Different Structures

When I first started thinking about writing professionally, my first thought was that I didn’t know enough about it. I knew about story structure, but decided to do some research, just to be sure I had a good handle on it. If an agent ever started discussing structure, I didn’t want my responses to be vague and lame. Worse, I didn’t want my stories to to be less effective than they could have been, simply because I didn’t understand structure well enough.

You’ve probably heard about story structure, and you probably even know one or two kinds, but it may surprise you there are many different structures. Depending upon the length of your story, what it’s about and so forth, one structure or another may be better for you. I thought I’d talk about some of them here.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, and I’m no expert, but I hope you find it interesting, if not useful.

Spiral
This is a very special structure. It suits stories where the protagonist is launched into the story, finding things have slipped out of their control. The rest of the story is all about trying to regain control of their lives. Each ‘event’ will either be the protagonist attempting to gain control (or defeat the antagonist), or the antagonist showing them they don’t have it yet. In each of these events, the protagonist will learn either about their own skills or limitations, or those of the antagonist. Slowly, they will learn how to apply their own strengths against the antagonist’s weaknesses, until they finally defeat them (or finally fail).

This sort of structure is very difficult to pull off, but works for story lengths of full-sized short stories (7.5k words) up to novels. It doesn’t work across a series. The greatest difficulty is that each event must be meaningful, and the lessons learnt must be accumulative in nature. Finding a new weakness in the enemy at each event is no good, if you don’t apply some of the lessons learnt in earlier events.

This is the sort of structure that should only be tackled by someone who has seen an example of this kind, and can see how and why it works.

Single-part Structure: The Conflict
This is great for flash fiction, or short stories set in a single scene. In this structure, the protagonist is faced with some kind of conflict, usually external, and they must somehow win the day (or die trying). An example might be a man who comes home to find a burglar holding his wife hostage and demanding something he believes the protagonist has. The protagonist either doesn’t have it (and is unbelieved) or is unwilling to hand it over.

Two-Part Structure: Rising and Descending
Although some believe this is only suitable for short stories, this is the basis of the three- and four-part structures.

In the first half of the story (Rising), the protagonist is cast adrift and subject to the manipulations of the antagonist.

From the mid-point onward (Descending), things take a turn and the protagonist becomes proactive instead of reactive, leading to the finale where they take on the antagonist for the last time.

This is usually confined to short stories, because longer stories generally require more key scenes, so the reader can see the story progressing and moving forward.

Three-Part Structure: Beginning, Middle and End
This comes to us via the grace of the Greek Tragedy plays, which were performed in three acts.

Act 1: Beginning
We are introduced to the protagonist and their normal life. At the end of the act, they are cast into the plot and are then committed to it - there is no turning back.

Act 2: Middle
The antagonist is pulling all the strings, and the protagonist is reactive. At the end of the act, they learn or gain something that will help them defeat (or at least take on) the antagonist.

Act 3: End
The protagonist becomes proactive, the antagonist reacts by showing their full power, and the story hurtles towards the final showdown.

As you can see, this is a finesse of the Two-Part Structure, allowing for a prelude of sorts to introduce us to the protagonist, and can appreciate what the stakes mean to them when the rug is pulled.

Four-Part Structure
This divides the story into four equal parts. This structure is highly important if you wish to implement The Hero’s Journey, which is an overlay for it. The first two acts equate to the Rising in the two-part structure, and the last two acts equate to the Descending in the two-part structure.

Novels generally require a four-part structure, and the key scenes outlined in The Hero’s Journey help the reader to see the story is actually chugging along nicely. This is important with large stories, because without structure, you risk boring the reader while they wait for something important to happen. They need to see the story advancing towards a climax.

First Act: Setup
Setup all that is to follow, create stakes for the protagonist, establish their backstory, foreshadow future conflict and create empathy for them. At the end of this act, the protagonist is committed to the plot.

Second Act: Response
The protagonist is reactive, the antagonist gives hints of their power, and the protagonist begins to plan. At the end of the act is a turning point, with a success of sorts for the protagonist.

Third Act: Attack
The protagonist goes on the offencive and generally behaves differently. The antagonist reacts by showing their full power. At the end of the act, the protagonist gains the item or knowledge to take the antagonist head-on.

Fourth-Act: Resolution
The protagonist is the primary catalyst in this act. We see their commitment reaffirmed, and the final confrontation with the antagonist takes place. The remainder of the story is used to tie up loose ends.

Four-Part Structure Overlay: The Hero’s Journey
The purpose of this overlay is to provide key scenes at specific places (as percentage offsets from the beginning), so the reader gets shown regularly enough that the story is both progressing and moving forward. There are seven key scenes. Between them are the stepping-stone scenes, which lead you from one key scene to the next.

1. The Hook (10%)
This is the bit that grabs the reader’s attention and draws them into the story - it is the first reason to keep turning the page. Most people like to have some kind of hook on the first page, although that may not be THE hook for the story. Certainly, the main hook should be within the first 10%.

2. First Plot Point (25%)
Also known as the First Turn, this is at the end of the first act, 25% into the story, where the hero becomes (voluntarily or not) committed to the rest of the story. It defines the hero’s need and the story going forward. It is the moment that changes his life and commences the dance.

3. First Pinch Point (37.5%)
Halfway through the second act. This is our first look at the villain, and doesn’t yet show their full power. The villain is pulling the strings here, the hero is still reactive.

4. Midpoint (50%)
This occurs at the end of the second act (not the start of the third). A context shift occurs when new info enters the story that changes the understanding of the hero. The curtain parts. This new info is the catalyst for the change in the hero.

5. Second Pinch Point (63%)
Halfway through the third act. The villain attacks (or reacts) aggressively. We see them in all their nasty glory. This ratchets up the tension, reminds the reader of the stakes for the hero, and is the setup for the showdown later to come.

6. Second Plot Point (75%)
This occurs at the end of the third act. The final injection of new info into the story. It gives the hero everything he needs to become the primary catalyst in the story's conclusion, or gives them the upper-hand.

7. Climax
This can occur anywhere in the last 25% of the story, leaving enough room to tidy up loose ends afterwards if needed. Here, the hero takes on the antagonist in a final showdown and either wins or (figuratively, at least) dies trying.

Five-Part Structure
This is more commonly used in epic fantasy stories than anywhere else, but even then it is rarely used. It is a fairly simple structure, and the appeal should be quite obvious. Each act should be of equal length.

Act 1: Introduction
This gives a look at the hero, their normal life, the world that is soon to be shattered. It sets the stakes, and in many respects is the same as the first act in the four-part structure. At the end of the act, the hero is tossed into the story and committed to it.

Act 2: Reaction
The antagonist strikes again and again, and the poor old hero is on the run and on the back foot all the way. At the end of the act, the hero makes a decision or achieves a goal that will allow them to take the fight to the antagonist.

Act 3: Proaction
The hero takes on the antagonist, and has great success.

Act 4: Defeat
The antagonist adapts and retaliates with devastating effect. The hero is on the run again, and feeling helpless. Constantly harassed by the enemy, vulnerable and on the brink of losing.

Act 5: Resurgence
Managing to avoid destruction, the hero eventually rallies his troops, allies, or determination, and goes for a desperate killing blow.

As I said, this is not an exhaustive list of structures. I have heard (once) of an eight-part structure, but the information I was given was vague, and I haven’t been able to find any references to it.