(11/4/16)
Hello guys-oh, I meant Gang! How'd the weekend go? Let me guess, homework, Wattpad...and more homework. *Pats your head* You'll survive, I know you will.
Welcome to the maiden edition of our Monday #GetInspired session. Fasten your seatbelt; grab a mug of hot chocolate and of course, a pen and paper. XD
Today, we'd be talking about the basics of story writing; Story structure.
According to Nigel Watts, there are 8 points to note before starting out with writing;
i. Stasis
ii. Trigger
iii. The quest
iv. Surprise
v. Critical choice
vi. Climax
vii. Reversal
viii. Resolution.
Novels, novellas, and stories in general, these points are worth considering during the entire writing process. I caught you scrolling up to look again. What's that crease on your face? Oh! Can't make meaning out of them? Let me help you there.
Stasis
Ever wondered why most fairy tales start with 'Once upon a time, in a land far away..."? Mmhmm, it's an introduction to the story's world. The stasis basically tells of your protagonist living his everyday life in his world.
Trigger
The trigger is the spark which sets ablaze the entire story. Consider this the starting point to the whole essence of the story. Often times, the events are beyond the control of your main character. The trigger lunges your character's life into an absolute mess, different from where the story begins.
The quest
The quest is born from the trigger. A negative(or positive) trigger makes your character quest for a better position than the current mess the trigger puts him in.
Surprise
What's a quest without surprises? This phase of the story involves several elements and takes up most of the middle part of the story. This phase exposes your character's flaws in full as he tries overcoming barriers, complications, conflicts and (un)pleasant events.
Critical choice
At some point, your character is faced with critical decisions to be made. Nigel Watts stresses that it has to be a decision by the character to take a particular path- in other words, these are deliberate choices made by your character.
Climax
The critical choice(s) made by your protagonist leads to the highest peak of tension in yur story. Some call iit the final show down.
Consider Harry Potter coming face to face with Vol... 'He-who-must-not-be-named', or Cinderella and the ugly sisters trying on the glass slipper.
The Climax leave you with a sense of dread of what the outcome of the choice(s) made by your character would be.
Reversal
This is the consequence of the critical choice and climax. This phase should change the status of the character.
Taking the Cinderella example;
Cinderella made a critical choice to attend the party where she loses her shoe. This leads to a search for the shoe's owner and somehow, Cinderella and the ugly sisters try on the glass slipper(Climax). It fits her legs and now, she might be recognized by the Prince.(Reversal-which would change her status from maltreated girl to queen)
Resolution
'And they lived happily ever after...'-or 'And all of mankind died in the apocalypse'-if that's how you'd prefer it.
The resolution wraps up the entire story, giving the readers a sense of closure. A return back to the stasis-one where the characters should be changed, wiser and enlightened.
Stasis and Trigger can be placed in Act 1; The quest, Surprise and Critical choice can be placed in Act 2 while Climax, Reversal and Resolution belong in Act 3-assuming you're plotting your story with the Three-Act structure.
More on that next week. Till then, Ciao.
*~*
Go through your overall story once more and try to spot the Eight-Point Arcs in your story. Feel free to share them with us in the comments.
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