Victoria Lynn Schmidt - Story structure architect: a writers guide to building dramatic situations & compelling characters

STORY
STRUCTURE
architect

a writers guide to building
dramatic situations & compelling characters

Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D.

WRITERS DIGEST BOOKS
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.writersdigest.com

Story Structure Architect 2005 by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Manufactured in Canada. All rights reserved. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Writer's Digest Books, an imprint of F+W Publications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236. (800) 289-0963. First edition.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schmidt, Victoria
The story structure architect : a writer's guide to building dramatic
situations and compelling characters / by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.-- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-58297-325-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Fiction--Technique. 2. Plots (Drama, novel, etc.) 3. Characters and
characteristics in literature. I. Title.

eISBN: 978-1-58297-699-0

PN3378.S36 2005 2005000590

808.3--dc22

Edited by Michelle Ruberg
Designed by Lisa Buchanan-Kuhn & Claudean Wheeler
Cover design by Lisa Buchanan-Kuhn
Production coordinated by Robin Richie

Dedication

To my second familyMike, Cathy, Cindy, Mike, Kevin, and Matt. Thanks for being there.

To Cyndi, Cathy, Carol, and Maggie. Thanks for creating stories with me all those years ago. Wally, Anne, Eileen, and Paul, too!

And also to Mom, Dad, Tom, Oliver, Angie, Kim, and Barbie. Bobby, Ada, Debbie, Randall, Randy, and Pam

About the Author

Victoria Schmidt is the author of the popular book 45 Master Characters:Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters. She is a graduate of the film program at UCLA and the MFA screenwriting program at Loyola Marymount University, and she holds a Ph.D. in psychology. Visit her Web site at www.CharactersJourney.com for more information on upcoming books and writing resources.

Table of Contents

Situations 1 & 2
Supplication and Benefaction

Situations 3 & 4
Deliverance and Sojourn

Situations 5 & 6
Vengeance for a Crime and Rehabilitation

Situations 7 & 8
Vengeance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred and Appearance of a New Kinsman

Situations 9 & 10
Flight and Pursuit

Situations 11 & 12
Disaster and Miracle

Situations 13 & 14
Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune and Becoming Fortunate

Situations 15 & 16
Revolt and Support

Situations 17 & 18
Daring Enterprise and The Healing Journey

Situations 19 & 20
Abduction and Reunion

Situations 21 & 22
Enigma and Invention

Situations 23 & 24
Obtaining and Letting Go

Situations 25 & 26
Enmity of Kinsman and Hero to Kinsman

Situations 27 & 28
Competition and Concession

Situations 29 & 30
Adultery and Fidelity

Situations 31 & 32
Madness and Genius

Situations 33 & 34
Imprudence and Caution

Situations 35 & 36
Crimes of Love and Sacrifice for Love

Situations 37 & 38
Slaying of Loved One and Conviction

Situations 39 & 40
Self-Sacrifice and Self-Preservation

Situations 41 & 42
Discovery of Dishonor of Loved One and Discovery of Honor of Loved One

Situations 43 & 44
Obstacles to Love and Unconditional Love

Situations 45 & 46
Conflict With a God and Supernatural Occurrence

Situations 47 & 48
Mistaken Judgment and Intuitive Judgment

Situations 49 & 50
Remorse and Empathy

Situations 51 & 52
Loss of a Loved One and Rescue of a Loved One

Situations 53 & 54
Odd Couple and Fish Out of Water

Situations 55
Blank Situation Template

Introduction

Trust that still, small voice that says, This might work, and try it.

DIANE MARIECHILD

S tory Structure Architect has really been a labor of love for me, and I am honored to share it with you. While creating this book, it almost seemed as if it existed in the ether just waiting to be plucked down and written. Many times I thought I would write about one subject only to have several other subjects reveal themselves. Once the Writers Digest team suggested the addition of story structures, as opposed to standard plots, the book really took off in some exciting directions.

I guess this is what writing is all aboutplotting a story, or in the case of nonfiction, mapping a direction to go in and then leaving room to allow the story to take you in the direction it wants to go. Theres a certain balance to be found between demanding control over a piece of work and surrendering to the writing process and seeing what develops organically.

There are many writers who choose sides between control and surrender, which may compromise their work. They strictly obey plotting rules and structure or they strive to not have plot or direction at all.

But, as yoga philosophy teaches, I have always found the middle path between two extremes to be the most advantageous. The middle path is what granted the Buddha enlightenment, after all! When the Buddha first participated in extreme meditation practices that did not grant him enlightenment, he left his teachers and sat by the side of a lake praying for guidance on what to do next. Suddenly a man and his son in a small boat paddled past the Buddha. The father was teaching his son how to play a sitar, and his words floated toward the Buddha, answering his dilemma:

Tune the sitar neither low nor high.

The string overstretched breaks, the music flies, The string over slack is dumb, and the music dies.

When you over-plot your story, you may lose spontaneity and feel like a slave to your overly detailed outline. When you build your story as you go, you tend to end up with a ton of subplots and loose ends that cant be tied up and a character arc that flatlines.

You need to have some direction as to where you are going, but you also need to feel free to write what your heart tells you to write. One way is no better or worse than the other, but together they can compliment and enhance each other.

I hope this book helps you discover your own writing style, somewhere in the middle path, so you can express your unique vision to the world.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.

MARTHA GRAHAM

Part 1

DRAFTING
A PLAN

How to Use
This Book

Life consists of small things, just your ego goes on saying these are small things. You would like some great thing to doa great poetry. You would like to become Shakespeare or Kalidas or Milton. It is your ego that is creating the trouble. Drop the ego and everything is creative.