I loved your example from Legally Blond. It's fun to see that film tells a story in many of the same ways we do in books. This series is helpful to all writers. I'm looking forward to next week!
Thanks, Jude. I strive for the helpfulness part. This is just me sharing what and who I've studied in the past decade -- I think writers integrate structure from a lot of different sources, finding what works for them. Films really help me to "see" what some of these markers look like.
Joseph Campbell is probably the best known for his work with the Hero's Journey. Students of any craft integrate information from many different teachers and many different sources. The sources that I have credited here are the ones that influenced me.
It's important to note that The Hero's Journey has been around long before Campbell. Aristotle was the first to write about story structure in Poetics; Gustav Freytag, precedes Campbell by a hundred years, wrote about structure using the Freytag pyramid to illustrate story arc.
That being said, some writers may better relate to Campbell than other sources. Michael Hague's method utilized the paradigm of the hero's journey. https://storymastery.com/
Ultimately, writers will find their way in structure through the process of investigation and and discovery, learning what works best for them. Hope this helps.
PLEASE do not use AI generated images. I t cheapens an artist's work. I did not read your blog because I was upset by the obvious AI images you opened with.
ChatGPT does not manipulate or directly use existing artists' works to create images. Instead, when generating images, it uses text-based descriptions to guide an AI image generation model (such as DALL·E). The model produces entirely new, original images based on the prompts provided. It does not copy or modify existing copyrighted artworks.
This post is simply marvellous!! You simplify how to create and understand story, and you do it better than my college teachers have done! And I was an English major. I love Legally Blonde, and am fascinated about how it is dissected in a way the reader can understand. I am a great admirer of yours, and I love your writing style -- and your in-depth knowledge of writing. And I love how you teach writing through your instructional explanations. Well-done! I have now subscribed to Abbie Emmons' YouTube videos.
Beth, I think you'll enjoy Abbie Emmons. She really has the structural component down. These posts have been a lot of fun for me to write and have also served to remind me that there is in fact, a craft, to this artistic endeavor; and Thanks for reading and for you kind comment.
Stephers, another well organized post about story structure. I don't know about Stephen King, but I sure can't write like that. I need to give a lot of forethought to what I'm putting on the page. And then, only after it's too late and already published, do I see some of my errors. I guess I need more editors. But these posts of yours are tremendous instruments for learning the craft before I take the plunge and publish the next time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and research) and keep them coming!
Thanks Marilea. I constantly have to train myself to do more prep work for writing bigger works; and to not be so eager that I jump in before knowing the depth or shallowness of the pool!
Thanks so much for posting this, Stephanie. You've demonstrated a simple yet realistic plan for a process that can loom overwhelmingly for so many. And I'm sure your readers will find your resource recommendations a huge help as well. Write on, friend. Can't wait to hear more.
Another clear, insightful, useful post, Stephanie--I really like the way you've put this together. But I'm sorry that Rick Rubin doesn't seem to appreciate the *art* of bricklaying! As skilled bricklayers (including Winston Churchill) know, it's not just a matter of stacking and cementing. And it's not just labor, there's a complex art to it that will show up (or often won't!) in the construction process and in the final piece. Craft is how the *idea* of the piece becomes manifest on the page or the screen. Again, thank you! (And I definitely agree with you about Steven King.)
I absolutely love that you had a take on the *art* of bricklaying, replete with an inclusion of Winston Churchill! Thank you. As writers, whether it's laying the foundation or hanging the wallpaper in our favorite room, craft is never very far away from art. Much appreciation.
I loved your example from Legally Blond. It's fun to see that film tells a story in many of the same ways we do in books. This series is helpful to all writers. I'm looking forward to next week!
Thanks, Jude. I strive for the helpfulness part. This is just me sharing what and who I've studied in the past decade -- I think writers integrate structure from a lot of different sources, finding what works for them. Films really help me to "see" what some of these markers look like.
We had an inquiry about how Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey fits into this. Can you comment, Stephanie?
Joseph Campbell is probably the best known for his work with the Hero's Journey. Students of any craft integrate information from many different teachers and many different sources. The sources that I have credited here are the ones that influenced me.
It's important to note that The Hero's Journey has been around long before Campbell. Aristotle was the first to write about story structure in Poetics; Gustav Freytag, precedes Campbell by a hundred years, wrote about structure using the Freytag pyramid to illustrate story arc.
That being said, some writers may better relate to Campbell than other sources. Michael Hague's method utilized the paradigm of the hero's journey. https://storymastery.com/
Ultimately, writers will find their way in structure through the process of investigation and and discovery, learning what works best for them. Hope this helps.
PLEASE do not use AI generated images. I t cheapens an artist's work. I did not read your blog because I was upset by the obvious AI images you opened with.
ChatGPT does not manipulate or directly use existing artists' works to create images. Instead, when generating images, it uses text-based descriptions to guide an AI image generation model (such as DALL·E). The model produces entirely new, original images based on the prompts provided. It does not copy or modify existing copyrighted artworks.
Hi Stephanie,
This post is simply marvellous!! You simplify how to create and understand story, and you do it better than my college teachers have done! And I was an English major. I love Legally Blonde, and am fascinated about how it is dissected in a way the reader can understand. I am a great admirer of yours, and I love your writing style -- and your in-depth knowledge of writing. And I love how you teach writing through your instructional explanations. Well-done! I have now subscribed to Abbie Emmons' YouTube videos.
Beth, I think you'll enjoy Abbie Emmons. She really has the structural component down. These posts have been a lot of fun for me to write and have also served to remind me that there is in fact, a craft, to this artistic endeavor; and Thanks for reading and for you kind comment.
Stephers, another well organized post about story structure. I don't know about Stephen King, but I sure can't write like that. I need to give a lot of forethought to what I'm putting on the page. And then, only after it's too late and already published, do I see some of my errors. I guess I need more editors. But these posts of yours are tremendous instruments for learning the craft before I take the plunge and publish the next time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and research) and keep them coming!
Thanks Marilea. I constantly have to train myself to do more prep work for writing bigger works; and to not be so eager that I jump in before knowing the depth or shallowness of the pool!
Thanks so much for posting this, Stephanie. You've demonstrated a simple yet realistic plan for a process that can loom overwhelmingly for so many. And I'm sure your readers will find your resource recommendations a huge help as well. Write on, friend. Can't wait to hear more.
Thanks, Paula. It always feels good to share what I've studied so that it might benefit someone else. Stay tuned . . .
Another clear, insightful, useful post, Stephanie--I really like the way you've put this together. But I'm sorry that Rick Rubin doesn't seem to appreciate the *art* of bricklaying! As skilled bricklayers (including Winston Churchill) know, it's not just a matter of stacking and cementing. And it's not just labor, there's a complex art to it that will show up (or often won't!) in the construction process and in the final piece. Craft is how the *idea* of the piece becomes manifest on the page or the screen. Again, thank you! (And I definitely agree with you about Steven King.)
I absolutely love that you had a take on the *art* of bricklaying, replete with an inclusion of Winston Churchill! Thank you. As writers, whether it's laying the foundation or hanging the wallpaper in our favorite room, craft is never very far away from art. Much appreciation.