{"id":2446,"date":"2017-06-26T09:14:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-26T16:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/?p=2446"},"modified":"2017-06-26T09:26:55","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T16:26:55","slug":"story-structure-with-the-muse-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/story-structure-with-the-muse-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Story Structure with the Muse in Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story Structure can be a straight-jacket for your Muse. On the one hand, structure is necessary for a story to have a point or even just to make sense! \u00a0But on the other hand, structure tends to channel ideas down predictable paths and to rob a story of serendipity.<\/p>\n

In my twenty-five years as a teacher of creative writing and story structure, I’ve developed a number of techniques to help you find your perfect balance between the rigors of structure and the free-wheeling flow of inspiration.<\/p>\n

Here’s the short list:<\/p>\n

Structure Hobbles the Muse<\/a><\/h2>\n
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The Muse explodes outward into a world of passion and possibilities. As a teacher of creative writing for twenty-five years, my experiences with many types of writers tell me that one should never consider structure at \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Let your Muse run wild<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Let your Muse run wild The easiest way to give yourself writer\u2019s block is to bridle your Muse by trying to come up with ideas. Your Muse is always coming up with ideas \u2013 just not the ones you want. \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Tricking the Muse: The Creativity \u201cTwo-Step\u201d<\/a><\/h2>\n
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The concept behind this method of finding inspiration is quite simple, really: It is easier to come up with many ideas than it is to come up with one idea. Now that may sound counter-intuitive, but consider this\u2026 When you \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Have You Lost Your Tale (and become one of the \u201cDrudge People?\u201d)<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Drudge people.\u00a0 You see them every day.\u00a0 On the news.\u00a0 In your town.\u00a0 Outside your window.\u00a0 Perhaps, even in your own home. You can easily recognize them as they have lost their tales.\u00a0 With no tale, they are directionless, shuffling \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Elements of Structure or Art of Storytelling?<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\u00a0back in the early 1990s, my writing partner, Chris Huntley, and I published a book on narrative structure entitled, Dramatica: A New Theory of Story. It\u00a0begins: \u201cPart of what makes a story great is its \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Most Important Article You\u2019ll Ever Read on Story Structure<\/a><\/h2>\n
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We think in narrative, but think about topics. Narrative is the operating system of our own minds, and we seek to impose that upon every topic we encounter. For if we can, then we have the most touch-points with our \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

In Search of Your Writer\u2019s Identity<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Sweet potatoes are the best. \u00a0And they are best described in Ralph Ellison\u2019s story of a black man coming to terms with his identity entitled \u201cInvisible Man,\u201d in which he has always avoided eating his favorite childhood food, hot buttered \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Is Story Structure Your Enemy?<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Structuring before writing or anywhere in the beginning of the process hobbles the Muse and creativity stops and progress bogs down. \u00a0This can make it appear as if story structure is your enemy. But, if you \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

StoryWeaver and the Author\u2019s Journey<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Introduction to StoryWeaver StoryWeaver is a new method of story development with a revolutionary approach. \u00a0Rather that focusing on what stories need to be complete, it focuses on what\u00a0authors need to complete stories. Other methods look \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Creating Characters from Scratch<\/a><\/h2>\n
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In this article, we\u2019ll first take a quick look at the origins of the concept of fictional characters, then outline some practical techniques for creating compelling characters from thin air. \u00a0 Where Do Characters Come \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Finding Your Creative Time<\/a><\/h2>\n
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sit in your favorite writing chair, by the window, on the porch, or in the study. You wear your favorite tweed jacket with the leather elbow patches, or your blue jeans, or your \u201ccreative shoes.\u201d \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Story Structure for Passionate Writers<\/a><\/h2>\n
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We all know that a story needs a sound structure. But no one reads a book or goes to a movie to enjoy a good structure. And no author writes because he or she is driven \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Novelists: Don\u2019t Hold Back!<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Unlike screenplays, there are no budget constraints in a book. You can write, \u201cThe entire solar system exploded, planet at a time,\u201d as easily as you can write, \u201ca leaf fell from the tree.\u201d Let you \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Happy New Year, Writers!<\/a><\/h2>\n
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I\u2019m Melanie Anne Phillips, owner of Storymind.com as well as the creator of StoryWeaver, Idea Spinner and the co-creator of Dramatica. I\u2019ve been teaching creative writing now for more that twenty-five years, and the best tip I have is both \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

—Melanie Anne Phillips<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Story Structure can be a straight-jacket for your Muse. On the one hand, structure is necessary for a story to have a point or even just to make sense! \u00a0But on the other hand, structure tends to channel ideas down predictable paths and to rob a story of serendipity. In my twenty-five years as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p36xpN-Ds","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2447,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446\/revisions\/2447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}