Writing Basic- Story Structure

Earlier, I touched on the prime key factors on how to write a story. Now, I shall touch on the writing basic which is the implementation of the commonly known Three Act Structure.

As the name suggests, Three Act Structure consists the three basic phases which layout your story. The Three Act Structure is often mistaken as the Beginning, Middle and End of your story. However, that is not the true meaning.

What the Three Act Structure really is:

1st Act

• This is the part where the protaganist and main characters are introduced, where their situations and in some cases, basic objectives are made clear to the reader.
• The first act usually takes up 20% of the story's length.

2nd Act

• This is the part where the first plot twist or crisis comes in, where the protaganist is forced out of his/her comfort zone. It can be an incident where he/she is hit by an incident that forces him/her to act or do something with that change.
• His/her action in turn lead the story gradually towards the climax as he/she faces conflicts with the opposing forces.
  
• The second act comprises the two main crisis of the story, thus it is your story's main body and also the most gripping part.
  
• The second act usually takes up 60% of the story's length.
  

3rd Act

• This is the part where the protaganist is seemingly defeated by the opposing forces, where he encounters the most desperate situation and darkest times. It is also known as The Black Moment for the protaganist.
  
• This is followed by the story's climax where the protaganist finally overcomes the main crisis, or is defeated by it.
• The third act usually takes up 20% of the story's length.
  

Writing Tips

1. Try to play around with the order of the three acts to see which sequence works best for your story. One common approach of engaging storytelling is to start with the second act and gradually let the story unfold the first act before it reaches the climax.
   
2. Some stories use a 'false climax', which fools the reader into believing that the main climax is over when the real climax is yet to come. Examples include the movies '1408' and 'The Dark Knight'.
   

Original Writing

Most people think that all the stories and movies nowadays are modifications of those already written by someone in past novels, movies or other mediums.
Despite this fact, originality in novel writing is still very crucial and is not an impossible task.


Firstly, originality is not restricted to the genre or the reality of your story. What do I mean? For example, there have been many vampires stories out there since decades ago, but that does not mean you are not being original when your story consists of vampires.

The more vital fact is how you incorporate vampires into your story to make yours stand out from the rest. This is how to write a story, or more precisely an original story despite familiar elements notable from existing works.


When it comes to original writing, the focus of your story and characters are the primary factors for readers to distinguish your story from any other of the same genre and story settings.

The key to achieving originality is to dig deep into your soul, gather your experiences and insights, and then write it down into a story. No matter how similar two persons' ideas and preferences can be, their experiences and emotions will never be exactly the same.

Everyone's life is unique. Everyone has a story which no one or very few knows.
The first difficulty is identifying that inner sentiments, and the second is to plan it into a coherent story.


So ask yourself, what past incidents and experiences affect you the most and shape you into who you are today? What or who was it that left the most unforgettable marks in your walk of life? Find that innermost emotions, fear or remorse which you have always hidden within you and spell them out through your writing in the form of your character's story.

How to write a story?

There's a difference between writing a story and writing a good story. A good story is one people will remember and learn something from. Before writing your first sentence, you need to first know what makes a good story? Here are the most important and common factors that makes a good story.

Good/Meaningful Theme

• What do you want to tell your reader with your story? (e.g True love can overcome all fears? The will of man can defy even fate.)

Engaging Plot

• A good story consists of an interesting and engaging plots that make readers want to know what happens next?

Original Writing

• Your story ideas or concepts must be special enough to stand out from others. One most common aspect is the originality of your story's universe and reality.]

Story Structure

• How should your story be told to maximise the impact of the plot?
  
• Most stories follow the Three Act Structure which consists of Introduction, Main Conflicts and Resolution. Understand the Three Act Structure as a basic guide for fiction writing.

Suspense

• Suspense serves as anticipation for your readers, injecting mysteries and questions in them to feel involved in your story.
  

Plot Twist

• Plot twists are the spices in your story to surprise your readers' perceptions as they read and unravel new things along the way.
  

Believable and Well Developed Characters

• Your characters' speech and actions should reflect their inner personalities and always be consistent. (e.g. A selfish and love obssessed character will not be convincing if he/she retreats silently when he/she realizes that his/her beloved is cheating on him/her.)
• Your characters' lives, personalities and objectives must be clear enough in order for your readers to care and worry for their situations.
  

Direction

• Where is your story heading? What purpose does each scene contribute to the climax and resoultion/ending?
• A good story wraps up nicely and does not leave too many unintended loose ends for readers to wonder and question.