Structure
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Structure is the overall shape and organization of a story – the order in which events and information are presented to the audience, regardless of the order in which those events actually took place. Where plot is composed of the events themselves, structure is the architecture used to arrange them. That may be in a linear fashion, non-linear, framed, circular, or built around a number of vignettes.
In personal storytelling, structure is one of the most flexible and often underused techniques that can shape a story. Such stories don’t have to be told in the order the events happened. It might open at the most dramatic moment, somewhere in the middle, then go back in time to explain how the storyteller got there. It may alternate between two timelines that eventually converge, or in some cases, circle back at the end to a notable detail that had been introduced at the beginning, giving the story a sense of closure.
Choosing a structure starts with considering what you want the audience to learn at each step. By withholding a key piece of information until a later point, the story can build suspense. On the other hand, revealing it early can instead build dramatic irony, as the audience watches events unfold while knowing something the storyteller isn’t aware of yet. The same set of events can resonate in a completely different way depending on how the scenes are structured.
Storytellers often play with the structure over a series of drafts to find the one that works best. A story that features a gradual realization might benefit from a structure that utilizes a gradual pace, while a story built around a single, sudden event might be better served from a structure that opens with impact and later on fills in the context the audience needs to understand what happened.
Examples
“The story starts with me standing in a hospital hallway at 3 a.m., though to understand how I got there, you have to go back six months, to the phone call I almost didn’t answer.”
“I’ll tell you about the year I spent building the company, and I’ll tell you about the year, twenty years earlier, my father spent losing his – the two stories only make sense next to each other.”
“The story opens with my grandmother’s hands, cracked and flour-dusted, kneading dough on a Sunday morning. It ends the same way, except this time, they’re mine.”
“I won’t tell you yet what was in that envelope. First, you need to understand everything that led up to the moment I finally opened it.”
“I should tell you now: the business failed within the year. Knowing that, watch how confidently I walked into that first meeting, certain I had all the answers.”
these resources will make it more impactful!
The Essential Literary Techniques
The Essential Literary Elements
The Essential Literary Devices
Ten Fundamental Story Blocks