What is narrative structure?

 What is narrative structure?

Story structure, also known as narrative structure, is the order in which events are organized into a beginning, middle, and ending in a novel.

A story’s structure directly affects the way the plot unfolds and how its driving forces (characters, obstacles, setting, etc.) are introduced to the reader.

Structure helps writers draw connections between ‘things that happen’ and ‘things that matter.’

 Basic story structure

Ø  The status quo. The protagonist is living some kind of ‘normal life’ but has a greater desire or goal. This is usually the first part of the story — but not always.

Ø  An inciting incident. Sometimes called a catalyst, this is an event that sets the story in motion, forcing the protagonist out of their comfort zone.

Ø  Rising action. The protagonist pursues their goal and is tested along the way.

Ø  An all-is-lost moment. The protagonist believes they have failed.

Ø  A resolution. The protagonist a) gets what they want, b) doesn’t get what they want, or c) doesn’t get what they want, but realizes that they have something that’s more important.

 Seven story structures every writer should know

The most essential components of story,

 let’s look at seven of the most popular story structures used by writers — and how they deploy these components.

1.       Freytag's Pyramid

2.     The Hero's Journey

3.     Three Act Structure

4.     Dan Harmon's Story Circle

5.     Fichtean Curve

6.     Save the Cat Beat Sheet

7.      Seven-Point Story Structure

 

 

1. Freytag’s Pyramid

Named after a 19th-century German novelist and playwright, Freytag’s Pyramid is a five-point dramatic structure that’s based on the classical Greek tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripedes.

Structure

• Introduction. The status quo is established; an inciting incident occurs.
• Rise, or rising action. The protagonist actively pursues their goal. The stakes heighten.
• Climax. A point of no return, from which the protagonist can no longer go back to the status quo.
• Return, or fall. In the aftermath of the climax, tension builds, and the story heads inevitably towards...
• Catastrophe. The protagonist is brought to their lowest point. Their greatest fears have come true.

This structural model is less frequently used in modern storytelling, partly due to readers’ limited appetite for tragic narratives.

 

2. The Hero’s Journey

Inspired by Joseph Campbell’s concept of the monomyth — a storytelling pattern that recurs in mythology all over the world — The Hero’s Journey is today’s best-known story structure. Some attribute its popularity to George Lucas, whose Star Wars was heavily influenced by Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

Luke Skywalker, a hero with a thousand faces. (Image: Lucasfilm)

Structure

1.       The Ordinary World. The hero’s everyday life is established.

2.     The Call of Adventure. Otherwise known as the inciting incident.

3.     Refusal of the Call. For a moment, the hero is reluctant to take on the challenge.

4.     Meeting the Mentor. Our hero meets someone who prepares them for what lies ahead — perhaps a parental figure, a teacher, a wizard, or a wise hermit.

5.     Crossing the First Threshold. The hero steps out of their comfort zone and enters a ‘new world.’

6.     Tests, Allies, Enemies. Our protagonist faces new challenges — and maybe picks up some new friends. Think of Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road.

7.      Approach to the Inmost Cave. The hero gets close to their goal. Luke Skywalker reaches the Death Star.

8.     The Ordeal. The hero meets (and overcomes) their greatest challenge yet.

9.     Reward (Seizing the Sword). The hero obtains something important they were after, and victory is in sight.

10. The Road Back. The hero realizes that achieving their goal is not the final hurdle. In fact, ‘seizing the sword’ may have made things worse for them.

11.    Resurrection. The hero faces their final challenge — a climactic test that hinges on everything they’ve learned over their journey.

12.  Return with the Elixir. Having triumphed, our protagonist returns to their old life.

Three Act Structure

Following the old adage that “every story has a beginning, middle, and end,” this popular structure splits a story’s components into three distinct acts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. In many ways, the three-act structure reworks The Hero’s Journey, with slightly less exciting labels.

Structure

Act 1: Setup

• Exposition. The status quo or ‘ordinary world’ is established.
• Inciting Incident. An event that sets the story in motion.
• Plot Point One. The protagonist decides to tackle the challenge head-on. She ‘crosses the threshold,’ and the story is now truly moving.

Act 2: Confrontation

• Rising Action. The story's true stakes become clear; our hero grows familiar with her ‘new world’ and has her first encounters with some enemies and allies. (see Tests, Allies, Enemies)
• Midpoint. An event that upends the protagonist’s mission. (Similar to the climax in Freytag’s pyramid)
• Plot Point Two. In the wake of the disorienting midpoint, the protagonist is tested — and fails. Her ability to succeed is now in doubt.

Act 3: Resolution

• Pre Climax. The night is darkest before dawn. The protagonist must pull herself together and choose between decisive action and failure.
• Climax. She faces off against her antagonist one last time. Will she prevail?
• Denouement. All loose ends are tied up. The reader discovers the consequences of the climax. A new status quo is established.

When we speak about a confrontation with an antagonist, this doesn’t always mean a fight to the death. In some cases, the antagonist might be a love rival, a business competitor, or merely an internal or environmental conflict that our protagonist has been struggling with the entire story.

If you’re interested in using this model to plot your own story, read our guide to the three-act structure, and be sure to sign up to our free course on the subject.

 

 Fichtean Curve

Fleshed out in John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, the Fichtean Curve is a narrative structure that puts our main characters through a series of many obstacles on their way to achieving their overarching goals.

 Resembling Freytag’s Pyramid, it encourages authors to write narratives packed with tension and mini-crises that keep readers eager to reach the climax.

Bypassing the “ordinary world” setup of many other structures, the Fichtean Curve starts with the inciting incident and goes straight into the rising action. Multiple crises occur, each of which contributes to the readers’ overall understanding of the narrative — replacing the need for the initial exposition.

Structure

To discuss this unusual structure, it’s perhaps best to see it in use. We’ll use Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You as an example. Needless to say, spoilers ahead.

Rising Action

• Inciting incident. The novel begins with the line: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” Within the first three paragraphs, Marilyn realizes that her daughter Lydia is missing. Thus, readers are thrown straight into rising action as Marilyn anxiously searches all the usual places Lydia might be found.
• First crisis. Lydia’s family is informed her body was found in a nearby lake. From this first crisis's climax, the narrative flashes back to provide exposition and details of the family’s history.
• Second crisis. In flashbacks, we discover that, 11 years prior, Marilyn abandoned her family to resume her undergraduate studies. In her absence, the family begins to fall apart. Marilyn learns she is pregnant and is forced to return home. Having lost her opportunity for further education, she places the pressure of academic success on her children.
• Third crisis. Back in the present, Lydia’s father, James, is cheating on Marilyn. The police decide to close the investigation, ruling Lydia’s death a suicide. This results in a massive argument between her parents, and James leaves to stay with the “other woman.”
• Fourth crisis. Flashback to the day Lydia died. From her perspective, we see that she’s misunderstood by her parents. She mourns her brother’s impending departure for college, leaving her as the sole focus of her parents’ pressure. Isolated, she tries to seduce a friend — who rejects her advances and explains he’s in love with her brother.

Climax

• Lydia takes a boat into the lake in the middle of the night — determined to overcome her fear of water and reclaim control of her life. Lydia jumps off the boat, into the water, and out of this life. As in a classical tragedy, this moment is both devastating and inevitable.

Falling Action

• Some level of resolution is achieved, and readers get to at least glimpse the “new norm” for the characters. Lydia’s family lean on one another in their grief. While they may never be able to make their amends with Lydia, they can learn from her death. Not all of the loose ends are tied off, but readers infer the family is on the long road to recovery.

Note: In the rising action stage, all of the crises should build tension towards — and correspond with — the story’s major climax. Like the three-act narrative structure, the Fichtean Curve’s climax typically occurs two-thirds through the book.

While this structure lends itself well to flashback-heavy novels such as Everything I Never Told You, it is also incredibly common in theatre. In stage plays like The Cherry Orchard and A Doll’s House, the action takes place in a fixed time and place, but backstory and character development are revealed through moments of high drama that occur before the audience’s eyes.

For a deeper look at this structure, head to our full post on the Fichtean Curve.

 

Seven-Point Story Structure

A slightly less detailed adaptation of The Hero’s Journey, the Seven-Point Story Structure focuses specifically on the highs and lows of a narrative arc.

According to author Dan Wells, who developed the Seven-Point Story Structure, writers are encouraged to start at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point: the hook. With the ending in mind, they can have their protagonist and plot begin in a state that best contrasts the finale — since this structure is all about dramatic changes from beginning to end.

Structure

1.       The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

2.     Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

3.     Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

4.     Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

5.     Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

6.     Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

7.      Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

For a deeper look into Wells's approach — including the key to using it — check out our full post on the seven-point story structure.

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We've said it before, and we'll say it again: story structures aren't an exact science, and you should feel welcome to stray from the path they present. They're simply there to help you find your narrative's footing — a blueprint for the world you're about to start building.