Discover the key plot points that drive the narrative, from the thrilling inciting event to the breathtaking resolution. Don't miss this in-depth analysis of how structure plays a pivotal role in creating an unforgettable adventure.

Resources mentioned:

*The Hero with a Thousand Faces* by Joseph Campbell - https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/

*The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers* by Christopher Vogler - https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Anniversary-Library-Structure/dp/1615933239/

*The Heroine's Journey: Woman' Quest for Wholeness* by Maureen Murdock - https://www.amazon.com/Heroines-Journey-Womans-Quest-Wholeness/dp/1611808308/

*The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture* by Gail Carriger - https://www.amazon.com/Heroines-Journey-Writers-Readers-Culture/dp/1944751343/

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I was a pantser in the beginning, and I still pants it

every now and then. But when I do I always go back and check

for a strong story structure. What does it take to turn a

blank page into a breathtaking adventure that leaves a lasting

impression? And how can you make sure your pacing is right? How

do you know if your story is exciting enough? The answer is

story structure. Humans have been telling stories for

millennia. So the art of storytelling isn't a secret.

There's a beginning, a middle and an end. Without those three

pieces. A story isn't really a story is it? We are used to

telling stories to one another face to face chatting at the

watercooler or over dinner telling our kids a bedtime

story. But somehow, it hits differently when we set out to

write a book, a novel, especially a book that may grow

to be over 100,000 words as often happens with fantasy

fiction. So we need to pay attention to our story structure

to make sure we hit all the elements our readers need. For a

satisfying experience. plotters usually sketch stuff out in

advance, but like Panthers, they need to keep an eye on story

structure along the way and recheck plot points at the end.

The only advantage of plotting ahead of time is maybe reducing

the number of revisions and false starts. I try to be a

plotter these days to save time, and I like the confidence that

having a plan gives me but either way you gotta pay

attention to story structure. Hey, Writing Pursuits Authors.

Welcome back to the podcast. To those of you who are new, I want

to extend a special welcome. My name is Kathrese McKee. And I'm

glad you're here. If you are a writer seeking encouragement,

information and inspiration, this podcast is for you. Let's

get to it. Let's begin with three act structure. Really

everything else I discussed today is built on this frame.

three act structure has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Act One, act two, act three or sometimes it's called setup,

confrontation and resolution, departure initiation return like

in the hero's journey, or decent search and acident as in the

hero's journey. However, that's not enough detail for me. I like

seven point story structure the best the hook, a compelling

introduction to the stories intriguing world and or

characters. This is when you show your MC in their ordinary

world. It can take most of the first chapter or last only a few

sentences, but you need this piece. A compelling voice is a

must here, because you're drawing the reader in even if

the ordinary world is commonplace. The voice tone and

mood must hook the reader if you need help with your hook. Go to

first chapter rubric.com and download your copy of my

worksheet. There is a whole section just for the hook. So

let's use the 2015 movie Star Wars The Force Awakens as an

example of seven point story structure. Up until the 30

minute mark in the movie, I would call all the action of

prologue intended to showcase the villain Kylo Ren and

introduce us to a couple of important side characters Finn

and Poe. The main character is array of scavenger on the planet

of Jakku. And she has shown on a little expedition to salvage

parts just to keep herself fed. This little section is intended

to show her ordinary world this is her real life thing comes

Plot Turn number one, and that is the call to adventure which

includes the inciting event and leads to the midpoint. Maybe

within the first chapter or maybe later, something changes

in your MCs world. It may not seem significant at first, but

its result is to change their life forever. This is the

inciting event Rey doesn't know that interacting with BB eight

is dangerous. So what seems like a great fine completely changes

her life and maybe not in the best way. Pinch. Number one

raises the stakes with the introduction of the antagonist

or the major conflict somewhere in here should be a point of no

return. The day after Rey finds BB eight Finn shows up thin

aside defector from the first order and he immediately

recognizes the droid. close behind his arrival. The forces

of the First Order show up intent on killing Finn and Rey

and recapturing the droid. When the trio comes under fire, they

are forced to run Rey and Finn and BB eight escape on the

Millennium Falcon. Of course, in the movie, Finn and Rey

literally run through the village gates to reach the

Falcon in escape. This is definitely the door of no

return. After this all the way to the midpoint, the protagonist

To meet danger after danger and are stuck in a cycle of being

attacked and trying to survive. Rey and Finn are still in

reactive mode, even when they meet Han Solo and Chewbacca and

fight off to rival gangs the other this is when they learned

that Kylo Ren, the servant of Snoke, who is the supreme leader

of the First Order, is the prodigal son of Han Solo and

Princess Leia. Kylo Ren's objective is to acquire the

droid that contains the missing piece of the map, okay, things

are happening to the protagonists, and they are

merely reacting Han then takes them to meet a friend Maz, who

immediately since his raise connection to the Force, so that

brings us to the midpoint, which is when things change from

reactive to proactive on Maz's planet Rey discovers key details

about herself and her past. This is her moment of truth. Though

she attempts to deny it. She also learns Finn's true

identity, then the first order arrives again, and the

protagonists are forced to take action moving from reactive mode

to proactive mode. This leads to pinch number two the major

conflict takes a turn for the worse, and all appears last for

the protagonist So Rey is captured by Kylo Ren and taken

to Starkiller Base the super weapon of the First Order Kylo

Ren figured out that since Rey has seen the map, he no longer

needs a droid because he can retrieve the map from her mind

then comes Plot Turn to which moves the MC through the climax

to the resolution all seems lost but the protagonist discover

something that helps them resolve the major conflict or

defeat the antagonist. Rey is in a heap of trouble and truly all

hope seems lost during her incarceration. She experiments

for the first time with the force and manages to break out.

And about this time, we learned that the Starkiller Base is

charging its power banks in preparation to destroy the

planet where resistance headquarters is located. A lot

of things happen leading up to the climax, the death of Han

Solo at the hands of his son Kylo Ren. Sorry about that if I

spoil it for you, the critical injury to Finn and the final

showdown between Rey who is new to the force, and the warlord

Kylo Ren as the Starkiller Base is imploding and exploding

around them. So that leads to the resolution, which is the

major conflict is resolved and the antagonist is defeated.

Well. I don't think the audience gets the resolution it deserves

in The Force Awakens. Kylo Ren is not defeated entirely. And

Rey doesn't get the answer she seeks about her identity. But

they live to fight another day or at least in the next movie.

So instead Rey meets Princess Leia at resistance headquarters.

She worries about Finn's condition, and then she sets out

with Chewy to find Luke Skywalker using the precious map

from BB eight. When she finds Luke, she gets a temporary

resolution and then the credits roll. So let's review the seven

point structure. Let's use the analogy of setting sail on a

voyage to help us remember the seven points story structure.

After getting the reader hooked. The main character experiences

the inciting event, which whether they know it or not is

going to change everything. Their first Plot Turn puts our

main character on the path to adventure. There is no way back.

The only way open is to go forward, the winds are sweeping

them offshore. There must be a pinch point one when the

antagonist in this case the ocean shows its force in

opposition to the voyage. The hero reaches the midpoint of the

voyage of their voyage. conditions forced them to switch

tactics from reactive to proactive or they will never see

home again they must take action or die. After the midpoint, a

second pinch occurs. When all seems lost the boat is damaged,

there's no fresh water, and a storm is blowing the hero off

course. The second plot turned takes us through the climax to

the resolution. The hero has learned a thing or two or gained

enough help to beat the elements. This knowledge and

expertise helps the hero when through the final battle to

return to land. The resolution is a final point. And it happens

when the storm clears and the hero is on the beach. But the

story isn't over until the victory is acknowledged. And

heroes inner conflict is somewhat or fully resolved. At

the beginning I mentioned the hero's journey, and it's three

parts departure initiation and return. I also mentioned the

heroines journey and it's three part

Art, descent, search and ascent. Think of the hero's journey and

the heroine's journey as two flavors of ice cream. They're

both ice cream, but they taste different from one another. And

I hate the name for these two story structures because they

have nothing to do with gender. The hero's journey can be about

a female main character, and a heroine's journey can be about a

male main character. It's about their approach to the conflict

that makes them different from one another. Writing pursuits is

run by Kathrese. McKee, who has been trusted by fiction authors

since 2014, to take their writing to a new level of

excellence. Guthrie's is a three story methods certified editor

who specializes in story diagnostics, coaching, and line

editing to help you prepare your story for the journey ahead. For

more information, go to writing pursuits.com. The link is in the

show notes. And now, back to the podcast. The Hero's Journey was

made famous in the hero with 1000 faces by Joseph Campbell in

1949. So it's been around for a long, long time. And his summary

is a hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a

region of supernatural wonder. Fabulous forces are they're

encountered, and a decisive victory is one, the hero comes

back from this mysterious adventure with the power to

bestow balloons on his fellow man. The only problem is not

everything fits into this little a container I prefer the

refined, less fuzzy version of the hero's journey that came

along in 2007. When Christopher Vogler a well known screenwriter

wrote his textbook, the writers journey, mythic structure for

writers. There are 17 points in Campbell's version, and only 12

points in Vogler version. So it's easier to follow. Vogler

had a lot of input into the Lion King, and he also attended the

same filmmaking school as George Lucas, and it shows. Fuller's

points make much more sense to me than Campbell's, and they

obviously work the 12 points in the streamlined eras journey,

our ordinary world which sounds familiar definite call to

adventure refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, crossing the

threshold, tests allies enemies, approach the inmost cave, or

deal reward, otherwise known as St. Seizing the sword and the

road back resurrection, and return with the elixir. In The

Force Awakens, Rey goes through every step of the hero's

journey, but in the sequel, The Last Jedi, you can make the

argument that she is on the heroine's journey. Although

Maureen Murdock is credited with the idea of a heroine's journey,

I prefer Gail Carriger's That's c a r r i g e r take in her book

The heroine's journey for writers, readers and fans of pop

culture, which was published very recently in 2020. The steps

in the heroine's journey as outlined by character are

familial, the film family network is broken, please are

ignored, resulting in an abdication of power. Withdrawal

is involuntary family offers a but no solution. Result is

isolation and danger. Loss of family means risk, disguise

version, appeal to surrogate family network and an attempt to

rebuild community visit the end of World friends family render

aid negotiation for reunification results in a

compromised benefiting all network is established or

reestablished in an altered form. And revenge is irrelevant.

Glory is irrelevant. It's not the structure that needs to be

original. It's the plot points that need to be original. The

Hero's Journey gets taught a lot in school, and many authors

mistakenly try to stuff their story into that structure, but

not everything fits there. The heroine's journey is everywhere

in literature if you know what to look for. Gail Carriger,

humorously summarized both of the hero's journey and the

heroine's journey. The Hero's Journey, she said increasingly

isolated protagonist stomps around prodding evil with pointy

bits, eventually fatally prods the baddie gains glory and

honor. In other words, the hero's journey is often

traversed in isolation, with some help from a mentor who

probably dies before the end. He or she winds up embittered and

alone this is Luke Skywalker story. I mean, perfect. It's the

perfect hero's journey. Carragher summarizes a heroine's

journey this way. increasingly networked protagonist strive

To round with good friends, prodding them and others on to

victory together. In other words, the heroine's journey is

about building a network, a community, a team, and achieving

victory through relationships and compromise, he or she is

definitely not in it in the fight for glory and honor, those

are irrelevant. This is Rey's path in the second film, The

Last Jedi, some of her journey is already known before the film

begins, because she has retreated to the isolated

island, where Luke lives in exile, right even manages to

build a tenuous relationship with Kylo Ren. By the end she

has built a huge network of done first folks to face Kylo Ren

forces in a critical battle. Even Luke shows up to make the

final sacrifice. So this film is built on the heroine's flame

journey flavor of ice cream. Other examples of the heroines

journey, ice cream flavor are Harry Potter and Katniss

Everdeen. Their victories are achieved through building

alliances. So in conclusion, there's a lot more to be said

about story structure. And there are lots of ice cream story

structure flavors out there, you have probably heard of Save the

cat, the snowflake method, and the Dan Harmon story circle

among others. So everything begins with the beginning,

middle and end. Act One, act two, act three, setup confort,

confrontation and resolution or departure initiation return,

descent search and a half cent. You know all of those are valid.

overlay the three act structure with the hero's journey or the

heroines journey or whichever flavor you prefer, depending on

your desired model, and make sure you do what makes sense for

your story. Okay, what does it take to turn a blank page into a

breathtaking adventure? That leaves a lasting impression,

good pacing and an exciting plot, you must have conflict in

both external and internal conflict, your characters need

to make difficult choices, and there must be consequences for

those choices they make. Remember, it is not the

structure that needs to be original. It's the plot and

characters that need to be original. The structures are a

tool. And that's all I have for today. Until next time, keep

writing my friends. Keep writing. Thank you for listening

to the podcast today. If you enjoyed this episode, please

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