Some stories just don’t fit into traditional western structures. I’m writing a novel now in what I’m calling a Collage structure, though I’m not sure it fits the official definition. It certainly feels like a collage though.
What is the structure of Beloved? What is the structure of The Rabbit Hutch? That’s what I’m trying to define.
Thank you for your post. I always appreciate talk of different structures.
Great essay! Along somewhat similar lines, but dealing with non-fiction, this article by Julia Rosen for The Open Notebook compiles a series of different approaches to visualizing structure:
Excellent read, thanks Lincoln. I'm also reminded of Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook, which goes into some nice thoughts about breaking structural conventions.
I have had a few showrunners drum into me the “story circle” and now it’s all I can think in. Thankfully, if you stand far enough away from it, there’s some really useful things to use.
I recently (last month) read about kishotenketsu. Had never heard of it before. The author came straight out and said she was structuring her story in a kishotenketsu form. I didn't know what it was at the time but thought the book closed on a glum note. Now looking at the graphic I see that is exactly what was accomplished. I wonder how successful one can be as a new author and adhering to kishotenketsu. I personally would hate to end my first work on sad note.
Relatedly, I always left long meetings scribbling the flow of meetings, both how the entire meeting's arc went as well as people's individual narrative arcs. Very interesting to compare and contrast the way people speak.
Lastly, last month I went to the place which gave Miyazaki his inspiration for the forests in Princess Mononoke. If anyone's interested in reading about it they can find it here: https://3guaguas.substack.com/p/my-time-as-prince-mononoke
And now I'm wondering if that last sentence was too tautological haha.
When it comes to cinema, I'm very sympathetic to Raúl Ruiz's stated preference: “the images that together make up a film determine what type of narration will structure the film and not the contrary”
I wanted to post this comment with the article it references, but that was published back in May, so I hope this is welcome here. I recently published an article “The Substack Authors’ Dilemma” in which I quoted from your “Readers Aren't Flocking to Chatbot Novels Just Yet.” Your challenge “To be useful, chatbots need to do something that humans can’t. One thing that stands out to me is individualization” inspired me to see if I can pull that off. I’ll let you know how that plays out. Just want to extend my thanks for the inspiration your writing provides.
Martin Solares has a brand new book out called How to Draw a Novel. Haven't read it (yet--have a more than sneaking suspicion i will be holding in my hands on Dec 25), but thought it worth mentioning since you gave him the LitHub shoutout. Speaking of structure: has anyone seen Saltburn? (I'm not giving anything away here.) When the protagonist stands at the gate of the house he's visiting, oh my god, I felt every writer in the room thinking "hero's journey; standing at the threshold."
I like the idea of creating your own diagram or graphic to express the shape of a narrative that you have written: it preserves the benefit of structure without the need to blindly follow someone else's structure or indeed shoehorn your own story into an 'unnatural' shape.
I believe that there is a hand-drawn picture of the shape of To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf in one of her diaries, unless I am misremembering and it's actually a description in words.
There are some very rich ideas in your article. Thanks!
Some stories just don’t fit into traditional western structures. I’m writing a novel now in what I’m calling a Collage structure, though I’m not sure it fits the official definition. It certainly feels like a collage though.
What is the structure of Beloved? What is the structure of The Rabbit Hutch? That’s what I’m trying to define.
Thank you for your post. I always appreciate talk of different structures.
Great essay! Along somewhat similar lines, but dealing with non-fiction, this article by Julia Rosen for The Open Notebook compiles a series of different approaches to visualizing structure:
https://www.theopennotebook.com/2015/10/20/narrative-x-rays-stories-structural-skeletons/
So glad to have stumbled upon this article! Great food for thought.
Excellent read, thanks Lincoln. I'm also reminded of Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook, which goes into some nice thoughts about breaking structural conventions.
I have had a few showrunners drum into me the “story circle” and now it’s all I can think in. Thankfully, if you stand far enough away from it, there’s some really useful things to use.
I love this so much. Would you be willing to let me crosspost it to The Author Stack? I think my audience would love it.
I recently (last month) read about kishotenketsu. Had never heard of it before. The author came straight out and said she was structuring her story in a kishotenketsu form. I didn't know what it was at the time but thought the book closed on a glum note. Now looking at the graphic I see that is exactly what was accomplished. I wonder how successful one can be as a new author and adhering to kishotenketsu. I personally would hate to end my first work on sad note.
Relatedly, I always left long meetings scribbling the flow of meetings, both how the entire meeting's arc went as well as people's individual narrative arcs. Very interesting to compare and contrast the way people speak.
Lastly, last month I went to the place which gave Miyazaki his inspiration for the forests in Princess Mononoke. If anyone's interested in reading about it they can find it here: https://3guaguas.substack.com/p/my-time-as-prince-mononoke
And now I'm wondering if that last sentence was too tautological haha.
When it comes to cinema, I'm very sympathetic to Raúl Ruiz's stated preference: “the images that together make up a film determine what type of narration will structure the film and not the contrary”
https://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-35-first-release/hanging-here-and-groping-there-on-raul-ruiz%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cthe-six-functions-of-the-shot%E2%80%9D/
I loved Meander, Spiral, Explode, and am always happy to see that book get some well-deserved attention!
I wanted to post this comment with the article it references, but that was published back in May, so I hope this is welcome here. I recently published an article “The Substack Authors’ Dilemma” in which I quoted from your “Readers Aren't Flocking to Chatbot Novels Just Yet.” Your challenge “To be useful, chatbots need to do something that humans can’t. One thing that stands out to me is individualization” inspired me to see if I can pull that off. I’ll let you know how that plays out. Just want to extend my thanks for the inspiration your writing provides.
Martin Solares has a brand new book out called How to Draw a Novel. Haven't read it (yet--have a more than sneaking suspicion i will be holding in my hands on Dec 25), but thought it worth mentioning since you gave him the LitHub shoutout. Speaking of structure: has anyone seen Saltburn? (I'm not giving anything away here.) When the protagonist stands at the gate of the house he's visiting, oh my god, I felt every writer in the room thinking "hero's journey; standing at the threshold."
I like the idea of creating your own diagram or graphic to express the shape of a narrative that you have written: it preserves the benefit of structure without the need to blindly follow someone else's structure or indeed shoehorn your own story into an 'unnatural' shape.
I believe that there is a hand-drawn picture of the shape of To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf in one of her diaries, unless I am misremembering and it's actually a description in words.
There are some very rich ideas in your article. Thanks!
I've been looking at structure a lot with the next book I'm writing. Thanks for these thoughts.