Story structure and Narrative Arc Dr Gitsham Creative Writing Elective Lesson Two: Story structure and Narrative Arc www.paulgitsham.com @dcijoneswriter © Paul Gitsham 2013 – Free for non-commercial use

What all stories need A beginning A middle An end The order that these are presented in is determined by the story-teller A middle An end

Beginning This is a simple chronological telling of events in the order that they happened Middle End

Middle You can also start in the middle, then go back to the beginning before progressing to the end. This is popular in crime and thrillers in particular, because it puts the reader straight into the heart of the action from the first page Beginning End

End End Beginning Middle Beginning Middle Another approach is to start at the end then work back. In this example the reader is presented with a situation and then goes back in time to see what lead to those events End End Beginning Middle Middle Beginning

Stories told entirely out of sequence Examples: Pulp Fiction (1994) Multiple stories weave in and out of one another, crossing each others’ paths before combining into one complete story. Memento (2000) starts at the end then works its way backward. There are two threads composed of multiple scenes. The two threads alternate. One thread in black and white is told chronologically. The second thread, shot in colour proceeds in reverse order. Eventually the two threads meet at the end of the film and the viewer is presented with the entire narrative

The Narrative Arc Regardless of the structure, all stories need to follow a narrative arc. You may move the parts of the arc around in the same way that you can move the beginning, middle and end, but the arc must exist. Over the course of the story characters and the reader must progress. They should be different in some way at the end compared to when they started. This difference can be small or large, profound or trivial, physical or emotional

A very simple Narrative Arc Climax Complications Dramatic Tension Resolution Inciting Incident Time

Complications As the story unfolds, obstacles appear, or the unexpected occurs, impeding the protagonist’s progression. Climax The greatest point of dramatic tension as the protagonist reaches (or misses) their goal. Everything has been leading up to this moment Inciting Incident The event that starts the story and the character on their journey Resolution The aftermath. Sometimes a period for reflection, the tying up of loose ends. The central character should now be different to when they started.

Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope Complications Luke Skywalker, Han Solo et al rescue Princess Leia from the Death Star and are nearly killed in the process Climax The Rebel Alliance attack and destroy the Death Star Inciting Incident Darth Vader attacks and captures a rebel vessel, capturing Princess Leia; R2D2 and C3P0 escape to Tattoine Resolution Luke, Solo, Chewbacca and the Droids are awarded medals

Activity: One – Applying the Narrative Arc Take a well-known story – book, film or play Identify the four parts of the narrative arc Inciting Incident Complications Climax Resolution

There is typically more than one Narrative Arc in any story Each sub-plot should have its own narrative arc The protagonist should have an arc Secondary characters should have an arc In a well-written story you can usually uncover a narrative arc in each chapter There may be an over-arching narrative arc in a series of novels eg Harry Potter

Luke SkyWalker’s Story Complications Luke’s family are killed; he meets Obi Wan and trains to become a Jedi, joining the Rebel Alliance Climax The Rebel Alliance attack and destroy the Death Star Inciting Incident Luke buys two droids. One of them has a secret recording asking for help from an ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Resolution Luke, Solo, Chewbacca and the Droids are awarded medals

Activity: Two – Applying the Narrative Arc Take a well-known character Identify the four parts of their narrative arc Inciting Incident Complications Climax Resolution

Activity Three: Writing Exercise There are two containers with pieces of folded paper in them One contains a character One contains an object Take out a piece of paper at random (no peeking!) from each container and write a short story linking the two objects!