Alright so if you’re a writer then you’ve probably familiarized yourself with plot…and the structure it provides to a novel. There are countless articles online on “how to plot a novel” or the like. Which is fantastic for you writers because it’s at a fingers reach from us. Not so great when there’s about…a billion ways one can go about plotting a novel. It can seem daunting and overwhelming and more important confusing!
I want to break down this massive task bit by bit. Starting with the very bare bones and working into more detailed parts. Making it more manageable.
Now, I know some of you might roll your eyes and say I know all there is to know about plot. I was you. I went into every workshop and craft class thinking the same thing. And yet, when I started plotting my recent WIP ( The Cost of Defeat ) I realized I didn’t know jack. I thought every story I ever wrote would adhere to my system of structure because of sheer will and blunt force. Yeah wrong.
It wasn’t until just recently I started diving into the structure ( because I like pretty diagrams and being organized way more than I should) that I discovered there are a lot of different Plot Structures out there. No one bothered to ever teach me let alone discuss these things. My mind was blown.
Some worked better for me than others. Some mesh better together than others. It’s all about experimenting and figuring out what works for you. And I’m hoping that this will also help others, or at least give a jumping off point. Now it’s not a whole list ( there’s a lot of elements that I could probably talk about by themselves) but it’s a good overview of the popular ones that reoccur a lot.
1) Freytag’s Pyramid
Freytag’s pyramid is the most basic plot structure I know. It’s the one we’ve all seen in school when we start learning about story structure and analysis.
This bad boy is the simplest plot structure used to dissect and understand Greek and Shakespearean Plays.
Pros x Simplistic. Makes it easy to understand x Great for those just starting ( or those who want to understand film and literature analysis. x Great for AP Literature/Comp papers
Cons x It creates simple stories x Not super awesome for modern novels or anything longer than about 25K words
Uses x Children’s Literature. Picture books mostly. Children are still learning to understand things like conflict effect on characters and having such a long falling action allows for that. x Short Stories. Since short stories are compact for punch, this structure allows you to get the most done without boring the reader in 25K words or less. x Analysis. This structure is the easiest and most common to apply to plays, film, tv and even in classic literature. It’s a great way to dissect plot and events in order to better understand the pieces working parts
Examples: Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet Sophocles’s Antigone Henrik Ibsen A Doll House
2) Three-Act Structure
The Three-Act Structure is probably the most known. We all know this intuitively as storytellers. Everything needs a beginning middle and end, after all.
This structure is very similar to Freytag’s Pyramid but adds elements that beef up and create points of interest. Obstacles, for example, add conflict and build up suspense for the climax. It’s also important to note that the falling action and resolution is much more compact.
Pros x basic building block for all good stories x Roadmap-like so you can be systematic about things x Good “big-picture” visual
Cons x Pacing is super important for this x Bit rigid and formulaic
Uses x Literally anything. Because it’s versatile it works on a plethera of stuff, let your imagineation run wild. x Film analysis. This struccture is like the holy grail in almost any film class ( sometimes they call it the four act structure)
Examples: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice
3) The Fichtean Curve
The Fichten Curve Is really unique in that it starts right with the rising action. There ain’t no time to build up or nice slow introductions, you’re dumping the readers right where it hurts. But you make up that lost time with the small bits of exposition
This is one of the most popular plot structures for modern novels.
Pros x A lot of opportunities to ramp up the stakes, bit after bit x Good for pacing x Great for Overcoming Monster & Quest stories x Translate over almost any genre
Cons x Not a lot of time to slow down, breathe x Not suited for Voyage and Return, Comedy or Rebirth stories
Uses x Thrillers/Mystery novels. You need something to keep readers in the story, chomping at the bit. here’s the plot structure for you.
Examples: Max Brooks’s World War Z
4) Plot Embryo/Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is also super common in the literature (namely western literature) With this plot the protagonist ( the hero of hero’s journey) undergoes a literal or figurative death-like transformation that changes him.
The protagonist must venture from one state into another. To take it a step further there’s a variation called the Ploy Embyro. Dan Harmon takes the hero’s journey a bit deeper and modernizes. [ here’a great video on it by youtuber Rachel Stephen x]
As you can see, the Hero’s Journey and Ploy Embyro are both cyclical. This baby comes full circle in both plot and character. They have similar plot points. But if I were to gush about this the post would be waaay longer than it already is. This is one of my preferred methods because it just makes sense for me and allows me to have some freedom and wiggle room while still adhering to the 3 acts.
Pros x Character development holla, cause this is where it’s at. x Visually appealing x Simple 8 point outline ( for those who might not enjoy long-winded outlines) x Works alongside A beat sheet ( if you use that sort of thing) x The holy grail for myths.
Cons x Overdone ( but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing) x Not suited for those who really detailed outlines
Uses x Adventure Stories. It is all about the adventure and journey with this x Myth Retellings. I mean it’s based on the myth structure of the Odyssey and the like so it makes sense
Examples: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief J. R R. Tolktien’s The Hobbit
5) In Media Res
A literal translation to “In the Middle”. This plot structure dumps you right in the middle of the story. Think if you were to open a story on the second of third crisis/pinch point. there’s still a lot of upward trajectory to go before the climax.
Don’t confuse this with simply opening a story mid fight/action. Media Res starts well deep into the story itself, close to the climax but with enough room you can still build up to it.
Pros x High Actions x Simple and fun to play with x A good use for flashbacks x Hell of a hook for readers
Cons x Can be confusing for reader’s if not done right x No build up x takes some finessing to get just right
Uses x Mysteries. This is a great plot if you want to start a story perhaps where the killer has already committed the murder. x Epic Poems. Maybe you wanna write the next epic poem, this is great for that.
Examples John Milton’s Paradise Lost Homer’s Illiad George Lucas’s Star Wars
Now I could go on and on but this monster of a post has carried on long enough. If there’s a certain structure you’d like me to go into more detail about feel free to leave a comment on this post and I’ll be sure to add it to my line up!! As always happy writing/creating!
