WRITING CRAFT: FIND THE RIGHT STRUCTURE FOR YOUR STORY #1

Write from instinct, shape with intention

Structure shapes how readers feel, process, and remember what you’ve written. A story without structure might have beautiful moments, but it risks losing tension, resonance, or even clarity. The right structure strengthens pacing, supports emotional shifts, and ensures each scene builds toward something.

Story structures are time-tested templates of plot points that guide the narrative from beginning to end. Using a pre-established structure doesn’t necessarily make your story formulaic. Instead, it can provide a solid foundation to creatively build upon. Too often, writers try to outline without knowing their structure. They result in stories that wander, sag in the middle, or struggle to land. Choosing a structure early on gives your outline direction. It’s like laying a strong foundation before building the house.

After reading this, you’ll understand how to choose the right structure for your story, starting with the shape your story wants to take, and then exploring which beat-based framework best supports it. We’ll break down the most common shape-based structures. Then, we’ll go into popular beat-based structures. What they are, how to remember them, and when to use each one. Finally, you’ll find a decision tree to help you layer these tools together and find the form that fits your story from the inside out.

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