Using the "Story circle" for every chapter?

[Orilindë]

I'm exploring the narrative writing tool called "Story Circle." I'm sure many of you have heard of it or use similar narrative tools. If you don't know it, it is a way to tell a story and has eight steps that the main character goes through:

1. The character starts in a place or situation they know well.
2. They want or need something really bad.
3. They go into a new and different situation.
4. They start to get used to this new place or situation.
5. They get what they want or need.
6. But, getting it comes with a cost or problem.
7. They go back to where they started, but now they're changed.
8. They use what they learned or got to do something important.

The tool ensures that a story feels complete and exciting, similar to a hero going on an adventure, facing challenges, and returning to change.

My question, or reflection, is, should I use this or similar narrative tools for every chapter to ensure I'm making progress in the story? Or how do you ensure that your plot and character development develop in each chapter?

 

[Finchbearer]

For each chapter? I re-read that and realised you mean this for each chapter rather than for an entire story. I’m a beginner writer too, but I wouldn’t personally use this for a framework as it feels a little bit limiting. I think the goal of it is too ensure you have tension build every so often throughout the book, but I try and keep to every 250 - 500 words or so for this.

 

[Orilindë]

Finchbearer Yes, sorry if that was unclear. I like that word count approach. You say the story circle feels limited. What techniques are you using? Besides the "word count approach"?

The story circle is, of course, only one framework and shouldn't be used fanatically. I use it more for guidance, something to start with, as I thought it was quite straightforward.

 

[Finchbearer]

I’ve found frameworks to be good exercises in finding what works and what doesn’t so far. I started out using a 3 act structure for example, but with one main story I am working on, it has become more a 2 part structure, so I am open to things evolving and changing. I have found using a characters wants useful for driving the plot though in general. What style of fantasy do you write? If any.

 

[Orilindë]

Finchbearer, The film adaptation of LOTR heavily influenced my generation. However, I was among the few in my circle who read the books before the movies came out. I would say High Fantasy, as I strive for the epicness of that style.

 

[pmmg]

I cant answer 'should you'. That is kind of up to you and what you think works for you.

I will say, whilst I am aware of many of these writing templates and methods, I don't use them. And dont study them much.

This one seems to be one of: Hero has mundane life--something happens--hero rises to the challenges--hero changes and wins--hero returns home but home can never be the same.

That pattern is displayed in many, many stories, and I think is inescapable in most. Any story of character growth changes them, and the old will soon no longer suit. Its just part of the human condition which we all try to capture.

However...my own method is one of aiming at a target and pushing ahead till I get it. I have adopted the term 'waypoint writer'.

 

[Orilindë]

pmmg, that's interesting to hear. I always had an image of writers with a structured approach and explicit formulas. I guess, in a way, many do. But I get the sense that there are as many methods as there are writers, which, of course, gladdens me. I think the next step for me is to write more to find my method inspired by what I read and what I learn more about when it comes to storytelling.

 

[pmmg]

Yeah....I never went for structure. Even in college, I would write the paper first, and then the outline only if I had to turn one in.

I cant do outlines. They just waste my time. I'd rather spend it putting more words on page.

All of my stories look to be character stories and following their growth is what its about. I am sure at the end, the MC will not be the same, and wont be able to just return home.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

It's essentially 3 act structure with some blah blah blah, or dumbed-down Hero's Journey, heh heh.

Do this for every chapter? I'd say no, but it depends on how loosely you want to define the steps and narrative style. If you were writing, say, an RPG adventure book where each chapter is a mini adventure in a larger narrative, then this might work.

You're better off learning 3 Act structure and the intricacies that go along with it, but the key is finding whichever version of 3-Act (known by a thousand names) that works for you and run with it.

The point of a traditional chapter or scene is change. I wouldn't worry about all that other muckity muck on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

 

[Incanus]

I think I'm a little confused about using this for every chapter as well.

If you mean that all eight of these points should appear in every chapter, then that seems wrong to me.

However, if you mean that every chapter should contain at least one element of the eight 'steps' shown here, then that makes more sense.

I see nothing wrong with the framework in itself, but it is a tad generic, or general. I've taken to outlining myself, and I'm currently employing the 3-act structure combined with a character arc. (And I'm using something called the Zero Draft--I just started a thread about that.)

 

[Orilindë]

Incanus

"However, if you mean that every chapter should contain at least one element of the eight 'steps' shown here, then that makes more sense."

I think that is more of what I was meaning to find out. Thanks for nudging me in the right direction.

 

[pmmg]

Just to add...I thought the every chapter part must be an error, and it meant instead the whole story path. If its for every chapter, I would scrutinize it harder.


Most of my chapters end with....'This looks hopeless...'. Not a lot of returning to where they started to re-evaluate their growth.

 

[ThinkerX]

I do this - make chapters into mini-stories - though not with every chapter. I use a one-chapter/one-POV character method - everything in that chapter is told from the POV of a given character - what they see, what they hear, what they learn, what they do. Sometimes there will be two separate POV chapters to cover a given situation. The characters are distinct, viewing these things differently - Peter is a skilled warrior who doesn't shy from a fight, while Tia is more of a thinker.

That said, most chapters begin with the character confronted with a problem or situation that needs resolving, or sometimes a bit of 'surprise action.' The immediate goal is to resolve that problem. That resolution, successful or not, tends to bring up other issues. Often, the chapters end on a sort of mini-cliffhanger - yes, the character dealt with the original issue but is now faced with something more dramatic.

I do have some POV chapters that are more informative than action oriented.

 

[Penpilot]

Check out scene sequel format. I found it very helpful. Here's a post I made on it a while back in a different thread.

Scenes

Hi! I have recently listened to writing podcasts and I am surprised at how much they talk about scenes and how important it is thar each scene has a purpose, that there are consequences, that there is a variety in the structure of the scenes.... I don't think about scenes at all when I write...

mythicscribes.com

 

[Finchbearer]

Upon looking further into this, it appears to be a narrative concept created by Dan Harmon - and is widely used, indeed for each chapter, but I’m just not sure that every chapter in my own work would become a mini quest in itself. Do they always have to start in a familiar setting, and then return to the same setting? That feels limiting. I often end my chapters on cliff hangers, so the reader (in theory) wants to go back to that character to find out the outcome, which breaks that story circle up. I’d try it as a writing exercise to see if it ‘works’, and I’ll be sure to keep track when reading a book if the author has employed this strategy.

 

[The Dark One]

Jeez... to do that every chapter?

Not only would it be a chore to write, it would become sooooo predictable.

 

[ThinkerX]

Jeez... to do that every chapter?

Not only would it be a chore to write, it would become sooooo predictable.

Not really. It is a matter of keeping the reader invested in the characters, making them want to continue reading. The problem at the chapter start can take many forms - a negotiation, a test, a romantic encounter, a journey, or a fight. Likewise, the resolution and the 'twist' can take different forms.

 

[pmmg]

Looking at this with a little more depth, Story Circle does not appear to be a chapter flow prescription but a whole story one. I think if we were to ask Dan directly, he might hedge a little bit. (Funny, I see people online saying that Dan Harmon created all this, and then I find a comment from Dan Harmon saying that he borrowed it from Aristotle. To me, it just looks like an effort to improve upon the Hero's Journey--maybe make it more relatable to writers.)

Dan Harmon Story Circle

My feeling on this remains, it may have some play, but I think if every chapter followed the same template, the template would show.


I'm gonna answer the second part of this....

Or how do you ensure that your plot and character development develop in each chapter?

Well, oddly, I don't even have chapters, so the pattern above would never have worked for me.

For plot, I mean...I have a fairly complex plot, and its not changed much since I started. Its kind of like a mystery novel in its way, and so new discoveries appear and keep the story moving forward. The plot develops somewhat ridgedly and somewhat organically. In that, I know that some of it will happen, I don't always know the how. The characters don't know either, so for them it is also a discovery. Almost all of the characters are focused on the big conflict, and the conflict is bigger than any one of them. Both the hero side, and the villain side, are putting all of their energy into it, and moving ahead with small wins for their team, and reacting and changing to the wins of the other team. The plot is growing as characters grow. The Lore is increasing, the mystery is slowing becoming more revealed, and the stakes keep getting higher. All of which must culminate in a showdown...both sides cant win. Both will not change their direction. And both must collide.

For Character...I think this is the easier of the two. I try to make every character relatable, capable of reaction to their circumstance, and looking to achieve, not just the goals of the plot, but also their own personal goals as well. Many characters have fleshed character arcs. They have a reason for being in the story, they know the side they are on, they are after solving the big puzzle. But they are also people with pasts, and wants, and flaws and many things they know, many things they don't know, many things they think are true, and many things they think are true that are not true. These are given more room to organically grow, they all meet challenges, and grow slowly over the course of the story (assuming they don't get killed in the process). The world is dangerous. Many characters are often in peril and many are in over their heads. So the stakes for them are often high, and the room for them to drop their guard is small. They don't always get it right, but they do struggle and grate against each other, and try to advance both their race against the conflict, and improve upon their own personal issues. Not all characters do this equally well, but they are all open to growth and change.

I certainly do not have scenes that follow the pattern above. I do think there are some templates that could be applied, but my guess is a reader would not notice them. One template I tend to follow is: Open with description, move to action or move to conversation, let that be the more interesting part of the scene, and end on a beat that leaves something still pending.

When thinking of scenes, I tend to think of them in two forms. Scenes that are showing the action, and scenes that are connecting the action together. I probably have close to a 60/40 mix of those...but maybe sometimes its more like 80/20.

I add to all of this, what I hope is, a compelling narrative voice. Its really just the way I write, but I feel its as important as the other stuff. I also hope is somewhat invisible, but also enough to distinguish my prose from that of others.

 

[The Dark One]

My feeling on this remains, it may have some play, but I think if every chapter followed the same template, the template would show.



I add to all of this, what I hope is, a compelling narrative voice. Its really just the way I write, but I feel its as important as the other stuff. I also hope is somewhat invisible, but also enough to distinguish my prose from that of others.

Template shows and therefore becomes predictable and ostensibly formulaic - which you do not want.

Prose distinguished from others is precisely what I aspire to. I've written crime, historical and sci-fi but it's always my voice and regular readers tell me all my books feel similar despite the very different settings.

That pleases me.