Creative Structure for Creative Writing

Creative Structure for Creative Writing

Structure in a creative narrative is important. 

It is the beginning, the middle, the end and somewhere in between. 

This starts with the beginning. An event that starts off the narrative.

Then it travels to the conflict. This is the problem that needs to be resolved. It can come in any form, such as man against man, man against nature and even man against inner struggle.

The climax is between the conflict and the problem solved. It is the edge of the cliff that the characters stand upon and decide whether they jump or not. It is where the conflict comes to a head and it is the height of the story.

Then comes the resolution. It sees the problem solved, such as a crime being solved. 

The end is the tying up of loose ends in a neat bow. Finishing the story may end with "Happily ever after" or even "The End".

After the foundation is set, the first layers can be added.

Then it is time to add the point of view, plot, characters, setting, theme(s), speech, action, emotion and genre. These are the guts of the story.

So what does this mean for a narrative? How is this useful? 

Well, even if the base line structure is there, a story is nothing without the guts, without a point of view the thoughts provided by the author is scattered. Without plot, there is no direction. Without characters, there is no one to tell the story. Without setting, there is no location. Without theme, it is bland and dull. Without speech, it would be like a silent movie. Without action, there is no tension, no drama. Without genre, there is none of the above.

So how do these help? What can be done?

Task 1

Take a look at the text "I Think We Just Killed the Mayor of Seattle" by Nikolas Kvenvolden, Washington State, USA. In pairs, look at each of the layers above. Try to work out where each of these are situated in the example narrative. Afterwards, have a class discussion to find any similarities and conflicts of views, perhaps another pair has the same idea or even a different one that hasn't been thought of. 

Now take out these layers, cross them out and see what is left. Does it make sense? Does it make it better or worse? 

Example of edited narrative:"I Think We Just Killed the Mayor of Seattle" by Nikolas Kvenvolden, Washington State, USA.


In the edited copy of this narrative, I have used several different coloured pens and a highlighter to show different aspects, which are the following:
Blue pen for dialogue.
Red pen for characters.
Green pen for setting.
Black pen for descriptive language.
Purple pen for plot.
Light red pen for action movements.
Yellow highlighter for themes.

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.