Story Structure — And How To Make It Your Own

For most things in life, there’s a craft to doing it well. Storytelling is no different.

Whether you’re regaling friends with tales from your recent fishing trip or trying to get executive buy-in for a project, there are certain things you can do to make your story more powerful, effective, and entertaining (pssst: those things often go hand in hand!).

Here’s a secret: almost every story follows a certain structure. While many storytellers reinterpret this structure, the majority of stories over the course of human history — be they thousand-year old myths or blockbuster films — have this structure at heart.

So that you can start to tell stories with greater emotional impact, I’ve dissected and described the most fundamental parts of any good story. Here they are:

1. The Hook: WHY does this story matter?
2. Exposition: what context does the reader need to know?
3. Call To Adventure: Why did the character(s) go off into the unknown?
4. The Journey: What ups and downs did the character(s) face along the way?
5. Resolution: What did the main character(s) learn or discover on their journey?

To help you make sense of these components and put them into practice, I’ve offered a few suggestions:

• the amount of space/time to dedicate to each component
• the critical components to keep in mind
• examples from pop culture to illustrate each component
• a suggested question that you can use as a jumping off point

But remember: the only way this will be useful to you is if you PRACTICE IT.

The Hook

Length: 1 short paragraph.

Goal: Hook the reader and make them want to read more — often through a conflict/tension.

Components: A character in a setting experiences a problem.

Example from pop culture: In the movie Face/Off, a father’s little boy is murdered by the bad guy via a bullet meant for the father.

Ask yourself: WHY does the story matter? What big problem sets this story in motion?

Exposition

Length: 1–2 short paragraphs.

Goal: Give the reader just enough context to understand your story — and no more!

Components: Any critical “Who, What, Where, When or Why” that weren’t already explained in the hook.

Example from pop culture: In the Star Wars movies, a scrolling theatrical crawl starts each movie and provides all background information needed to understand the story.

Ask yourself: What context does the reader need to know to understand the story?

Call To Adventure

Length: 1–2 short paragraphs. (NOTE: this might already be accomplished in The Hook.)

Goal: Explain what set the story in motion and caused the adventure to begin. (NOTE: this may be different from what set the project in motion.)

Components: A catalyst (person or situation) arrives to “call” the hero into action — and the hero accepts.

Example from pop culture: In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo finds a magic ring; Gandalf arrives to explain that the ring is evil and must be destroyed; when Frodo accepts his mission to destroy it, the journey begins.

Example of visual storytelling: Image of a meeting with your stakeholders or an early concept sketch.Ask yourself…WHY did the character(s) go off into the unknown?

Journey

Length: Multiple paragraphs.

Goal: Tell the ups and downs of the story! (NOTE: the story is often most interesting if the tension builds over time — ie, the biggest challenges come last, which sets the reader up for a powerful resolution.)

Components: A problem followed by a solution followed by a problem followed by a solution followed by… (NOTE: include SURPRISES & COMEDY — they bring a story to life.)

Example from pop culture: In the book “The Hunger Games,” the journey begins when the protagonist, Katniss, enters training. Below are some primary examples of the ups and downs of her journey:

• Problem: her training mentor, Haymitch, initially appears useless. Solution: Haymitch becomes a valuable ally for Katniss in the arena.
• Problem: after scoring an 11 out of 12 in the training exhibition, Katniss enters the arena with a large target on her back. Some of the competitors have been training all their lives for this event and were thus efficient killers. Solution: Katniss knows her best bet was to run as fast and far as possible. As competitors start to die, Katniss finds herself in a strong position. She destroys the supply centre of the strongest competitors, finds an ally in Rue from the 11th District, and eventually partners with Peeta.
• Problem: At the end of the Hunger Games, When every competitor is dead except for Peeta and Katniss, they are told one of them has to kill the other. Solution: Katniss refuses and offers a suicide pact to Peeta; Peeta accepts, and — as Katniss had hoped — they’re stopped by the organizers of the game & crowned co-winners. Thanks to this unprecedented solution, both survive.

Ask yourself: What ups and downs did the core characters face along the way?

Resolution

Length: 1 paragraph.

Goal: Resolve the conflicts that set the story in motion & demonstrate why it mattered.

Components: A lesson/discovery and its impact.

Example from pop culture: In The Hunger Games, Katniss returns to District 12 from her journey in the arena having discovered:

• greater personal power and independence
• love for Peeta
• increased mistrust for and understanding of the machinations of the Capitol

Ask yourself: What did you the main characters learn or discover on their journey? What impact did their journey have — on their own lives, their community, the world?

Ready for the next step?

Now that you know how to structure a story, decide what story you’d like to tell.

and whether you’d prefer to share it via blog, video or some other media.