by Alexandra Sokoloff
Happy Nanowrimo! Here's a road map (or cheat sheet!) for you, incorporating various elements of the Eight Sequence Structure, the Hero/ine's Journey, and other structure paths.
I'll be posting questions and prompts throughout the month for Wrimos.
But also I have something to say to writers who aren't doing Nano this year:
Good for you!
The most important thing is to work in a way that is effective and right for you. You may not be ready to launch head first into 50,000 straight words of writing. So work on your outline. Work on revising the draft you have. Brainstorm your best possible idea (which is really key to everything that comes later). Whatever it is, DO IT. Commit to write for five minutes a day, every day. It's amazing how that five minutes turns into an hour, or three. And a year later, or less, you suddenly have a book.
Next month's posts are for you, too.
Good luck, everyone!
- Alex
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
Happy Nanowrimo! Here's a road map (or cheat sheet!) for you, incorporating various elements of the Eight Sequence Structure, the Hero/ine's Journey, and other structure paths.
I'll be posting questions and prompts throughout the month for Wrimos.
But also I have something to say to writers who aren't doing Nano this year:
Good for you!
The most important thing is to work in a way that is effective and right for you. You may not be ready to launch head first into 50,000 straight words of writing. So work on your outline. Work on revising the draft you have. Brainstorm your best possible idea (which is really key to everything that comes later). Whatever it is, DO IT. Commit to write for five minutes a day, every day. It's amazing how that five minutes turns into an hour, or three. And a year later, or less, you suddenly have a book.
Next month's posts are for you, too.
Good luck, everyone!
- Alex
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
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Act One: Key Story Elements |
Narrative Structure Cheat Sheet:
ACT
I
We meet the Hero/ine in the Ordinary World.
S/he has:
-- a Ghost or
Wound
-- a strong Desire
-- Special Skills
And an Opponent, or several, which is standing in
the way of her getting what s/he wants, and possibly wants exactly the same
thing that s/he wants.
S/he
gets a Call to Adventure: a phone call, an invitation, a look from a stranger,
that invites her to change her life.
That impulse may be blocked by a
-- Threshold
Guardian
-- And/or the Opponent
-- And/or s/he
is herself reluctant to take the journey.
But she overcomes whatever opposition,
-- Gathers Allies
and the advice of a Mentor
-- Formulates a
specific PLAN to get what s/he wants
-- And Crosses the
Threshold Into the Special World.
ACT
II:1
The Hero/ine
goes after what s/he wants, following the PLAN.
The Opponent
blocks and attacks, following his or her own PLAN to get what s/he wants.
The Hero/ine
may now:
-- Gather a Team
-- Train for
battle (in a love story this can be shopping or dating)
-- Investigate the
situation
-- Pass numerous
Tests
All following the Plan, to achieve the Desire.
No matter what genre, we experience scenes that
deliver on the Promise of the Premise: magic, flying, sex, mystery, horror,
thrills, action.
We also enjoy the Hero/ine’s
Bonding with Allies or Falling in Love.
And usually in this Act the Hero/ine
is Winning.
Then at the Midpoint, there is a big Reversal,
Revelation, Loss, or Win that is a Game-Changer.
ACT
II:2
The Hero/ine
must Recover and Recalibrate from the game-changer of the Midpoint
And formulate a New Plan.
Neither the Hero/ine
nor the Antagonist has gotten what they want, and everyone is tired and pissed.
Therefore they Make Mistakes
And often Cross a Moral Line
And Lose Allies.
And the Hero/ine,
or if not the Hero/ine at least we, are getting the idea (if we didn’t have it before) that the Hero/ine
might be WRONG about what s/he wants.
Things begin to Spiral Out of Control
And get Darker and Darker (even if it’s funny)
Until everything crashes in a Black Moment, or All
is Lost Moment, or Visit to Death.
And then, out of that compete despair comes a New
Revelation for the Hero/ine
That leads to a New Plan for the Final Battle.
ACT
III
The Hero/ine
makes that last New Plan
Possibly Gathers the Team (Allies) again
Possibly briefly Trains again
Then Storms the Opponent’s Castle (or basement).
The Team (if there is one) Attacks the Opponent on
his or her own turf, and all their
- --
Skills are Tested.
-- Subplots are Resolved
-- and Secondary
Opponents are defeated in a satisfying way.
Then the Hero/ine
goes in alone for the final battle with the Antagonist, and in some way faces
her Greatest Nightmare. Her Character Arc, everything s/he’s learned in the
story, helps her win it.
The Hero/ine
has come Full Circle
And we see the New Way of Life that s/he will live.
---------------------------------
If this works to make the process a little easier
for you, great! It may be more useful to look at it later, during your
rewrites.
And
if not, no problem — forget it! I'm just always looking to try to explain
things in different ways, because I know for myself, sometimes it just doesn't
sink in until I hear it for the tenth or ten thousandth time.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
---------------------
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
=====================================================
All the information on this blog and more, including full story structure breakdowns of various movies, is available in my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks. e format, just $3.99 and $2.99; print 15.99.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook $3.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $15.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $15.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.

- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
---------------------
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
--------------------
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In the mood for some female vigilante justice? My HUNTRESS series is ON SALE for $1.99 US.
A haunted FBI agent is on the hunt for a female serial killer. This time, the predators lose.
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