Writing ProTips: Anatomy of a Narrative

Many good articles exist about narrative arc and the building blocks of fiction. Most writers agree that the mainstay of “Three Act Structure” is essential, namely the Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. Within those three critical elements several sub-items exist, including--but not limited to--the inciting incident, the climax, and the payoff. There’s an “Eight Point” method as explained by Nigel Watts in his book Writing a Novel and Getting Published. Potential reading lists for those wanting to learn more about this topic are exhaustive.

However, in this article we want to stick with an idea that’s simpler and easier to digest. A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Depending on genre, the peaks of each phase can be steep or shallow, as can be the valleys between them. These three structural elements are also affected by length of story, as there is more room to expand in novel-length fiction than flash fiction, as short stories are more concise and compact in form.

The Anti-Story

One thing that can happen when a writer doesn’t deliver a beginning, middle, and end of a story is that they produce a vignette. A vignette is a brief description of a scene or event that has neither story nor character arc. Put another way, nothing happens to catalyze change of any sort.

For a collection of words to become a story, there has to be a definite action that impacts the characters. “Action” can be relative to genre, meaning a literary fiction piece probably would not benefit from exploding helicopters, while in a thriller or mystery, someone being killed or grievously injured in some way is integral to the plot. Still, though, some action must occur that produces a change in the circumstances of the narrative and in its main protagonist, or the work cannot be considered a story.

Two common mistakes that green writers often make is getting stuck in the setup or delivering it through exposition. Both are fatal flaws and will keep a narrative from developing. They are the kryptonite of storytelling, the antithesis of "hook."

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Up a Tree

The first phase of transition from setup to story comes in the form of something known as the “inciting incident.” This is the event in the narrative that indicates change, a point in time where a clear line of demarcation exists between “before” and “after.” In a romance, it’s the moment the protagonist meets the charming--or sometimes infuriating--romantic lead. In a mystery, it’s often the discovery of a body or the victim’s actual moment of death, or whatever more or less macabre thing that happens to set the protagonist off on a journey of intrigue and discovery. The inciting incident should happen early and it should offer a powerful hook. It should raise not only the reader’s interest, but a fundamental question that can only be answered by reading further.

Throwing Rocks

Although the average reader will never stop and define certain plot points in a narrative arc, anyone analyzing the story and certainly the author should be able to identify them. One such point is the protagonist’s goal: what does the character want? And what stands in their way of getting it? This leads us to the middle act, where conflict and opposition drive the story. One old adage puts it this way:

In Act One, get your character up a tree. In Act Two, start throwing rocks at him.

The bigger and harder the rocks, the better. After you’ve finished your first draft, go through the story again and look for ways to raise the stakes. Push your characters to their breaking points, whether that is physically fighting for their lives, emotionally starving for some kind of interaction, mentally struggling to overcome, or all three. As stated earlier in this article, there is not always a need for exploding helicopters. But there is always a need for some type of reaction from the reader, whether it’s joy or sadness or introspection or whatever effect you’re trying to provoke--there must be some sense of satisfaction after having read the story, otherwise you’ll leave your audience wondering, “what the heck did I just read and why?”

Either a Stepladder or a Chain Saw

This leads us to the narrative’s conclusion. All endings do not have to be happy, but all stories must have an ending. Your character has to get down from the tree you put them in, whether they climb down or somebody saws off the limb they’re clinging to. There has to be a moment when the impact of each event in the storyline pays off, when the main character is changed and could (though not necessarily should, at least in terms of story) reflect back on everything that brought them to that point in time. The reader doesn’t have to see the character riding off into the proverbial sunset. In fact, sometimes abrupt endings are very effective. But be sure that the story has reached some kind of meaningful conclusion, that the character has achieved a definable arc, and that the reader is satisfied...perhaps even ready for more.