Structure is one aspect of fiction writing that seems
to stump beginners. One of the principal anxieties is what to leave out. Well,
less is more. Pare things down to a racing chassis - including nothing
unnecessary or gratuitous - and build up from there. Here's a helpful tip
- try using the Story Spine, famously devised by Ken Adams for Improvisation
in the Theatre. Condense your observations of an event into:
- Scene setting - eg
'Once upon a time'
- Trigger point - eg
'Then one day'
- Development - eg 'And
then . . .
- Crisis - eg 'And then
. . .'
- Resolution - eg 'And
ever since then . . .'
- The Moral of the Story
is . . .
And now, write on.
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