story writing methodology

Capturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips

Sean Glatch  |  April 18, 2024  |  8 Comments

It is hard to describe the art of storytelling, but you know good storytelling it when you read it. You read a passage of prose and it raises your arm hairs, makes your blood tingle, gets your heart racing; suddenly you’re swept up in the experience of beautiful writing.

Indeed, writers seem to possess a certain magic of storytelling—but anyone can learn the tricks of the trade. From story structures to style advice, this article covers the storytelling techniques that make readers laugh, weep, gasp, and stay up past their bedtimes.

Along the way, we discuss the key elements of storytelling, and we answer the question “Why is storytelling important?” But first, let’s dissect the art of storytelling itself. How do writers tell great stories?

Storytelling Contents

Story Versus Situation

• Point of View
• Style & Word Choice

20 Storytelling Techniques

Why is storytelling important, storytelling definition.

What is storytelling? It depends on whom you ask. A sociologist will tell you it’s mankind’s way of preserving history and identity; an anthropologist will say that it’s what distinguishes man from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Storytelling is the process of weaving language into a concrete narrative, with the purpose of creating rich, believable experiences.

For writers, storytelling is the process of weaving language into a concrete narrative, with the purpose of creating rich, believable experiences. To do this, storytellers tie together character and plot, resulting in stories that act as metaphors for the human experience.

In other words, storytellers don’t just relay facts: they use words in a way that the reader or listener can sit inside the story itself as though they were really there.

This is true regardless of genre—writers of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror create stories just as believable as writers of literary fiction . Nonfiction authors and poets also demonstrate mastery over the art of storytelling, though they may use different storytelling techniques.

The reader can sit inside the story itself as though they were really there.

The magic of storytelling is found in the power of stories themselves. Many writers, however, confuse “story” with “situation,” having not been taught the difference between these two concepts.

Here’s a breakdown of the difference between storytelling and situation-telling, as explained by our instructor Jeff Lyons .

https://writers.com/stories-vs-situations-how-to-know-your-story-will-work-in-any-genre

7 Elements of Storytelling

No matter the tale, every work of prose (and many poems) rely on these 7 elements of storytelling.

Plot is the skeleton of storytelling. You can have a gorgeous prose style with deeply relatable characters, but without a logical flow of events, your story will confuse the reader. For a story to emulate real life, it needs to follow a real-life series of plot points.

Now, this doesn’t mean that your story needs to follow chronological order. Many stories experiment with the order of events, or they jump over decades of time, or they weave together the present with the past. There’s no need to stick to one timeline: time is a thread, and can be interwoven to create rich tapestries.

Your characters write your plot; your plot doesn’t write your characters.

Nonetheless, your reader needs to follow the plot to understand your story. And remember: your characters write your plot; your plot doesn’t write your characters.

For more advice on crafting effective plots, take a look at these articles on:

• Freytag’s Pyramid
• How to Write a Story Outline

2. Character

Equally important to the art of storytelling is the characters that populate your work. Every event that takes place in your story is defined by your characters’ thoughts, feelings, and actions. Although some plot points are outside of their control, it’s your characters’ responses to conflict that make a story worth reading.

Writers must consider how the reader will connect with the story’s characters. If those characters have depth, understandable motives, and relatable flaws, the reader will feel much more engrossed in the story. Stephen King sums this up nicely when he writes:

“I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.” —Stephen King

Once we relate to the story’s characters, we care about what happens to them, and we’re willing to follow them along their personal journeys. Each character of your story—including your protagonist, antagonist, secondary and tertiary characters—should feel like real, flesh-and-blood human beings.

For more advice on writing realistic characters, take a look at these articles:

• Character Development Definition, Questions, & 40 Character Traits
• Character Development Advice
• How to Write Dialogue
• Crafting Your Protagonist
• Writing An Antagonist
• Foil Characters
• Static Vs Dynamic Characters
• Round Vs Flat Characters
• Anti Hero Characters

You might also benefit from this Character Development PDF .

3. Point-of-View

Point-of-View (POV) defines who is communicating to the reader , and from what vantage point. The story’s narrator influences how the story is told and what information the reader has access to.

Writers have 5 points of view to choose from:

• First Person (“I”): The narrator is the protagonist, and we view the story from their perspective. This is generally the most intimate storytelling POV.
• First Person Peripheral (“I”): The narrator is a close acquaintance of the protagonist, and we view the story from their perspective. An example of this is Nick Carraway, narrator of The Great Gatsby .
• Second Person (“You”): The narrator casts the reader as the story’s protagonist. This is a way to make the reader intimate with the story’s events, but it’s a hard sell—stories are rarely written in the 2nd person.
• Third Person Limited (“He/She/They”): The narrator tells the story from the vantage point of one or a few protagonists. The narrator only knows what the protagonist also knows.
• Third Person Omniscient (“He/She/They”): The narrator tells the story from multiple vantage points. The narrator knows more than any character in the story knows, and the narrator often weaves this knowledge together to craft a deeper, more holistic story.

A story’s point of view will affect the storytelling techniques and strategies that the author uses. Bear in mind, too, that a story can switch between different POVs. Learn more about POV at our article What is Point of View in Literature ?

At its most basic, setting is where your story takes place, but setting can serve many more functions than just this. The relationship that your characters have to their setting influences the story’s pace, plot, conflict, and even its themes.

Your characters will, in some way or another, be defined by their setting. The personality of someone from Cheyenne, Wyoming will differ greatly from a character who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, and both of these people will experience the world differently than someone who grew up in Seoul, South Korea. Setting implies culture, worldview, and language, even if your character tries to push back against their upbringing.

Your characters will, in some way or another, be defined by their setting.

Setting also influences dialogue and action. An argument at the dinner table will (probably) sound different than an argument in a restaurant; a fist fight in a parking lot will go a different route than a fist fight in an office.

Finally, setting can build symbolism . If your protagonist lives in a rundown, ramshackle house, this house can represent his ramshackle life; a character that lives in a gentrified apartment building in an otherwise poor neighborhood might be equally ritzy and oblivious to the world around her.

Just be careful not to stereotype—setting is just one of many influences on a character’s psyche and worldview. For more advice on writing setting, take a look at our article What is the Setting of a Story?

5. Style & Word Choice

One of the more intangible elements of storytelling, style refers to the unique way that an author tells their story.

Style occurs at both a line-level and a global level. At the line-level, style is influenced by a story’s word choice, syntax, sentence structure, sentence length, and the observational details that the author includes.

At the global level, style is influenced by the story’s pacing, the way the story presents information, the length of scenes and chapters, and the author’s own literary influences.

All of these things culminate in the author’s thumbprint. There’s no singular reason why a novel by Haruki Murakami is so vividly distinct from a novel by Margaret Atwood. All of the aforementioned elements coalesce into something unique and intangible, but nonetheless present in the atmosphere of the author’s work.

Style isn’t forced: it develops naturally as the author grows into their storytelling role. For advice on honing your style, read our articles:

• The Importance of Word Choice in Writing
• How to Write a Compelling Story
• What is Tone in Literature?
• How to Avoid Cliches in Writing

6. Conflict

Every story has conflict. Conflict is the lifeblood of storytelling: without it, your characters don’t undergo any growth or finish any journey.

Conflict can manifest itself in many ways. The protagonist wants something, but has to overcome certain obstacles to get it; or they want something, but an antagonist stands in the way; or an antagonist uproots the protagonist’s life; or the protagonist seeks a life of their own, but doesn’t know how to build one.

The road to resolving conflict is never easy, but that’s what makes great stories!

In any case, conflict has to do with the protagonist having certain needs, desires, or struggles. Great stories involve the protagonist having to undergo personal journeys in order to get what they need. The road to resolving conflict is never easy, but that’s what makes great stories!

For more on conflict, take a look at our article What is Conflict in a Story?

Also check out What Does Your Character Want? Conflict is closely related to theme, which we discuss below.

The aforementioned elements of storytelling culminate in theme. At its simplest, theme answers the question “What is this story about?”

The story’s plot, characters, and conflicts revolve around certain abstract issues. Romeo & Juliet , for example, revolves around the themes of love, fate, and family; A Tale of Two Cities has themes of war, revolution, justice, and power & corruption.

In other words, theme describes the central ideas that a piece of writing explores. And, because a story is propelled by conflict, theme and conflict are closely intertwined. If the protagonist’s needs are jeopardized because of the government, the theme might be “justice” or “power & corruption.” Or, if the protagonist’s needs aren’t being met because they’ve just survived an apocalypse, the theme might be “the environment” or “man vs. nature.”

The job of the storyteller isn’t to resolve those themes: themes should be open-ended, debatable, and thought-provoking. Two readers may have vastly different, yet equally defensible, interpretations of a theme. Rather, the storyteller’s job is to present clear conflicts, flawed characters, and navigable plots; theme, often, follows on its own accord.

To learn more about theme and read some theme examples, read our article What is Theme?

In addition to these elements of storytelling, writers use the following storytelling techniques to craft engaging, compelling stories.

Storytelling Techniques

The elements of storytelling answer what storytellers do at a global level. But when it comes to actually crafting the story—stringing one word after another to move the reader along—what do storytellers do?

Below are some tried-and-true methods of telling engaging stories. Note that this list is not exhaustive: us writers have been refining the art of storytelling for millennia, and this is just a sample of the many tools at our disposal.

Backstory describes the history of a character or setting. By providing relevant historical detail, the author gives contexts for certain conflicts and relationships that exist within the main narrative.

The relationship between backstory and narration can be difficult to refine, because too much backstory will slow down the pace of the work at large. Like most storytelling techniques, be economical—you shouldn’t provide more backstory than necessary.

That said, backstory can span chapters of the text, if needed. By providing valuable insight into a character’s psyche and motives, backstory helps the reader understand the decisions that character makes and the problems they face.

Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina is a plot device where something outside of the protagonist’s control interferes with the story, usually resolving the story’s conflict. This term comes from the Latin for “God from the machine,” and it refers to a convention of Ancient Greek plays in which an actor, playing as a god, was mechanically lowered onto the stage.

Deus Ex Machina can take many forms. Perhaps a natural disaster kills the antagonist, or two friends discover they’re actually long lost sisters, or an actual god intervenes on the protagonist’s behalf. In any case, Deus Ex Machinas never occur by the protagonist’s own volition.

Generally, Deus Ex Machina is frowned upon as an easy way out of conflict. Rather than giving the protagonist agency, the author has decided to interrupt the protagonist’s journey and personal growth. At the same time, Deus Ex Machina can create new artistic possibilities, especially if the author is writing in genres like absurdism, surrealism, or magical realism .

Ethos, pathos, and logos are three storytelling strategies often associated with rhetoric, but they apply just as readily to the art of storytelling.

In creative writing, Ethos describes the author’s credibility as a storyteller. Ethos is built from both the author’s reputation and from their ability to relay facts accurately, without harmful bias or intentionally misleading the reader.

Now, authors need to have a credible ethos, but narrators don’t. Remember that Point of View is one of the essential elements of storytelling. One way that writers can twist Ethos is by writing an unreliable narrator —someone who distorts facts, misleads the reader, and creates their own reality. Pulling off an effective unreliable narrator can prove difficult, but it can also create some very entertaining twists in the story.

To learn more about ethos, pathos, and logos, check out our article on rhetorical devices .

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing refers to moments in the story that predict later events. When the narrator foreshadows, they usually hint at the story’s climax, but any future plot point is fair game for foreshadowing.

The best foreshadowing is memorable, but subtle enough that you don’t realize it’s foreshadowing until later. For example, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the drunk Miss Baedeker foreshadows Gatsby’s death when she complains of getting her “head stuck in a pool.”

A more ostensible example is Gatsby’s relationship to the green light on Daisy’s property. He reaches out to the green light but can never hold it, much like he reaches out to Daisy but can never hold her. You may note that this is also an example of symbolism, and indeed, foreshadowing can coincide with many other literary devices.

In Media Res

*Record Scratch* “Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here.”

In Media Res (Latin: in the middle of things) is a plot device in which the story begins in the middle, rather than at the beginning. By doing this, the author throws the reader directly into the story’s conflict. Eventually, the inciting incident and character backstories are provided.

The In Media Res strategy helps generate intrigue for the story, its plot, and its characters. Rather than set up the conflict in chapters of exposition, we are launched directly into the drama.

Some famous stories that begin In Media Res include The Odyssey by Homer, The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

Literary Devices

Literary devices are methods of creating deeper meanings within a text. By harnessing the power of comparison, connection, and sound, writers use literary devices to take their work beyond a literal meaning . Literary devices create nuance and depth, making them essential to the art of storytelling.

Try your hand at different literary devices from this article.

https://writers.com/common-literary-devices

Logos is the use of logic and reasoning to persuade the reader. While Logos most commonly presents itself in rhetorical essays and arguments, it also has its place in creative writing.

Authors will most often use logos in relation to the story’s themes. For example, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about racial justice in the United States. When lawyer Atticus Finch defends the wrongfully accused Tom Robinson, he uses logos to appeal to the courts that Tom is innocent.

But Atticus’ logical appeal isn’t just to the courts, it’s to the readers themselves. When Tom is convicted anyway and later killed, the reader understands exactly how society disregards Logos when it comes to the plight of black men. Through these plot points, the novel intricately examines its themes of justice, and how justice is not evenly distributed in American society.

A MacGuffin describes a character’s motives. Every character is chasing something in particular, whether that be a physical object or an abstract concept. Items like The Holy Grail or the Rings of Power are MacGuffins, and so are ideas like love, revenge, and stability.

MacGuffins are one of the most open-ended storytelling techniques, because a character’s motives can be virtually anything. Additionally, a MacGuffin can be both openly stated or obscure. In Pulp Fiction , for example, the movie’s MacGuffin is a briefcase, but the contents of that briefcase are never revealed, highlighting the movie’s senseless violence in the pursuit of nothing.

If the story’s MacGuffin is a physical object, that object often symbolizes something deeper for the main characters. Nonetheless, your characters can pursue whatever they want, just as people in real life pursue their own mysterious MacGuffins.

Mythology provides a powerful reservoir of storytelling for modern day authors. By “mythology,” we’re referring to any set of stories, narratives, folklore, poems, and epics particular to a certain culture, with the intent of relating that culture’s religious and moral beliefs.

References to ancient myth abound in both classic and contemporary literature. This is for three reasons:

• First, mythologies are commonly read stories. You can connect with the reader using myth as a stepping stone, especially if that myth is widely familiar.
• Second, myths act as their own symbols. If you reference the story of Icarus, your reader will know you are referencing the tragedy of Hubris.
• Third, mythology allows the reader to create relevant cultural contexts. Haruki Murakami often incorporates Japanese folklore into his work, and the novel Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan relies heavily on Indonesian mythology.

Pathos is an appeal to the reader’s emotions. Because the experience of reading relies so much on the reader’s own empathy, harnessing the power of pathos is key to the art of storytelling.

Storytellers generate pathos simply by writing relatable characters. When the reader connects with a character as if they were a real human being, the reader also feels that character’s pain, struggles, and triumphs. Always assume that your reader wants to connect with your characters, that they want to feel your story pour salt in the wound. This is equally true for your antagonist, assuming that antagonist is also a human being.

Think about the things that everyday, ordinary people yearn for. Maybe it’s stability, love, a sense of belonging; maybe they relate to stories of natural disaster, unrequited love, or being a misfit. Consider your reader and what they might connect with, and make Pathos your doorway into the reader’s heart.

A quibble is a technicality that, though minor, often resolves the plot in a major way.

Let’s say your protagonist makes a bet with someone, and they lose that bet. The price they pay for that bet is death. Your protagonist may save their own life by arguing that the bet should follow the exact verbal agreement that they made—and by invoking this technicality, your protagonist manages to evade death entirely.

Of course, quibbles can go against the protagonist’s wishes, too. In Macbeth , the Three Witches tell Macbeth that “none of woman born” can kill him. Macbeth assumes this to mean he is invincible, but he is later killed by Macduff, who was C-sectioned rather than “born from” a woman.

If written haphazardly, a quibble can be just as convenient as a Deus Ex Machina. Nonetheless, quibbles often surprise the reader, as they chip at the seeming absoluteness of fate.

Red Herrings

In both rhetoric and literature, a red herring is something that distracts the reader. You will most often see red herrings in mystery novels, as the novelist is trying to prevent the reader from solving the mystery until the very end.

Red herrings are one of the more versatile storytelling techniques, as they take many different forms. A red herring can be a clue falsely pinned to an innocent person; it can be a forced confession, or an unreliable narrator falsifying the past, or even a coincidence that the writer didn’t intend.

Although red herrings are a fun twist to the art of storytelling, use them sparingly. As an author, you have an implicit contract with the reader to tell your story faithfully; too many distractions and misleading elements will make the reader lose faith in your storytelling.

Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is a question that’s posed for the sake of asking, rather than the sake of being answered. In other words, it’s a question meant to provoke the reader.

Rhetorical questions are often open-ended. While a narrator can pose rhetorical questions, they usually come from a character in the story.

A famous example of this is in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar , when Caesar asks Brutus “Et tu, Brute?” This question has no answer—after all, Caesar is about to die—but it prompts the reader to think about Brutus’ betrayal of trust and friendship.

In everyday speech, we use rhetorical questions all the time. Who knows? Why not? Is the sky blue? Rhetorical questions can help make your dialogue seem more human, and it can also provoke your reader’s thoughts and emotions.

Rule of Threes

The Rule of Threes states that readers best respond to information that’s presented in lists of three. This applies to everything, from basic descriptions to global, structural elements in a story.

The Rule of Threes happens at the line level, especially with description. If I tell you my cat is “young, fluffy, and orange,” those three images give you a solid description. If I tell you my cat is “young, fluffy, loud, stubborn, fast, destructive, capricious, and orange,” I’ve overloaded my description with adjectives, and you won’t know what part of that information is essential .

The Rule of Threes also applies to story structures. Many stories have, at most, three main characters. Many plots have three main events: an inciting incident, a climax, and a falling action (or response to the climax). If a novel has sections, it often has three sections; if a style has multiple settings, it usually has three main ones.

This is not a hard and fast rule—in fact, most rules in writing are suggestions. Nonetheless, your writing will lose the reader’s attention and brainspace if it presents too much information. The Rule of Threes is not immutable, and you don’t need 3 of everything.

But, when it comes to the central elements of your work, try to keep it to three discrete items. Otherwise, you might lose your grip on the magic of storytelling.

Show, Don’t Tell

What is storytelling without the show, don’t tell rule? “Show, don’t tell” is a way of using imagery to relay an experience to the reader, rather than spoon feeding that experience through literal description. The effect is that your reader becomes immersed in the story, perceiving everything that your characters perceive as though they were really there.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” —Anton Chekhov

To master the show, don’t tell rule, read through our in-depth article.

https://writers.com/show-dont-tell-writing

Stream of Consciousness

Stream of Consciousness is a writing technique in which a character’s thoughts are written directly onto the page, without any filter or editing. The author, assuming the persona of their character, observes their thoughts and impartially transcribes those thoughts into narration and internal dialogue.

Because stream of consciousness attempts to capture the idiosyncrasies of human thought, the prose itself can be difficult to follow. Authors may write using free association, frequent repetition, disjointed imagery, and a keen focus on senses and emotions. The prose often follows a nonlinear fashion, it may use punctuation frenetically, and it certainly won’t have the polished, edited feel of a typical manuscript.

To be clear: this is perhaps the most difficult of storytelling techniques to master. If you want to write stream of consciousness, start by simply keeping a personal journal , observing the nature of your own thoughts as they flow onto the page. It’s also worth reading the masters of the technique, like James Joyce, William Faulkner, and Virginia Woolf.

The Everyday

Even characters in sci-fi, fantasy, and thriller novels have quotidian, everyday lives. Providing a glimpse into their everyday lives helps make the story more accessible to the reader.

What do those everyday details look like? A daily commute, a morning shower, a stop at the grocery store after work. It can also be everyday annoyances: swatting at mosquitoes in the evening, holding your breath when you walk past a sewer grate, forgetting not to scratch at the rash on your wrist, etc.

What do these boring, everyday tasks do? One, they humanize your characters, giving them relatable behaviors that act as windows to their worlds. Two, these tasks show the reader what everyday life looks like before the inciting incident . Once the protagonist’s life becomes upended by something major, we now relate to the character on a personal level and want them to succeed on their journey.

Just be careful not to provide too many everyday details that your story loses sight of its plot. The reader doesn’t need to see every moment in a typical day of your protagonist’s life—and, unless it’s extremely relevant, don’t start your story with your protagonist waking up, as this is an overdone cliché.

A trope is a theme or archetype that shows up regularly in a genre of work. Tropes give structure to a story, providing a kind of scaffolding that the author can manipulate and build from, creating a story both fresh and readable. In genre fiction, tropes are essential to the art of storytelling.

Tropes are commonly misconstrued as clichés, but that’s not the case. For example, a trope in the romance genre is the “meet-cute,” where two soon-to-be-lovers meet each other in a unique and adorable situation. While this trope recurs throughout romance fiction, writers are free to experiment with the meet-cute in their own original ways.

If you intend to write genre fiction, or even to pull from different genres in your own literary work, it’s important to familiarize yourself with that genre’s tropes. The wiki TV Tropes is a fantastic resource for this, covering tropes in both film and literature.

Vernacular refers to regional dialects. Like “the everyday,” vernacular helps humanize your characters, while also establishing a sense of place in your story.

If your characters are strongly immersed in the culture of their upbringing, do some research on the vernacular of that place. For example, a character who grew up in Wisconsin should say “bubbler,” not “water fountain.”

Language, and even just the English language, is fantastically diverse. Using vernacular in your characters’ dialogue makes them feel more flesh-and-blood, and it also provides some entertaining moments in language and storytelling.

Wordplay makes for enjoyable, engaging storytelling. Twists of phrase create memorable moments of narration and dialogue, keeping the reader glued to the page.

Wordplay comes in many different forms. Puns, malapropisms, neologisms, oxymorons, kennings, onomatopoeias, portmanteaus, zeugmas, and contronyms are just some of the ways that writers have fun with language.

Additionally, sound devices like alliteration and rhyme also create memorable, meaningful moments in language.

Way before the printing press and the invention of modern prose, storytellers told their tales orally and entirely in verse. The epic poem was a way of sharing stories, and because pencil and paper were scarce in antiquity, storytellers had to memorize their work. These wordplay devices were ways of memorizing stories, allowing the storyteller to move through the plot while keeping the listener entertained.

Thus, these tools are freely at the writer’s disposal, and storytellers are encouraged to use them. Wordplay is essential to the magic of storytelling, so harness the magic of words!

To learn more about wordplay, check out our article: Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words

The above elements and techniques coalesce into the power of storytelling. But, why is storytelling important?

In short, storytelling is the closest that writers come to creating real worlds, characters, and events. When a story is told well and meaningfully, the reader is transported into a world of the writer’s own making—a world with its own rules, laws, physics, relationships, and ideas. In this world, the writer can twist emotions, make powerful statements, and entertain the reader in beautiful ways.

But for the reader to access this world, the writer needs to use storytelling techniques. Storytelling is a portal into a different dimension, or a doorway into an unexplored house, or a bridge across a river, or a rocketship to different planets.

You must transport your reader if you want to persuade, inspire, or provoke them.

Whatever the metaphor, you must transport your reader if you want to persuade, inspire, or provoke them. This is what makes writers both fantastically powerful and fantastically human.

Wield the Art of Storytelling at Writers.com

The instructors at Writers.com have mastered these storytelling techniques, and they’re ready to show you the craft. Gain meaningful feedback and insight on your work, and harness the magic of storytelling in one of our upcoming courses .

Sean Glatch

[…] Capturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips […]

very useful your article

Wisconsin native here. Bubbler is a southeastern Wisconsin term. It was probably originally a Milwaukee area term. Most wisconsinites outside that area have never heard the term bubbler and instead use drinking fountain or water fountain. I grew up in Wisconsin and never heard of it until we moved down into the southern part of the state. My kids came home from their first day of school and asked if I’d ever heard of a bubbler and I hadn’t. 🙂

Thanks, Steve! I’m a Milwaukee native myself, and thought it was a statewide thing. It’s always fun to say “bubbler” outside the state and have people look really, really confused.

It’s even more fun to use it in different countries and get people REALLY REALLY confused.

[…] Metaphors, analogies, and vivid descriptions can be employed to illustrate abstract ideas and engage readers in a way that straightforward explanations […]

[…] look at each of these items and more. Creating real, flesh-and-blood people is essential to great storytelling, so let’s explore the alchemy of turning words into real people—creating characters from […]

Very useful tips, thank you

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The snowflake method: plotting out a never-ending story, we look at the snowflake method, where you draft a story from a simple premise to an in-depth outline. includes templates.

Table of Contents

Okay, so the Snowflake Method doesn't really require your story to be never-ending , but it's founded on a similar concept. Have you heard of the Koch snowflake?

The Koch snowflake is a fractal (a never-ending mathematical shape) that’s created by taking a singular triangle, cutting out the middle parts of each side, and adding three smaller triangles in their places. Repeat this process infinitely and, eventually, your triangle will resemble a snowflake shape. The design of the Koch snowflake shows that you can create something complex by replicating small, simple actions.

This is the underlying principle of the Snowflake Method: by starting with small, simple ideas, you can reduce overwhelm and develop a comprehensive structure to plan your book.

What is the Snowflake Method?

The Snowflake Method is one of many approaches to novel outlining where you start with the simplest premise possible—in this case, a single sentence—and build out from there to fill in the details of your story.

As you progress through the stages of the Snowflake Method, your outline grows and grows. By the time you finish it, you’ll have completed a comprehensive plot synopsis, character directory, and scene-by-scene breakdown that you can use to start drafting.

The Snowflake Method was created by Randy Ingermanson , who took inspiration from his work as a computational physicist to develop a process for designing a novel. Ingermanson's method helps you finish your first draft faster by having a clear understanding of what’s happening in your story before you even begin drafting it.

It’s a genre-agnostic plotting tool, meaning that it can be used regardless of what type of novel you’re writing. While the structure is extremely detailed, it is vague enough that it can work for any type of story, from a classic rom-com to a swashbuckling fantasy adventure.

The Snowflake Method Explained: Step-by-Step

The Snowflake writing method has ten steps. In addition to describing what should happen in each step, Ingermanson provides a suggested timeframe in which you should complete the tasks.

Let’s take a look at each in detail.

Step 1: Write a One-Sentence Summary

Suggested time: 1 hour

The first step of the Snowflake Method is to write a single-sentence summary of your story. Think of this sentence as the hook : what will get potential readers (and publishers) interested in your novel.

Aim to keep your sentence under 15 words. Focus on your novel’s theme and central struggle, rather than specifics like character names and descriptions.

Here's an example using the plot of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games : A dystopian society forces children to fight to the death in televised games for entertainment.

Step 2: Expand Your Sentence into a Paragraph

Once you have your single sentence nailed, it’s time to expand. Take that sentence and turn it into a full paragraph that outlines your novel.

 Your paragraph should be about five sentences long. The first sentence should set up your story. Sentences 2–4 should focus on three key plot points that will occur. Sentence 5 should explain how the story resolves.

Ingermanson refers to the key plot points in question as "disasters." In his article on the method , he says:

In this way, the Snowflake Method is reminiscent of the Fichtean Curve , a plot method that similarly thrives on constant conflict to drive the story from beginning to end.

Step 3: Develop Each of Your Characters

Suggested time: 1 hour per character

Now that you have a basic summary of your novel completed, it’s time to turn your attention to your characters. Just as you started small with your story and then expanded, you’ll start small with your characters.

Ingermanson recommends spending one hour creating a summary sheet for each main character. This summary sheet should include:

• The character’s name.
• A single-sentence summary of the character’s storyline.
• The character’s motivation.
• The character’s goal.
• The character’s conflict (what gets in the way of reaching that goal).

Finally, you should also include a one-paragraph summary of the character’s storyline throughout your novel.

Step 4: Expand Your Summary Paragraph

Suggested time: 2-3 hours

Return to your summary paragraph. It’s time to expand this paragraph into a single page.

Take each sentence from your summary paragraph and turn it into a paragraph of its own that describes what happens at this point in the story. One of Ingermanson’s tricks for developing forward momentum is to make each paragraph except the last end in disaster, like such:

• Paragraph 1: This is your exposition. Write what happens at the beginning of your story and set the stage for what is to come.
• Paragraph 2: Something happens between the beginning and now that ends in or causes a disaster. In other words, introduce conflict.
• Paragraph 3: More conflict.
• Paragraph 4: There is a whole lot of conflict by the point.
• Paragraph 5: Draft your resolution.

Step 5: Write Your Character Synopsis

Suggested time: 1-2 days

Now that you have the basics of your story taken care of, the real fun begins. In Step 5 of the Snowflake Method, you’ll examine your characters in more depth.

First, you’ll develop a single-page description of each major character and a half-page description of minor but important characters.

These character synopses will tell your story from the point of view of each main character and really dig into the motivations, goals, and conflicts you outlined in their summary sheets from Step 3.

Step 6: Expand Your Plot Synopsis

Suggested time: 1 week

At this stage in the process, you have a clear sense of your story, as well as how the events of your novel unfold for each character.

Remember how you expanded your summary paragraph to a summary page in Step 4? In Step 6, you’re going to expand your summary page into a 4-page synopsis.

Aim to write a half page about the events at the beginning and end of the story and a full page for each of the middle sections.

Step 7: Build Your Character Charts

At this stage, you’ll create detailed character charts for each of your main characters and their arcs. A character chart includes everything you will want to know about the character including (but not limited to):

• Relationships
• Motivations
• Changes within the story

It's okay if you have to go back and edit anything you drafted in previous steps! In fact, you're highly likely to do just that. Ingermanson notes here:

In this step, take note to detail how any given character changes over the course of your story and why that is. These are the fundamental elements that drive a story forward and that help readers form emotional connections to your work.

Step 8: Develop Your Scene Spreadsheet

At this part in the process, you'll create a spreadsheet or set of story cards to develop a list of all the scenes you'll need to write to turn your outline into a novel.

Ingermanson recommends keeping your scene list fairly high-level. For each scene, you'll simply want to note the point-of-view characters as well as a single sentence of what will happen.

Step 9: Expand Each Scene

Throughout this process, you've taken single sentences and expanded them into something longer. Now it's time to do the same for your list of scenes!

Turn each single-sentence scene description from Step 8 into a full paragraph that outlines specifics about what happens: which characters are included, where the scene occurs, how it impacts the story, etc.

Step 10: Start Drafting

Phew! You’ve made it to the end of the Snowflake Method. You have a complete outline that includes specifics on what happens in your story as well as how those events impact each of your primary characters.

Throughout the outlining process, you've had ample opportunities to address plot holes, examine character arcs, and consider which scenes will be most effective.

The only thing left to do is write your first draft.

Variations of the Snowflake Method

While the Snowflake Plotting Method is primarily used for novel-length works of fiction, you can apply variations of its principles to other types of writing.

Snowflake Method for Writing a Single Scene

Steps 8 and 9 of the Snowflake Method for writing a book are designed to help you expand a single scene. As a quick refresher, you should start by writing a one-sentence synopsis that includes the point-of-view character and what occurs in that scene.

From there, you expand your one-sentence synopsis into a full paragraph that includes details about the setting, the action that occurs, specifics about what the characters are doing, and what dialogue will take place.

Snowflake Method for Character Development

You can also extract specific parts of the Snowflake Method to work solely on character development. You’ll want to use steps 3, 5, and 7.

First, create a one-page summary sheet that introduces your character and summarizes their role in your story. Then, expand that summary sheet to a full character synopsis that explains your story from the point-of-view of your character. Finally, build a full character chart that highlights the character’s history, motivations, goals, and more.

Snowflake Method for Writing Short Stories

Ingermanson recommends completing steps 1–3 of the Snowflake Method to outline a short story.

Craft your single-sentence summary, one-paragraph summary, and key-character summary sheets. You don't need to complete any of the more complex steps for this type of work.

Snowflake Method for Planning a Series

The Snowflake Method is designed for outlining a single novel. You can use certain steps of the Snowflake Method for planning a series, as long as the series has an overarching plot. For example, you could use Steps 1–7 to outline a series like The Hunger Games , where characters and plot points carry over from book to book.

However, if you're writing something more episodic, where characters may stay the same but the plot is unique for each story, the Snowflake Method won't work to plan the overall series structure. You can still use the Snowflake Method to outline each individual novel within the series.

Pros and Cons of the Snowflake Method

As with any outlining method, there are pros and cons to the Snowflake Method. No structure is perfect.

Pros of the Snowflake Outline Method Include:

• It reduces overwhelm by encouraging you to start with small elements and expand from there. You can gain momentum as you become more confident and sure in your story.
• It adds depth to your plot and characters. You'll return to your plot and characters at multiple points throughout the process, which gives you ample time to develop these elements.
• It helps you write your first draft faster because you've already done a ton of work to understand your story by the time you start writing.

Cons of the Snowflake Method Include:

• It's time-consuming. If you follow each step in the Snowflake Method as prescribed, it can take over four weeks to complete.
• It works best for individual novels. As I've highlighted in the previous section, you can modify the Snowflake Method for short stories or series, but it's really designed for a single novel.
• It doesn't focus much on world-building. While you'll consider your world as you write your plot synopsis, you don't spend as much time on the world as you do your characters. Writers of science fiction and fantasy might need to do more supplementary work.

Should You Use the Snowflake Method?

If you're looking for a detailed, comprehensive structure that will help you develop your characters and fully outline your plot before you start writing, consider trying out the Snowflake Method.

If you prefer to do more exploration while you draft or have a limited amount of time in which to outline, you might want to try a different type of outline.

Snowflake Method Campfire Templates

When you're ready to give the Snowflake Method a spin, we've prepared three templates for you using the Characters Module, Encyclopedia Module, and Timeline Module in Campfire (pictured throughout this article).

• You'll start in the Encyclopedia Module , where you'll draft your one-sentence summary and five-sentence expansion. Later, you'll return to those five sentences and turn them into a paragraph each.
• Moving on to the Characters Module , you'll draw up brief character summaries for your starting cast, followed by character synopses, and later on, detailed character charts.
• With a foundation for your plot and characters, you'll start drafting out scenes in the Timeline Module —broadly first and then in more detail.
• Finally, you'll write your story! When you're ready to do so, the Manuscript Module will be waiting.

If you're new to Campfire , it's free to sign up and get started with a project! You'll be able to create your first ten characters , five Encyclopedia articles , and 20 Timeline events at no cost. Let's get you started on your very own intricately carved, never-ending story 👇

Ultimately, as the writer, it’s up to you to choose a process that meets your needs. If you do decide to try out the Snowflake Method to plot your novel, be sure to tell us in the comments how you find it!

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Guides • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Nov 22, 2023

Story Structure: 7 Types All Writers Should Know

Nothing makes the challenging task of crafting your first novel feel more attainable than adopting a story structure to help you plot your narrative.

While using a pre-existing blueprint might make you worry about ending up with a formulaic, predictable story, you can probably analyze most of your favorite books using various narrative structures that writers have been using for decades (if not centuries)!

This post will reveal seven distinct story structures that any writer can use to build a compelling narrative. But first…

What is story structure?

Story structure is the order in which plot events are told to the reader or audience. While stories can be told in a wide variety of ways, most Western story structures commonly share certain elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

A tightly controlled structure will answer a reader's questions, provide a climax followed by resolution and information at the end of the story , further the characters’ development , and unravel any central conflicts . In other words, it's responsible for a satisfying narrative experience that accomplishes the author’s aims.

Writing is an art, but if there’s one part of the craft that’s closer to science, this would be it. Become a master of story structure, and you will have the world at your feet.

Classic story structure

When people discuss different story structures, they often talk about the different frameworks used to analyze stories. When you boil them all down, all stories have certain shared elements.

Elements of classic story structure:

• Exposition. This first part establishes a protagonist's normal life and greater desires, and usually culminates in the inciting incident.
• Rising action. The protagonist pursues their new goal and is tested along the way.
• Climax. Our hero achieves their goal — or so they think!
• Falling action.  The hero now must deal with the consequences of achieving their goal.
• Resolution. The conclusion tying together the plot, character arcs, and themes.

These are all common ‘ beats ’ to most stories. It can be easier to see these moments in genres with higher stakes (such as a military thriller), but you’ll find them in almost any type of story. 

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Seven Story Structures Every Writer Should Know

Now that we’ve established the most essential components of story, let’s look at seven of the most popular story structures used by writers — and how they deploy these components.

• Freytag's Pyramid
• The Hero's Journey
• Three Act Structure
• Dan Harmon's Story Circle
• Fichtean Curve
• Save the Cat Beat Sheet
• Seven-Point Story Structure

1. Freytag’s Pyramid

• Introduction. The status quo is established; an inciting incident occurs.
• Rise, or rising action. The protagonist actively pursues their goal. The stakes heighten.
• Climax. A point of no return, from which the protagonist can no longer go back to the status quo.
• Return, or fall. In the aftermath of the climax, tension builds, and the story heads inevitably towards...
• Catastrophe. The protagonist is brought to their lowest point. Their greatest fears have come true.

This structural model is less frequently used in modern storytelling, partly due to readers’ limited appetite for tragic narratives (although you can still spot a few tragic heroes in popular literature today). By and large, commercial fiction, films, and television will see a protagonist overcome their obstacles to find some small measure of success. That said, it’s still useful to understand the Pyramid as a foundational structure in Western literature — and you will still see it occasionally in the most depressing contemporary tales.

To learn more, read our full guide on Freytag’s Pyramid .

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2. The Hero’s Journey

Campbell’s original structure uses terminology that lends itself well to epic tales of bravery and triumph — with plot points like “Belly of the Whale,” “Woman as the Temptress,” and “The Magic Flight.” To make The Hero’s Journey more accessible, Disney executive Christopher Vogler created a simplified version that has become popular amongst mainstream storytellers.

Here, we’ll look at Vogler’s streamlined, 12-step version of The Hero’s Journey.

• The Ordinary World. The hero’s everyday life is established.
• The Call of Adventure. Otherwise known as the inciting incident.
• Refusal of the Call. For a moment, the hero is reluctant to take on the challenge.
• Meeting the Mentor. Our hero meets someone who prepares them for what lies ahead — perhaps a parental figure, a teacher, a wizard, or a wise hermit.
• Crossing the First Threshold. The hero steps out of their comfort zone and enters a ‘new world.’
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Our protagonist faces new challenges — and maybe picks up some new friends. Think of Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road.
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. The hero gets close to their goal. Luke Skywalker reaches the Death Star.
• The Ordeal. The hero meets (and overcomes) their greatest challenge yet.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). The hero obtains something important they were after, and victory is in sight.
• The Road Back. The hero realizes that achieving their goal is not the final hurdle. In fact, ‘seizing the sword’ may have made things worse for them.
• Resurrection. The hero faces their final challenge — a climactic test that hinges on everything they’ve learned over their journey.
• Return with the Elixir. Having triumphed, our protagonist returns to their old life. Dorothy returns to Kansas; Iron Man holds a press conference to blow his own trumpet .

While Vogler’s simplified steps still retain some of Campbell’s mythological language with its references to swords and elixirs, the framework can be applied to almost any genre of fiction. To see how a ‘realistic’ story can adhere to this structure, check out our guide to the hero’s journey in which we analyze Rocky through this very lens.

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3. Three Act Structure

Act 1: Setup

• Exposition . The status quo or ‘ordinary world’ is established.
• Inciting Incident. An event that sets the story in motion.
• Plot Point One. The protagonist decides to tackle the challenge head-on. She ‘crosses the threshold,’ and the story is now truly moving.

Act 2: Confrontation

• Rising Action. The story's true stakes become clear; our hero grows familiar with her ‘new world’ and has her first encounters with some enemies and allies. (see Tests, Allies, Enemies)
• Midpoint. An event that upends the protagonist’s mission. (Similar to the climax in Freytag’s pyramid)
• Plot Point Two. In the wake of the disorienting midpoint, the protagonist is tested — and fails. Her ability to succeed is now in doubt.

Act 3: Resolution

• Pre Climax. The night is darkest before dawn. The protagonist must pull herself together and choose between decisive action and failure.
• Climax. She faces off against her antagonist one last time. Will she prevail?
• Denouement. All loose ends are tied up. The reader discovers the consequences of the climax. A new status quo is established.

When we speak about a confrontation with an antagonist, this doesn’t always mean a fight to the death. In some cases, the antagonist might be a love rival, a business competitor, or merely an internal or environmental conflict that our protagonist has been struggling with the entire story.

If you’re interested in using this model to plot your own story, read our guide to the three-act structure , and be sure to sign up to our free course on the subject.

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4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

Another variation on Campbell’s monomyth structure, the Story Circle is an approach developed by Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon. Again, heavily inspired by the Hero's Journey, the benefit of Harmon's approach is its focus on the protagonist's character arc. Instead of referring to abstract concepts like 'story midpoint' and 'denouement', each beat in the story circle forces the writer to think about the character's wants and needs.

• A character is in a zone of comfort... This is the establishment of the status quo.
• But they want something... This 'want' could be something long-standing and brought to the fore by an inciting incident.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation... The protagonist must do something new in their pursuit of the thing they want.
• Adapt to it... Faced with some challenges, they struggle then begin to succeed.
• Get what they wanted... Usually a false victory.
• Pay a heavy price for it... They realize that what they 'wanted' wasn't what they 'needed'.
• Then return to their familiar situation... armed with a new truth.
• Having changed... For better or worse.

Created by a writer whose chosen medium is the 30-minute sitcom, this structure is worded in a way that sidesteps the need for a protagonist to undergo life-changing transformations with each story. After all, for a comedy to continue for six seasons (and a movie) its characters can't completely transform at the end of each episode. They can, however, learn small truths about themselves and the world around them — which, like all humans, they can quickly forget about if next week's episode calls for it.

To learn more and see this structure applied to an episode of Rick and Morty, check out our full post on Dan Harmon's Story Circle .

Side note: for this kind of character-driven plot (and, indeed, for all of these structures), you're going to want to know you're protagonist inside and out. Why not check out some of our character development exercises for help fleshing your characters out, like the profile template below.

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5. Fichtean Curve

Fleshed out in John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction , the Fichtean Curve is a narrative structure that puts our main characters through a series of many obstacles on their way to achieving their overarching goals. Resembling Freytag’s Pyramid, it encourages authors to write narratives packed with tension and mini-crises that keep readers eager to reach the climax.

Bypassing the “ordinary world” setup of many other structures, the Fichtean Curve starts with the inciting incident and goes straight into the rising action. Multiple crises occur, each of which contributes to the readers’ overall understanding of the narrative — replacing the need for the initial exposition.

To discuss this unusual structure, it’s perhaps best to see it in use. We’ll use Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You as an example. Needless to say, spoilers ahead.

Rising Action

• First crisis. Lydia’s family is informed her body was found in a nearby lake. From this first crisis's climax, the narrative flashes back to provide exposition and details of the family’s history.
• Second crisis. In flashbacks, we discover that, 11 years prior, Marilyn abandoned her family to resume her undergraduate studies. In her absence, the family begins to fall apart. Marilyn learns she is pregnant and is forced to return home. Having lost her opportunity for further education, she places the pressure of academic success on her children.
• Third crisis. Back in the present, Lydia’s father, James, is cheating on Marilyn. The police decide to close the investigation, ruling Lydia’s death a suicide. This results in a massive argument between her parents, and James leaves to stay with the “other woman.”
• Fourth crisis. Flashback to the day Lydia died. From her perspective, we see that she’s misunderstood by her parents. She mourns her brother’s impending departure for college, leaving her as the sole focus of her parents’ pressure. Isolated, she tries to seduce a friend — who rejects her advances and explains he’s in love with her brother.
• Lydia takes a boat into the lake in the middle of the night — determined to overcome her fear of water and reclaim control of her life. Lydia jumps off the boat, into the water, and out of this life. As in a classical tragedy, this moment is both devastating and inevitable.

Falling Action

• Some level of resolution is achieved, and readers get to at least glimpse the “new norm” for the characters. Lydia’s family lean on one another in their grief. While they may never be able to make their amends with Lydia, they can learn from her death. Not all of the loose ends are tied off, but readers infer the family is on the long road to recovery.

Note: In the rising action stage, all of the crises should build tension towards — and correspond with — the story’s major climax. Like the three-act narrative structure, the Fichtean Curve’s climax typically occurs two-thirds through the book.

While this structure lends itself well to flashback-heavy novels such as Everything I Never Told You, it is also incredibly common in theatre. In stage plays like The Cherry Orchard and A Doll’s House , the action takes place in a fixed time and place, but backstory and character development are revealed through moments of high drama that occur before the audience’s eyes.

For a deeper look at this structure, head to our full post on the Fichtean Curve .

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet

Another variation of the three-act structure, this framework created by Hollywood screenwriter Blake Snyder, has been widely championed by storytellers across many media forms.

Fun fact: Save the Cat is named for a moment in the set up of a story (usually a film) where our hero does something to endear himself to the audience.

While many structures are reluctant to prescribe exactly when in a story the various beats should take place, Snyder and Save the Cat have no such qualms. The number in the square brackets below refers to the page that the beat should take place — assuming you’re writing a 110-page screenplay.

• Opening Image [1]. The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel , this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.
• Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?
• Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.
• Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!
• Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.
• Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.
• B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.
• The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.
• Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.
• Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.
• All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.
• Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)
• Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!
• Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.
• Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

Some writers may find this structure too prescriptive, but it’s incredible to see how many mainstream stories seem to adhere to it — either by design or coincidence. Over on the Save the Cat website, there are countless examples of films and novels analyzed with Snyder’s 15 beats . You’ll be surprised how accurate some of the timings are for each of the beats.

For a deeper dive into this framework, and to watch this video where Reedsy’s Shaelin plots out a Middle-Grade fantasy novel using Snyder’s method — head to our full post on the Save the Cat Beat Sheet .

7. Seven-Point Story Structure

A slightly less detailed adaptation of The Hero’s Journey, the Seven-Point Story Structure focuses specifically on the highs and lows of a narrative arc .

According to author Dan Wells, who developed the Seven-Point Story Structure , writers are encouraged to start at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point: the hook. With the ending in mind, they can have their protagonist and plot begin in a state that best contrasts the finale — since this structure is all about dramatic changes from beginning to end.

• The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.
• Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.
• Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.
• Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.
• Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.
• Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.
• Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

For a deeper look into Wells's approach — including the key to using it — check out our full post on the seven-point story structure .

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: story structures aren't an exact science, and you should feel welcome to stray from the path they present. They're simply there to help you find your narrative's footing — a blueprint for the world you're about to start building.

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How to Plot a Story Using the Snowflake Method

by Fija Callaghan

Beginning a novel can be intimidating for anyone—from writers who are just starting out, to experienced writers. Do you painstakingly outline each stage of your story, beat by beat, leaving no room for error? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants, throwing down one word after another until they (hopefully) come together into a cohesive whole?

If you have a story idea for a first novel and aren’t sure where to begin, the snowflake method might be the right approach for you. Here we’ll define the snowflake method, why it’s a great way to flesh out your story ideas, and how you can use it to create powerful narratives.

What is the snowflake method?

The snowflake method is an organic approach to story construction that begins with a very simple premise that is slowly fleshed out, layer by layer, into a full-fledged story. Each layer of the snowflake explores story nuances like character development, setting, and narrative arc, until they are fully fleshed out into an entire novel.

The snowflake method was originally created by novelist Randy Ingermanson. With a background as a software designer, Ingermanson was able to see parallels in the mathematical structure from which computer software is born and the way stories naturally evolve.

In this article we’ll walk you through each of the steps to develop your own story idea and first draft using the snowflake method. Instead of being intimidating, you might find that (shh… trade secret) writing can actually be fun.

Why is the snowflake method effective?

As you begin your writing journey, you’ll find numerous plotting methods and techniques for getting to know your story. What makes this one so effective? Here are a few reasons using the snowflake method in your writing might be the right choice for you.

It’s not intimidating

If standard story-plotting techniques are like drafting architectural blueprints, this one is kind of like using a coloring book. You discover lines, edges, and parameters as you go, filling them in with color that brings your plot and characters to life, but it’s all very mellow and zen. Think lazy summer mornings, cozy-yet-Instagrammable pajamas, and your favorite notebook.

It imitates the brain’s natural process

Human beings have been telling stories for many, many generations before there were story structure techniques (or pajamas). The snowflake method is a standardized way of crafting a story that reflects the way they form naturally in our brain. We begin with an idea, look at it from different angles, and get to know a little bit more about it with every exploration.

All writers do this on a subconscious level; the snowflake method is about getting that subconscious exploration down on the page to make your writing process easier.

It’s basically foolproof

It’s been said that everyone has a novel inside of them. With the snowflake method, you’ll be astonished at how much of your story is already there, waiting to come out. Because this method allows you to build up your story in slow, manageable steps, you won’t hit that dreaded writer’s block; in fact, it may seem like the story is writing itself.

10 steps to plotting a story using the snowflake method

Ready to use the snowflake method to open up your story world? Let’s dive into the ten-step process for crafting your plot.

1. Write a one-sentence summary (your hook)

The first step is your premise, or idea. The goal is to write a one-sentence summary of what your book is going to be. Ingermanson recommends spending about an hour on this step.

Your one-sentence story summary will become your “hook,” or the thing that gets people (read: agents, publishers, and readers) interested in your book. When your friends ask you what you’re writing about, this is what you can give them.

Try to keep your one-sentence summary general at this point. Rather than naming specific characters and places, you can use generalizations like “a war-ravaged young soldier” or “a scullery maid with big dreams.”

An example of a single-sentence summary might be, “After being told she can’t sail because her long hair would get caught in the rigging, a sea captain’s daughter chops off all her hair and stows away on his merchant ship.” (This is the story of real-life pirate queen Grace O’Malley.)

2. Expand your hook into a one-paragraph summary

Now you want to take that first sentence and expand it into a full paragraph. This is where the “snowflake” metaphor comes in; much like a snowflake forms increasingly intricate layers around a single ice crystal, this paragraph is your first layer of story.

Your one-paragraph summary should briefly explain who the main character is, what their world looks like at the beginning, what it will look like by the end of the novel, and three major plot points that will get them from point A to point B.

In a three-act structure, this would be your inciting incident, your midpoint, and your climax. Ingermanson calls these points “major disasters.” Put together, your single paragraph will give a wide overview of your plot.

If you’re writing a biopic about our favorite lady pirate, your major plot points might include her sneaking onto her father’s ship, saving his life during an attack by pirates/sea monsters/mutineers, and finally coming into her power as a leader to protect those she loves. That already sounds like a pretty cool story, and we’re only a few sentences in.

3. Create a one-paragraph summary of all major characters

Now you get to learn a bit more about the people who populate this story world. Start writing a paragraph describing each of the important characters. Aim for about five character names to begin with: your protagonist, your primary antagonist (the villain), friends, love interests, supporting players.

See if you can pinpoint what each character’s goal is over the course of the story, what motivates them to pursue those goals, what’s standing in the way of achieving them, and what their major strengths and weaknesses are.

You may not have all the answers right away, and that’s okay. Just write down what comes naturally; you’ll often find that the empty spaces fill themselves in as you learn more and more about your story, so you can add more detail later on as you go.

4. Expand your story summary into a synopsis

Still have your one-sentence summary and your summary paragraph on hand? Great, because now you’re going to expand those ideas into a one-page summary of your plot. Each of the plot points you found when you wrote your paragraph will now be fleshed out into a paragraph of its own.

This is where you get to dig a little deeper into each plot point and turning point of the story. For example, if the first plot point is “Grace sneaks onto her father’s ship,” explore a bit more about what that moment looks like.

What obstacles does she overcome? What happens just before, after, or as a result of it? Write a single paragraph with your thoughts for each big moment in the story. This one-page synopsis will become a brief summary of your entire novel.

5. Create character-based story synopses

Now you have a reasonably clear idea of the path your story is going to take from beginning to end from the point of view of your main character. The next step is to explore the story through the eyes of the other main characters of the novel.

You’ll want approximately five one-page character synopses, and a few single-paragraph synopses for your minor characters (if you’ve met any so far).

This is a powerful and fascinating way to gain further insight into each major character, and it can reveal facets to your story you didn’t know existed. Write a one-page description of each character’s storyline, including each character’s conflict, motivations, setbacks, and victories.

Ingermanson advises looking for the character’s “epiphany,” or the moment of new enlightenment and understanding. Finding these moments of upheaval is what gives us our character development.

Imagine that they’re the main character of the story. For example, what does your story synopsis look like from Grace’s father’s point of view? Seen through his eyes, the story becomes one of failing to protect his daughter and watching her become the thing he fears most. What does each major plot point look like through this lens? This stage of the snowflake method can teach you some amazing new things about your story.

6. Expand your synopsis into scene and event summaries

At this point you should have a pretty good idea of the nooks and crannies of your story—what happens at each pivotal moment and why, and how each stage of the narrative affects your main character.

Now it’s time to really deep dive. At this step, you’ll take your single-page summary and expand it into a four-page synopsis.

The four-page plot outline will help you see the grand scope of your story so you can catch any snags or potential plot holes now —instead of after writing your first draft.

This is a good time to check that your major turning points align with key points in the three- or five-act structure (this is how you ensure your plot has steady pacing), that your main characters undergo some sort of growth, and that all your pieces are in place.

Because of the summarizing and character work you’ve done so far, this stage should be a breeze; it’s just taking everything you’ve assembled in your head and getting it onto the page where you can see everything clearly.

7. Create detailed character analyses

Just like we’ve taken a deep dive into our plot, we’re now going to do the same with our important characters. Now, you get to create character charts that detail everything you’ve ever wanted to know about each of these unique, multifaceted people.

For many writers, creating full-fledged character charts is their favorite part of the creative process.

Here are some things you’ll want to look at in your character analyses:

Your character’s motivation

Character descriptions, such as physical appearance and mannerisms

Age and birth date

Family dynamics

Level of education

Best memories

Worst memories

Secrets they may be hiding

Favorite places

Coping mechanisms

State of health

Etc, etc. These are only a few ideas; feel free to explore your character’s relationship with the world you’ve created. Your goal is to make this person as crystalline and real to you as possible—because that’s the only way they’re going to become real to your reader.

8. List the major scenes of your story

We’re getting close to the finish line! This step is going to make the writing process super quick and easy for you. Looking back at your four-page outline, you’re going to make a list of each individual event and scene that carries your story.

You can do your scene list with a spreadsheet if you’re fancy, or you can do it with post-it notes stuck together with a pin (not ideal, because post-it notes get lost easily).

Find a method that’s comfortable for you and write a single sentence summary or phrase that defines each beat of the story. When you’re finished, you’ll have a super-detailed outline of all the scenes of your whole story.

9. Create a summary of each scene

Here we go, we’re hitting our home stretch. The last step of the snowflake method is to expand each of those beats from your scene list into a full paragraph that describes what happens in the scene.

This can take a while, but laying this groundwork is essential. The more detail you’re able to include—snatches of dialogue, details of setting, narrative description—the more your future self will thank you. By the end of this stage, you’ll have your entire novel down on paper (or word processor).

10. Write your first draft

BURN RUBBER, WRITERLY FRIENDS!! Now you get to start writing the first draft of your novel—which is going to be a breeze and a half because of all the preliminary work you’ve done to get to this point.

While many writers find writing the first draft of a novel intimidating, these steps will ensure that when it’s finally time to begin, your story will come barrelling out onto the page. All of your snags have already been smoothed out so you can relax and focus on the most important part: telling the story.

Is the snowflake method right for you?

Authors love to use the snowflake method when they write novels because it takes the pressure and guesswork out of the novel outline. If you’ve been one of the writers struggling to get new ideas onto the page, this technique could change your writing life.

Try out the snowflake method of fiction writing if you:

Have a great central idea but have trouble turning it into a novel-length story

Find the idea of pantsing a whole novel on the fly terrifying

Find the idea of meticulously plotting a novel outline according to Aristotlean ideologies equally terrifying

Often find yourself getting stuck part way through your first draft

Randy Ingermanson’s snowflake method of writing is low pressure, low stress, and a foolproof tool for turning a one-sentence summary into an entire narrative. Next time you stumble upon an idea and think, “that would make a great story!” you can use the snowflake method to build it up one inspiring layer at a time.

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How to Write Your Novel Using the Save the Cat Beat Sheet

Writing a book outline is hard. Writing a book in general is hard. Plotting a compelling character arc and figuring out what happens next is a challenge for any writer, professional and newbie alike! Fortunately, I’m here to make it WAY easier for you. This blog post features my tried and true 15 steps to writing a book. Also known as the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet. You can use this handy novel-writing template to outline, write, or revise any novel of any genre.

You might have read the paragraph above and thought, What??? Only 15 Steps? And that’s right. ONLY 15 steps and you have a full novel outline. And here’s the best part. These aren’t just 15 random steps. These are the 15 “plot points” that are found in almost every successful novel ever written. Whether the author intended them to be or not.

SERIOUSLY!? 

Seriously. I’ve studied story for a long time. I’ve read a lot of novels. And after having written over twenty of my own (all published by major publishers like Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, and Macmillan), I can tell you that there is a definite pattern or structure at the heart of every successful novel. I call it the “Secret Storytelling Code”. And it’s this very code that is the basis of the story structure method that I teach to other writers called Save the Cat!

I’m guessing you’ve actually already noticed this secret storytelling code or structure on your own. Maybe without even realizing it.

For instance, have you ever noticed that in every great book or movie, something BIG always seems to happen right around 10% of the way into the story? Or that at 20% of the way in, the story seems to change direction and new characters and worlds and ideas are introduced? Or that at around halfway through the story is when the BIG twists are revealed or the big bombs are dropped (both literal and figurative)?

This isn’t a coincidence. This is the secret storytelling code in action. Essentially it’s the blueprint of what makes up a good story. And it can be broken down into 15 essential plot points. Or what I like to call “beats.” And if you learn those 15 beats and use them to outline and write your own story, you’re almost guaranteed to write a successful one.

Because this blueprint is not only for writing a successful plot. It’s also a blueprint for charting a successful character arc, writing characters that readers will root for, and ensuring that the pacing of your story is always engaging, exciting, and full of conflict and high stakes (regardless of whether you’re writing a quieter contemporary novel or a high-octane thriller.)

And in this post, I’m going to share with you exactly what they are and where they go in your story, so that you can start applying them to your own fiction writing.

So, without further ado, let’s break down your novel using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet and figure out what should go where.

The Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Beat #1: Opening Image. (0-1)% This is the first beat of Act 1 and it serves as a “before” snapshot of your main character (who from here on out I will refer to as the “hero” of your story), where you visually show , in a single scene, who your hero is and what their world or life is like. Beat #2: Theme Stated (5%) This is where a statement is made by a character (typically not the hero) that hints at what the hero’s arc will be (that is, what the hero must learn/discover before the end of the book). This can also be referred to as a “life lesson.” Beat #3: Setup (1% – 10%) These scenes are used to explore the hero’s status quo life and all its flaws. This is where the reader learns more about what the hero’s life looks like before its epic transformation, including how your hero’s life is flawed in some way. Here we also introduce other supporting characters and the hero’s primary goal. But most important, we show the hero’s reluctance to change (aka learn the theme or life lesson) while also hinting at the stakes at risk should the hero not change. Beat # 4 – Catalyst (10%) At 10%, an inciting incident (or life-changing event) should happen to the hero, which will catapult them into a new world or new way of thinking. This is an action beat that should be big enough to prevent the hero from being able to return to their status quo life. (things like break-ups, deaths, firings, and invitations are popular choices.) Beat #5: Debate (10% to 20%) After the Catalyst, the hero usually takes multiple scenes or chapters to react to what happened in the Catalyst. This is a sequence in which the hero debates what they will do next. It’s usually presented in the form of a question (such as “Should I go?” or “What do I do?”). The purpose of this beat is to show the hero’s reluctance to change. Beat #6: Break Into 2 (20%) This is the moment when the hero decides to accept the call to action, leave their comfort zone, try something new, or venture into a new world or new way of thinking. It’s a decisive action beat that separates the status quo world of Act 1 from the new “upside-down” world of Act 2, which we are now in! It’s at this moment that a new or modified goal is typically introduced, something that the hero is pursuing through the first half of Act 2. Beat #7: B Story (22%) At this point in the story, we introduce a new character or characters who will ultimately serve to help the hero learn the theme or life lesson. This can also be referred to as a helper character, and it can come in the form of a love interest, nemesis, mentor, family member, friend, or other! Beat #8 : Fun and Games (20% to 50%) In this long sequence of multiple scenes or chapters is where we see the hero in their new “upside down” world of Act 2. They’re either generally loving it or hating it. Succeeding or floundering. We want to see the hero pursuing that goal you set up at the Break into 2, so this is where you show the hero either making strides to achieve that goal or struggling to achieve that goal. This beat is also called the “promise of the premise” because it’s the section of the story that represents the “hook” of the novel, in other words, (why the reader picked up the novel in the first place). Beat #9: Midpoint (50%) This is literally the middle of the novel where the Fun and Games culminates in either a “false victory” (the hero has thus far been succeeding and/or has achieved their goal) or a “false defeat” (the hero has thus far been floundering and/or has lost their goal). But something else should happen here to raise the stakes and push the hero forward, ultimately toward real change. (Plot twists, time clocks, ramp-ups of the love story are popular choices.) Beat #10: Bad Guys Close In (50% to 75%) If the Midpoint was a false victory, this section of the story will generally be a downward path where things get progressively worse for the hero. If the Midpoint was a false defeat, this section will generally be an upward path where things seem to get progressively better for the hero. But regardless of path, the hero’s deep-rooted flaws (or internal bad guys) are closing in. After the Midpoint, the hero typically has either a new or modified goal to pursue throughout this beat. Beat #11: All Is Lost (75%) This moment is the lowest point of the novel. It’s an action beat where something happens to the hero that, combined with their internal bad guys, pushes the hero to rock bottom. There’s typically a “whiff of death” during this beat, meaning something dies here (either literally or metaphorically) to symbolize the “death of the old hero” and upcoming “rebirth of a transformed hero” Beat #12: Dark Night of the Soul (75% to 80%) This is another reaction beat where the hero takes time to process everything that’s happened thus far. The hero should be worse off than at the start of the novel. This feels like the darkest hour for the hero, but it’s just darkness before the dawn, or the moment right before the hero finds a solution to their problems, but also finally learn their theme or life lesson. Beat #13: The Break Into 3 (80%) The “aha!” moment. This is where the hero realizes what they must do to not only fix the problems created in Act 2, but more important, fix themself and be “reborn” as an improved version of themselves. The character arc is nearly complete. Beat #14: The Finale (80% to 99%) Now in Act 3, the hero must prove that they really have learned the theme and have transformed. To do that we, show them enacting the plan they came up with in the Break Into 3. Bad guys are destroyed, flaws are conquered, lovers are reunited. Not only is the hero’s world saved, but it’s a better place than it was before. Beat #15: Final Image (99% to 100%) A mirror to the Opening Image, this is the “after” snapshot of who the hero is after going through this epic and satisfying transformation. In this final beat we show a visual representation of the hero’s life after this exciting journey has changed them for the better.

So, there you have it. The 15 beats or plot points that make up almost all successful stories EVER told! Apply this blueprint or outline to your own novel and you’re sure to have a dynamic plot with effective pacing, worthy stakes, and a compelling character arc. Everything you could ever want in a novel!

Want examples of all these beats in action?

Download my free Save the Cat! Starter Kit PDF which comes a handy, printable list of ALL of these 15 beats  plus 3 full-length beat sheets (or plot analyses), showing you how the beats appear in some popular bestselling novels.

And If you want to dive deeper into these 15 beats and the Save the Cat! Method, be sure to check out my book, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL , available wherever books are sold, or my Save the Cat! Online Novel Writing course , available in the Writing Mastery Academy.

Happy Writing and Plotting!

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SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL

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Sign up today to receive a FREE Starter Kit including an introduction to the 15 beats, 3 Beat Sheets of popular novels , and a blank Beat Sheet for your own novel.

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Storytelling Techniques: How to Tell a Compelling Tale

• by Andrea Feccomandi
• May 15, 2024

Storytelling has always accompanied humanity, from ancient cave paintings to videos on TikTok.

Storytelling is not just a form of entertainment; it is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to understand the world .

Human beings love stories . If told well, they are the perfect means to convey the message we want to share with our readers.

In this article, we will see an overview of the essential storytelling techniques a good writer has to master. Let’s start!

Storytelling techniques for beginners: focus on your characters!

Great stories are driven by characters that audiences can relate to . So, the first thing to do is focus on the characters in your story.

• Develop relatable characters . Invest time in developing well-rounded, multi-dimensional characters with distinct personalities, motivations, and flaws. These characters will be the anchors that keep your audience engaged in your story.
• Compelling backstories . Develop compelling backstories for your characters that inform their motivations, beliefs, and actions. A well-crafted backstory adds depth and complexity, making your characters feel like fully realized individuals with a history that shapes their present.
• Embrace conflict and obstacles . Stories that work are built on conflicts and obstacles that challenge your characters and move the plot forward. Introduce conflicts and obstacles for your characters to overcome. When your audience can see themselves reflected in your characters’ challenges and aspirations, they forge a deeper emotional connection.
• Character growth and transformation : Allow your characters to grow and transform throughout your narrative. Compelling character arcs that depict personal growth, self-discovery, or profound change create a sense of investment and satisfaction for your audience.

Other storytelling techniques for beginners

Once you’ve created three-dimensional characters with a believable conflict , it’s time to focus on the story. Here are some basic storytelling techniques that every writer must master.

• Create a strong narrative arc . Ensure your story has a clear beginning, middle, and end . Establish the context, build up to a climax , and provide a satisfying resolution. A well-defined narrative arc helps maintain coherence and interest.
• Hook your audience from the start . Create a captivating opening that immediately sparks curiosity and draws your audience into your story. Whether it’s a thought-provoking question, a thrilling mystery, or a vivid description, your opening sets the tone for the entire narrative.
• Show, don’t tell . Rather than simply telling your audience what’s happening, show it through dialogues and actions. This technique creates a more immersive experience, allowing your audience to visualize and connect with the story on a deeper level.
• Vivid sensory details . Engage your audience’s senses by incorporating vivid sensory details into your descriptions of time and place. Describe the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes that bring your setting to life, creating an immersive experience for your audience.
• Master the art of pacing . Managing pace is critical to your storytelling. Balance moments of tension, action, and resolution to keep your audience engaged and wanting more. A well-paced story maintains an engaging rhythm that moves the narrative forward.
• Develop a unique voice. Your voice is your unique way of telling a story. It includes your choice of words, tone, and style. A distinctive voice reflects your perspective and personality, making your storytelling more authentic and engaging.

Advanced storytelling techniques for engaging your audience

Once you have learned the basic storytelling techniques, you will be able to approach advanced techniques that can help you further improve the quality of your writing. Here are some of the main advanced storytelling techniques.

• The Hero’s Journey . The Hero’s Journey is a powerful storytelling archetype that follows a protagonist ‘s transformative journey, with challenges, mentors , and personal growth. This structure strikes a powerful connection with audiences, as it mirrors the human experience of overcoming obstacles and finding one’s true self.
• Snowflake Method . The Snowflake Method is a structured approach to novel writing that begins with a single sentence and expands into a detailed outline. By gradually adding complexity, you can develop intricate plots and well-rounded characters, ensuring that every element of your story is consistently interconnected.
• Non-linear narrative . Beyond the traditional linear narrative structure, you can use non-linear techniques like flashbacks , flash-forwards , or parallel plots. This approach adds depth and complexity to your stories, keeping your audience engaged and intrigued as they piece together the puzzle of your narrative.
• Experiment with perspective . Explore different narrative perspectives , such as first-person , limited third-person , or third-person omniscient . Each perspective offers unique advantages and challenges, allowing you to shape how your audience experiences the story and the level of understanding they have about the characters’ thoughts and motivations.
• Symbolic storytelling . Weave symbolism and metaphor into your narratives, adding layers of meaning and depth. By incorporating symbolic elements, you invite your audience to interpret and reveal the deeper meaning of your story, creating a more profound and more inspiring experience.
• Mastering subtext . Develop the ability to convey deeper meaning through subtext : the underlying messages and implications that lie beneath the surface of your narrative. By mastering subtext, you can create a rich, multi-layered storytelling experience that resonates with your audience on multiple levels.

The role of emotion in storytelling

Great storytellers understand the power of emotion and know how to use it to create truly unforgettable stories.

Here are some storytelling techniques that can help you harness emotions to create your own stories that can become powerful vehicles of connection, understanding, and personal transformation.

• Emotional connection . Establish an emotional connection with your audience by tapping into universal human experiences like love, loss, triumph, and struggle. By creating narratives that resonate with their emotions, you make a bond that transcends the boundaries of your story.
• Evoking empathy . Create characters and situations that evoke empathy in your audience. When your audience can relate to and understand your characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations, they become involved in their journey, creating a powerful emotional connection.
• Emotional pacing . Just as you pace the action and tension in your narrative, you also need to pace emotional rhythms carefully. Build anticipation , ease emotional tension at strategic moments, and allow your audience to experience the full spectrum of emotions alongside your characters.
• Emotional authenticity . Look for emotional authenticity in your storytelling. Avoid clichés and superficial emotional responses; instead, delve into the complex and nuanced emotions that arise from the unique circumstances of your narrative.
• Emotional resonance . Aim to create narratives that stay in the hearts and minds of your audience long after the story ends. Create emotional moments and themes that resonate deeply, leaving a lasting impact and inspiring self-reflection and personal growth.

The art of the twist: keeping your audience guessing

One of the most powerful techniques in a storyteller’s arsenal is the art of the plot twist . A well-executed twist can leave your audience breathless, questioning everything they thought they knew about your narrative.

In this section, we’ll explore strategies for creating unexpected twists that keep audiences wondering and leave them craving more.

• Foreshadowing and red herrings . Plant clues and red herrings throughout your narrative, leading your audience down a carefully constructed path of misdirection. When the twist is finally revealed, these subtle hints and false trails will make the revelation all the more shocking and satisfying.
• Subverting expectations . Identify and challenge the expectations your audience may have about your narrative. Once you understand their assumptions, you can strategically subvert them, creating a twist that defies their preconceived notions and leaves them delightfully surprised.
• Unreliable narrators and perspective shifts . Employ unreliable narrators or shift perspectives to create a sense of uncertainty and doubt in your audience’s mind. When the truth is finally revealed, it will be all the more impactful as they realize the extent to which they were misled.
• Character revelations and betrayals . Craft twists that revolve around shocking character revelations or betrayals. When a trusted character’s true motivations or allegiances are exposed, it can shatter your audience’s perceptions and leave them reeling.
• Genre subversion . If your narrative falls within a specific genre, explore ways to subvert the conventions and tropes of that genre. By defying audience expectations and delivering a twist that challenges the very foundations of the genre, you create a truly unforgettable and genre-bending experience.

Enhance your storytelling with bibisco novel writing software

For writers seeking to tell compelling tales, bibisco novel writing software offers a suite of features specifically designed to enhance the storytelling process .

With its robust character development tools , such as the innovative interview mode, bibisco enables writers to create well-rounded characters that form the foundation of any well-crafted story.

These tools help writers delve deeply into their characters’ backgrounds, motivations, and personalities, ensuring that each character is complex, relatable, and integral to the narrative.

By providing such detailed character development resources, bibisco empowers writers to build engaging and immersive stories that captivate their readers from start to finish.

Conclusion: the timeless power of a well-told tale

Storytelling is more than a form of entertainment; it is an essential aspect of the human experience that shapes our culture and identity, individually and collectively.

Well-crafted stories can transcend boundaries, bridge cultural gaps, and cultivate empathy and understanding. They have the potential to inspire change , challenge prevailing norms, and leave a profound impact on readers.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ve explored storytelling techniques that will help you create stories that evoke emotions , ignite curiosity, and forge unforgettable connections.

Happy writing!

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Storytelling isn’t complicated. We’ll prove it to you.

Do you have an amazing idea for a novel but you struggle to get words on the page? Maybe the problem isn’t writer’s block. Maybe you need a writing process.

Publishing veterans and bestselling authors Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn share their proven system for developing a plan that will bridge the gap between a collection of random notes and a cohesive first draft.

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Developed over 10 years and applied on millions of words of fiction, Thorn and Bohannon will show you how to layer your approach and build a fantastic story from the ground up.

No more staring at a blinking cursor when you sit down to write!

Become a master storyteller today.  Three Story Method  will transform you from a struggling writer into a career author.

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No more worrying about the PayPal payment you sent to some sketchy email address. You don’t need to sort through thousands of editors on those freelance platforms. Forget combing through the front matter of books, looking for the name of an editor who probably won’t give you the time of day.

Now, you can hire a certified Three Story Method Editor!

Not only will you find the right editor for your style or genre, and someone personally trained (in person, not through some hokey online video course), but you’ll work with an editor who understands how you feel because every Three Story Method Editor is also an author.

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The One Method That Changes Your—and All Students’—Writing

Science-based writing methods can achieve dramatic results..

Posted May 14, 2024 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• Why Education Is Important
• Find a Child Therapist
• A systematic writing framework offers a method for dramatically improving the teaching of writing.
• This method received only limited uptake, despite high-profile research publications and textbooks.
• A focus on writing style might have limited the method's impacts.

I remember spending hours commenting painstakingly on my students’ papers when I was a graduate student teaching in the Expository Writing Program at New York University. My students loved our classes, and they filled my sections and gave me terrific course evaluations. Yet I could see that their writing failed to change significantly over the course of the semester. I ended up feeling as if I should refund their money, haunted by the blunt instruments we had to teach writing.

As I’ve learned from directing five writing programs at three different universities, methods matter. When I reviewed comments on papers from instructors who taught in my programs, I discovered that the quantity and quality of comments on students’ papers made only a slight impact on writing outcomes. For instance, one notoriously lazy instructor took several weeks to return assignments and only used spelling and grammar checkers to automate comments. But his conscientious colleague made dozens of sharp observations about students’ arguments, paragraphs, and sentences. However, Mr. Conscientious’ students improved perhaps only 10% over Mr. Minimalist’s students. Even then, the differences stemmed from basic guidelines Mr. Conscientious insisted his students write to, which included providing context sentences at the outset of their essay introductions.

Educators have also poured resources into teaching writing, with increasing numbers of hours dedicated to teaching writing across primary, secondary, and higher education . Yet studies continue to find writing skills inadequate . In higher education, most universities require at least a year of writing-intensive courses, with many universities also requiring writing across the curriculum or writing in the disciplines to help preserve students’ writing skills. However, writing outcomes have remained mostly unchanged .

While pursuing my doctorate, I dedicated my research to figuring out how writing worked. As a graduate student also teaching part-time, I was an early convert to process writing. I also taught those ancient principles of logos, ethos, and pathos, as well as grammar and punctuation. Nevertheless, these frameworks only created a canvas for students’ writing. What was missing: how writers should handle words, sentence structure, and relationships between sentences.

Yet researchers published the beginnings of a science-based writing method over 30 years ago. George Gopen, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams created a framework for identifying how to maximize the clarity, coherence, and continuity of writing. In particular, Gopen and Swan (1990) created a methodology for making scientific writing readable . This work should have been a revelation to anyone teaching in or directing a writing program. But, weirdly, comparatively few writing programs or faculty embraced this work, despite Williams, Colomb, and Gopen publishing both research and textbooks outlining the method and process.

Peculiarly, this framework—represented by Williams’ Style series of textbooks and Gopen’s reader expectation approach—failed to become standard in writing courses, likely because of two limitations. First, both Gopen and Williams hewed to a relativistic stance on writing methods, noting that rule-flouting often creates a memorable style. This stance created a raft of often-contradictory principles for writing. For example, Williams demonstrated that beginning sentences with There is or There are openings hijacked the clarity of sentences, then argued writers should use There is or There are to shunt important content into sentence emphasis positions, where readers recall content best. Second, these researchers failed to tie this writing framework to the wealth of data in psycholinguistics, cognitive neuroscience , or cognitive psychology on how our reading brains process written English. For instance, textbooks written by these three principal researchers avoid any mention of why emphasis positions exist at the ends of sentences and paragraphs—despite the concept clearly originating in the recency effect. This limitation may stem from the humanities’ long-held antipathy to the idea that writing is a product, rather than a process. Or even that science-based methods can help teachers and programs measure the effectiveness of writing, one reason why university First-Year Writing programs have failed to improve students’ writing in any measurable way.

Nevertheless, when you teach students how our reading brains work, you create a powerful method for rapidly improving their writing—in any course that requires writing and at all levels of education. Students can grasp how writing works as a system and assess the costs and benefits of decisions writers face, even as they choose their first words. This method also works powerfully to help students immediately understand how, for instance, paragraph heads leverage priming effects to shape readers’ understanding of paragraph content.

Using this method, I and my colleagues have helped students use a single writing assignment to secure hundreds of jobs, win millions in grant funding, and advance through the ranks in academia. However, we’ve also used the same method without modifications in elementary and secondary classrooms to bolster students’ writing by as much as three grade levels in a single year.

Perhaps the time has arrived for this well-kept secret to revolutionizing student writing outcomes to begin making inroads into more writing classrooms.

Gopen, G. D. and J. A. Swan (1990). "The Science of Scientific Writing." American Scientist 78(6): 550-558.

Gopen, George. The Sense of Structure: Writing from the Reader’s Perspective . Pearson, 2004.

Gopen, George. Expectations: Teaching Writing from the Reader’s Perspective . Pearson, 2004.

Williams, Joseph. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace . University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Williams, Joseph. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace . Harper Collins, 1994.

Williams, Joseph. Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace . Longman, 2002.

Jane Yellowlees Douglas, Ph.D. , is a consultant on writing and organizations. She is also the author, with Maria B. Grant, MD, of The Biomedical Writer: What You Need to Succeed in Academic Medicine .

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What Are The Sections Of A Research Proposal?

L earning the structure of a research proposal can be helpful while writing one. Research proposal writing services often emphasize the importance of breaking down your proposal into clear sections to ensure clarity and coherence. Typically, a research proposal comprises several key components.

A research proposal is like a roadmap for a study, outlining its purpose, methods, and expected outcomes. Typically, it consists of several key sections. Firstly, there's the introduction, which introduces the research topic and explains its importance. Then comes the literature review, where existing research relevant to the study is discussed. 

After that, the methodology section outlines how the research will be conducted, including the tools and techniques used. Next, the proposal includes a section on anticipated results and their significance. Lastly, there's often a section on the timeline and budget, detailing when and how resources will be allocated. This article will cover the sections of writing research proposal . 

Main Features of a Research Proposal

To write research proposal, it's important to cover key elements. Look for the best research proposal writing services to ensure your proposal includes all vital aspects.

Introduction

Literature review, methodology.

Research Proposal title should be to the point but informative that clearly tell what the research is about. Avoid using too long titles and extra information in it. Choose the best title for your research proposal that is relevant to your project.

A good proposal title should contain the following

• Eye catching words to grab the attention of the reader
• Positive language toward the reader

Titles should be similar to your research questions or thesis statements.

The abstract is like a snapshot of your research proposal, or a brief summary giving a intro what your study is all about. It gives the basic fundamental about your topic so they can understand the importance of the proposal. It sums up the main points: the problem you're tackling, what you aim to achieve, how you plan to do it, and what you expect to find. 

A strong abstract attracts the reader and grabs their interest in your proposal and its importance. This is the chance to make an excellent first impression and encourage readers to check out more of your research.

The introduction is the main point of the research proposal. It introduces the audience to the story by explaining the background and reasons behind your research. It highlights the main question or problem you're addressing and explains why it's important. By the end of the introduction, the reader should understand what you're studying, why it's significant, and what you hope to achieve. This section is crucial because it sets the stage for the rest of your proposal, helping the reader understand the context and purpose of your research.

The literature review acts as a map that shows the present state of information in your area of research. Here, you will be giving a summary and review of previous studies, concepts, and results related to the topic you chose. This makes it less difficult for you to see the larger context and figure out how your research fits in. In addition to underlining the importance of your work, an effective review of the literature highlights undiscovered areas and recommends places where future study may have an impact.

In the methodology section, you explain how you'll conduct your research. This includes describing the type of research you'll do, like whether it's qualitative or quantitative. You also talk about how you'll collect data, whether through surveys, interviews, or experiments. 

It's important to explain your sampling strategy, which is how you'll select participants or data points. This ensures that your sample is representative of the population you're studying. 

Additionally, you'll detail how you'll analyze the data once you've collected it. This could involve statistical tests, thematic analysis, or other methods depending on your research design. 

Clarity and feasibility are key in this section. You want to make sure that your methods are clear and that you'll be able to actually carry them out. This helps ensure that your findings will be valid and reliable.

Your research proposal's schedule section acts as a sort of road map, detailing the actions you'll comply with to finish the project. It provides the timetable for gathering information, research, and distribution of findings. Having a clear period shows off your excellent ability to manage time but also gives people trust that your study will be finished on time. It improves the trust people have in your proposal. Having an extensive timetable helps you stay on target and complete your education in an appropriate length of time, much like when you create milestones for yourself. This part of your proposal is important because it displays that you have calculated the length of time of each study part, which will help you plan carefully and make sure you succeed in finishing your project on time.

In the budget section, you list all the money you'll need for your research. This covers things like buying equipment, getting materials, paying participants, and any staff you might need. By explaining why you need each expense, you show exactly how you plan to spend the money. This transparency helps funding agencies understand why your study is worth investing in, making it more likely they'll support your research.

You must list all of the sources that you included in your research proposal in the references section. This list follows to an APA or MLA format, which makes it easier for readers to find exactly which sources you used. To maintain the academic standard and show regard for the efforts of other researchers, it is important that you use references that are right and reliable. This section acknowledges the works of earlier researchers whose work you have found useful in your research.

A good research proposal has important sections that show why your study is important, how it can be done, and how reliable it is. Whether you need money or permission for your research, knowing these sections well is key to making a strong proposal. With help from trusted research proposal writing services in the UK , new researchers can get expert advice on writing proposals, making it easier for them to succeed.

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