In this article I’d like to tackle what*could* end up being a very controversial topic – at least within the entertainment industry: Story Structure. How can a topic as seemingly mundane as that ignite tempers? Well, if you’ve ever read a book on screenwriting or visited a Reddit community dedicated to that same art, you’ll have your answer. For the rest of you, I invite you along on this wonderful (and highly opinionated) journey!
What is Story Structure?
How much time do you have? Seriously? I ask as attempting to answer the question of what story structure actually is could take a very, very long time. In fact, there will likely never be a full consensus (further pointing out the absurdity of the worship of it, but I’m getting ahead of myself). Still, as a practical matter, we must at least define a thing before discussing it. So, simply put, here it is:
Story Structure is the framework (pattern, shape, scaffolding) on which a particular story’s plot hangs. The most common example, and the one most often cited – from boardrooms to elementary schools – is what is known as the Three Act Structure. As the name implies, this structure (at its most basic) consists of only three parts: A beginning, a middle, and an end. Easy right?
Three Acts
Well, maybe not so much. After all, while that is a good baseline, most interpretations of story structure go much deeper than that. [Note: For the purposes of this article, any discussion of story structure will be specifically talking about its use in the art of screenwriting. That said, many (if not all) of the same ideas can be applied to any narrative writing format.] People add in the ‘midpoint’ (exactly what it sounds like), the ‘inciting incident’ (the event that kicks off the main thrust of the story), the ‘dark night of the soul’ (usually a character’s/story’s lowest point), and many, many more.
In truth, any representation of Three Act story structure found online will usually be full to the brim with such additions to the core principal. While this isn’t a “bad thing”, per se, it does mean that the basic tenants are a bit more complicated than the name might initially imply. Still, it is a decent model and one that represents the typical pacing of many stories.
5 Acts, Circles, and More
That said, lest you think that the simple Three Act structure (as ingrained as it is) is the only game in town for how to build a compelling story, let me introduce you to a (small portion of) the competition:
Five Act Structure is exactly what it sounds like. In this structure, the story is divided into five distinct parts, many of which share similarities with those found in Three Act Structure (but more specialized and, in my opinion, more clearly defined). This particular format has been around for quite some time, being famously used by Shakespeare himself in nearly all of his tales.
The Story Circle is a concept popularized recently by writer/director/showrunner/funny guy Dan Harmon (creator of Community and Rick and Morty, to name a few). This model takes the typical ‘Hero’s Journey’ and slides it into the shape of – what else? – A circle. Your character begins at the top, all safe and sound, and then slowly progresses clockwise into the ‘upside-down’ world (no, not from Stranger Things) of the story’s adventure. Eventually, the character returns back up the other side to the place where they began, only changed in a meaningful way. As a result of his shows’ popularities, this structure has gained a good deal of traction as of late.
While I could no doubt go on (and on) about the various other methodologies upon which stories can be constructed, in the end, it would make little difference to the overall point being driven towards. So, let’s instead move on to much more fertile territory…
The Use of Story Structure
Now that we have a basic understanding of what story structure is, the next obvious question is one of its use: What do you do with it? Well, dear reader, that is a good question, indeed. So good, in fact, that an entire industry has sprung up around it, purporting to provide you the answer in exchange for whatever price they have chosen to slap on their book or video series.
The thinking goes: to tell a good story, you must build it upon *insert author’s preferred structure here*. “As I am familiar with said structure,” says the author, “and since I have perhaps even written/sold screenplays created accordingly, then I must be an expert. Therefore, in exchange for some of your hard-earned money, I will then tell you the ‘secret’ of how to write an engaging story – my structure along with some pithy thoughts.”
After all, that is how stories work, right? Like building a house, you have to put up and frame the entire thing in a particular structure before filling in all the details – can’t finish a bathroom without support beams, right? Much like a community of model homes, all stories are just different coats of paint on the same basic points. A one-size-fits-all solution that will allow anyone – even YOU – the chance to write and epic masterpiece (if you’ll only follow these rules).
At least, that’s how the thinking tends to go, anyway. I can’t tell you the sheer quantity of individuals I’ve seen absolutely OBSESSED about how well their story adheres to the exacting specifications of a particular structure – “Has my inciting incident happened two pages too late?” “What if my midpoint is a high and not a low?” “My character never had a ‘Save the Cat’ moment!”
People can, and have, drove themselves mad over pushing and pulling, beating and banging – all to ensure that their screenplay fits neatly into the prescribed little box. As if, by simply hitting all of the right beats on the right page, it will turn a bland concept into something extraordinary; poor execution into a masterwork.
Unfortunately for all of them, at least in my own opinion and experience, I have some bad news…
Story Structure Doesn’t Matter
That’s right. You heard me. Story structure doesn’t matter. At all. The End.
…
You’re still here? Oh. Right. Well, I guess I should elaborate on what exactly I mean when I say that ‘Story structure doesn’t matter.’ First, what I don’t mean:
I don’t mean that there is no such thing as story structure. I also don’t mean that stories don’t have a structure. Of course, they do! Every tale, from a two-sentence horror story to War and Peace has a structure of some kind. That is the very nature of stories and storytelling.
No, when I say that structure doesn’t matter, I mean a few different things. First of all, I mean that it honestly doesn’t matter WHICH structure your story ends up being. One, because there is no “best” or “right” structure, and Two, because they are all pretty much interchangeable.
“Blasphemy!” I can hear you saying, “You just got done, above, telling us how they were all different!” And you’re right – I did. That said, it might be helpful to think of story structure as less like a frame for a house and more like a sheet draped over a piece of furniture: It doesn’t define anything, it only reveals the shape that the thing already is. Add that to the fact that EVERY story can, with enough mental strain, be made to fit in EVERY structure – I’ve seen different people swear (and ‘prove’) that the original Iron Man film is both a Three Act film, a Six Act film, and a perfect example of the Story Circle.
And you want to know the truth? They’re all right! And they’re all wrong! It can be ANY one of those structures as long as, after the fact, you can choose where you’d like to personally define the already existing beats. The story itself doesn’t shift mind you. The exact same things still happen and are said by the characters. The movie, complete as it is, remains static. The only thing that changes is the formal framework through which we choose to examine it – the way in which it is cataloged.
Thus, story structure works great from an academic perspective – categorizing and examining things after the fact. Unfortunately, that is rarely how it’s used.
So then What? No Structure?
What this means in practice is that, rather than trying to force your story to hit arbitrary benchmarks of some supreme structure, you should instead focus on just writing the best story possible. If you’ve read/watched/experienced enough stories (and, if you’re wanting to write them, then I’m betting you have) then you should already have an innate feeling for how they play out. The narrative beats – highs and lows – that you like to feel when watching them. More importantly, every story is different!
Some are long, some are short – some zig while others zag. Trying to reverse engineer them so that they hit a particular goal by a certain percentage (like a computer) will only serve to turn the story into a slave to itself. Much like the Indominus Rex of Jurassic World fame, it will be a confused and angry monster that isn’t half as cool as you’d thought it would be (but at least it won’t kill people). The important thing is to let your story breathe – to evolve naturally where it wants to go. Sure, you might later have to cut it down (editing – it happens), but I promise – the tale will be all the better for finding its own way there. It will feel more natural. More earned. And those qualities are what a viewer will pick up on – not if you tightly followed a formula in its creation.
Conclusion
So, does this mean that all story structures are just hokum, bull – snake oil meant to line to pocketbooks of those unscrupulous enough to prey on the innocence of others? Absolutely not. These structures, and their patterns, can be seen across stories great and small. Good stories will usually (but not always, as there are always exceptions) find their way into a format resembling one of the many existing story structures – heck, they might even have been created with them in mind.
But they don’t have to be. Each story is its own little snowflake – unique and different and full of wonder. While this all might sound a bit too “new age,” be assured that despite the flowery language – it’s true. Audiences appreciate a good tale well told and, as long as they are entertained, they could genuinely not care less about how you got there. In fact, if you do your job right, the only people that will even be talking about your structure will be those examining it to determine how to take that little bit of magic you found and apply it to their own work. To reverse engineer their own story to match yours. Because you did something special. Something unique. And that’s what they’ll have to learn:
Story structure doesn’t matter…
Good stories matter.
Always.
Chris