some ideas to get started, try asking some "What if...?" questions.

3. Motivation
Your character needs motivation to solve the problem.
Why must your character confront this challenge? What is the outcome your character hopes for?

• Sometimes this is obvious, sometimes not. 
• Making your characters act against their nature can build great tension, but it has to be believable to your reader.

4. SettingYour story needs a setting.

• Where and when does this story take place?
• Is the setting important to the story? If not, don't spend too much time on it. 
• If the setting is important, you want to show the reader what it would be like.

5. ObstaclesSo now you have your character, the setting, and the problem, and the motivation to solve that problem.

• These parts are usually told in the first section of your story, sometimes in just a few pages. 
• Until the climax, the rest of your story is detailing the obstacles - the things that get in your character's way. This will make up most of the pages in your story.
• Obstacles create tension and make the story fun for your reader. Obstacles often come in sets of three. Try including at least this many in your story to start. Try using 3 for your story idea, and then add more if you think you need them.
• Also, remember the character flaws that made the Challenge more interesting? Your character should be transforming as the story progresses, getting a bit stronger, braver, luckier, smarter, etc.

6. Climax
After getting past the last obstacle, your character finally confronts the challenge. 

• The climax is the point at which your characters also confront their own weaknesses. If they are naturally timid, then they may become very courageous at the climax. If they tend to lie, then they will need to tell an important truth. The climax of the story is the proof that your character has really transformed.
• The climax is also a great time to reveal an unexpected twist in your story. Just make sure it's believable. If a giant bird suddenly swoops out of nowhere to carry away your villain, your ending will suffer. The best endings often have predictable results, but are achieved in an unpredictable way.

The climax generally follows one of these patterns:

• Realization: Your character has put together the clues in the story and has figured out what happened. This type of climax works well for mysteries.
• Resolution: Your character is up against the very last obstacle and -- through the confrontation – a transformation takes place.
• Choice: The character is faced with making a difficult decision. Should he capture the villain or escape with the gold? Should he tell the truth and face the consequences or lie and escape unharmed?

If you want to test whether your climax is successful, read your story aloud to a friend, and then stop just before the resolution and put the story down. If they demand to hear the ending, you have a good story!

7. Closing
Finally, your story needs an ending. After the climax, there are usually some loose
ends to tie up. Here are some questions you might try to answer:

• Has everything been resolved? Is it clear what will happen to your important characters after the story ends? For example, do they live happily ever after?
• How does your main character feel about the result?
• How have your characters transformed?

Themes
You should also think about a theme for your story.

• Is there a message or special point? Stories are often more interesting and memorable if we learn something from them.
• Because the theme depends heavily on the outcome of the story, it's usually much easier to decide on a theme after you've completed the 7 steps, and then go back and work the theme into the other parts of your story.

Here is a list of themes you might try to include in your story:
1. good vs. evil
2. the importance of friendship
3. the problems with selfishness
4. the rewards of sharing
5. the danger of revenge
6. the consequences of bullying
7. the importance of honesty
8. achieving one's goals
9. respecting authority
10. travelling and journeys
11. following the rules
12. peer pressure
13. the value of taking risks
14. man vs. nature
15. man vs. machine