Q2 Week 1 Craft: Study Time

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

The best way to study structure is to read a lot of novels. Wanna know another, quicker way? Watch movies and television. Especially television shows. Why?

Television shows are short and they have to hit the story beats and use tactics to keep viewers in their seat AND not clicking the clicker to change the channel.

When you watch TV, or movies, shout out -outloud or in your head- that's the hero. There's the heroine. Oh, they're meeting for the first time on screen, isn't that cute. This montage of them taking long walks or working late hours and sneaking glances, this kinda feels like falling in love. Oh, no there's a misunderstanding and it's looking pretty dark in this moment. Ah, look at this heartwarming grand gesture. I can totally see them spending the rest of their lives together.

Then put in another movie or TV show and do it again. Yes, folks. Being a couch potato can build your storytelling muscle!

Are you writing a small town romance? Watch Virgin River or Sweet Magnolias on Netflix.

Writing Romantic Suspense, watch The Catch or The Thomas Crown Affair.

Writing a RomCom? You have so much to choose from.

Structure is why readers keep going back to the same trope -like Marriage of Convenience- over and over again. It’s why they crave a particular subgenre -like Romantic Suspense. It’s why they keep reading Alpha Werewolves or Academy Bully Romance or Mafia Romance -they want to experience that same character archetype and transformation over and over again.

That's the structure. It's what readers and viewers come for.

You don't have to outline it. But train your brain to recognize it. Because you’re a creative, you'll innovate these obligatory scenes in your stories.

So step one, do you know the structure of what you’re writing? The Genre, Subgenre, Trope, and Character Archetype?

I write romance. The genre structure that I see is:

1. Introduce your main characters hero and heroine

2. They have to meet each other on the page so the reader can see their chemistry

3. We watch them get to know each other in a phase called the Fun and games or the Falling Love moments.

4. There's a Dark moment where the relationship is tested

5. There's a Grand gesture which leads to an HEA

My favorite trope is Marriage of Convenience which I believe must have the following seven elements:

• Reason for the marriage

• Vows exchanged

• Unexpected Kiss -that’s always a part of the ceremony, you silly characters!

• Fun and Games or Falling in Love moments

• Mirror Moment where individually, they realize they’re in love with the other

• Dark Night where the reason for the marriage is found out by others

• Grand Gesture where they admit to each other their true love

And then there’s the character archetypes. Personally, I’m always writing strong women who suck at love because that’s the story of my life. So my heroine’s character arc will start out with her working too hard or being too independent and then loosening up as a result of the found family, sisterhood collective of girlfriends, and the love of the hero.

Now it’s your turn. Can you identify the structure of what you’re writing?