Occasionally as I write, I find myself getting bogged down in the details of story structure, and I see this happening to authors I work with, too. They’re so stuck in the Save the Cat! outline or the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey or any other detailed story structure guide that they’re losing sight of what their own story needs and where it’s going.
This isn’t to say Save the Cat! Hero’s Journey, and all the others aren’t great tools — they’re fantastic! I highly recommend following a prescribed structure and beat sheet when you’re first sitting down to plot your novel. But when we get stuck following them too exactly, point for point, then they become hindrances more than help.
When I hear authors stressing over the fact that the “dark night of the soul” scene is supposed to be next, but they really feel like they’re going to have to sacrifice this other important thing in order to make it happen, then I know it’s time to put down the beat sheet and go back to basics. Because when you boil down any of those plot structure guides, they’re really all working from the same six elements, which can be broken out into micro-elements and arranged in dozens of different shapes. Save the Cat! and all the others have used those six elements to create their own plot structures, but guess what? You have the authority to do the same!
If you’re finding yourself at odds with your beat sheet, I recommend you refresh yourself on the six elements of plot, overlay them onto your work in progress, and use them to modify your structure as needed to tell your own story in the most logical and compelling way.
(To get you started, I’ve created a downloadable poster that illustrates how the six basic elements of plot correspond with both the Save the Cat! structure and the Hero’s Journey.)
Exposition
The first element of a plot, exposition, gives readers a glimpse of who the main character is — what her “normal” life is like, what her world is like, what she so desperately wants to achieve (her objective), and what’s holding her back.
Now, let’s be clear: Although your novel may open with exposition, this is not the place to share the protagonist’s full biography or to explain every facet of the world you’ve built for her. That’s what we call an “info dump,” and it’s one of the quickest ways to make readers lose interest. You’ll weave in backstory throughout the novel; this opening moment of exposition is just enough to establish a sense of “normal” so that you can flip it upside down.
Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is what turns normal upside down, throwing the protagonist into conflict and, ultimately, forcing her to make a decision that will change her life — and determine whether she achieves her objective (or whether she was chasing the right objective in the first place).
Rising Action
The rising action is where the conflict heats up and the stakes rise. Your protagonist may be in denial of the inciting incident and resisting change, or she may be fighting like hell in the wrong direction. Things are getting harder for her, and the status quo is becoming a distant memory. This will be the longest part of your story, and it’s all building up to the climax.
Climax
Eventually, the conflict drives the protagonist into a place where she finally has to make that impossible choice that will change her life. This is the point of no return, and it’s the moment when your story’s theme really comes to life for the protagonist, who discovers that she has to make a change in order to move forward — maybe the goal she’s been pursuing isn’t what she truly wants or needs; maybe it is, but she’s been going about it all wrong. At the climax — where the tension of the rising action comes to a head — she’ll figure that out and, for better or worse, decide how she’s going to forge ahead.
Falling Action
The protagonist has had her a-ha! moment, and now, through her new outlook on life, she’s starting to piece together a new normal. Severing old ties, repairing lasting relationships, and reevaluating her pursuit of her objective.
Resolution
Finally, almost a mirror image to the exposition at the beginning, the resolution gives readers the briefest glimpse of the payoff — the protagonist in her new life.
So there you have it — the basics of story structure. Are they broad strokes? Yes. Are they oversimplified? Yes. And that’s where Save the Cat! and Story Grid and Hero’s Journey and all the others come into play. They help us break down each step into smaller, more nuanced moments that will make your story really sing. But the very fact that there are so many story structures are there is evidence that there is no one right way to do it.
Even if most of your novel follows the Hero’s Journey, there may be places where it just doesn’t fit, and that’s okay. Your protagonist may need to “refuse the call” twice before she “meets her mentor,” or it may take her a little extra time to approach the “innermost cave.” And guess what? That’s okay! When you find yourself in your own “dark night of the soul” as you work on perfecting your plot, put away the guide, go back to the basics, and adjust as necessary.
Ready to get back to basics?