7/14/2023 0 Comments Blank sheet storywriting![]() Templates suggest the only way to write a novel is to follow an exact plan to the letter.Structure uses proven story constructions that humans have used since stories began.The difference between story structure and a writing template is this: I use them, too (and I know this sounds like I’m contradicting myself, but bear with me). A structure that fits your writing and storytelling style can be a useful tool in writing your novel. Which is why templates are both a blessing and a curse, and why so many writers struggle with them. Hang On-Isn’t Story Structure a Useful Writing Tool?Ībsolutely. You pick and choose the details, beats, and turning points that serve your story, and ignore the aspects that don’t. When you understand how to tell a compelling story, you know what aspects of storytelling to use to create the desired emotional response from your readers. Templates far too often force us to bake a cake when we really want to make a scone. But when we’re baking with a template, we’re adding ingredients exactly as the recipe states, even if the story suffers for it. When we’re cooking a novel, those literary ingredients are mixed to flavor the story in the way we want to tell it. We add mentor characters who have no business in the story, and rely on cliched characters to fill roles a checklist tells us we need. Or we think we need an emotional character arc when no arc is needed. ![]() We think, “This is when something has to die,” and twist ourselves into knots forcing it in. The danger of writing templates is that instead of finding the right details for the story we’re trying to tell, we’re looking for details that fit a particular template at a particular time. They might not be terrible, but they don’t make you want to eat more than one, and they taste like dozens of other bland, generic cookies on the shelf. Instead of a delicious mental meal, we get generic packaged cookies. When we treat writing like an exact science, with every beat measured to the page and every major turning point exactly the same, the story suffers. Great stories contain similar elements, but how we mix them results in completely different tales. Whip cream too long and it turns to grainy mush. If the recipe calls for half a cup of tomatoes and you like tomatoes and put in a whole cup, odds are the meal still turns out yummy. But he learned the hard way not to get too creative when baking.Ĭooking is a forgiving skill. He has an instinct for what flavors work well together, and how to mix ingredients in ways I’d never consider. Like Cooking versus Baking, Writing is an Art, not a Science ![]() But when they dictate how writers should write their books and tell their stories-especially if they give false hope as to the marketability of those stories-they lead writers down a dangerous path. When templates are used for developing stories or to help keep writers focused, they’re useful. However, it can also refer to an exacting form that promises the perfect story by following blindly along. It can refer to a writer’s personal style sheet used when developing a story, tools for brainstorming, or worksheets to figure out various plot and story arcs. Template is an ambiguous term in writing. There’s more to writing a great story than just ticking off plot and character boxes. A writing template codifies a story pattern like The Hero’s Journey.
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