Comments on: Story Structure Series: #1 — Introducing the Four Parts of Story

By: The 8 C’s of Plotting: Confrontation to Comprehension | write lara write

The 8 C’s of Plotting: Confrontation to Comprehension | write lara write — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:51:12 +0000

[...] If you’d like the 3-Act structure broken down into a list terms and regulations, read Larry Brooks’ blogs on Story Fix (he tends to ramble, and navigating the site from post to post is as easy as scrambling up a [...]

By: I’m a winner! NaNoWriMo 2011 « Knotrune

I’m a winner! NaNoWriMo 2011 « Knotrune — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:13:48 +0000

[...] write a novel really, but I found books and websites there which have been so helpful. Snowflake, Storyfix and Kristen Lamb are worth checking [...]

By: Christine Bloom

Christine Bloom — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:46:28 +0000

Great post for me. I need to shape up my story-telling skills. Does this structure work for more literary stories? I can see how it works for thrillers, murder mysteries, romances but it seems less clear to me for literary fiction. I downloaded your book on Story Engineering and I am working my way through it.

By: >S – Story Structure « Claudie A.

>S – Story Structure « Claudie A. — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:57:58 +0000

[...] Post #1 is here. At the bottom of each (past the comments) is a link to the next. Yes, they are long. You will need [...]

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:26:10 +0000

@Linden — you ask, “can” box three be the longest. Well, any of the parts “can” be anything you want them to be. However, it’s risky to retrofit the standards to fit what’s already in place. The four parts are designed, and work best, to be roughly equal in length, with the first exception being Part 1 as slightly shorter, followed by Part 4 as slightly shorter (the percentages, then, break down over the four parts as 20/30/30/20. This isn’t arbitrary, it’s what creates optimum pacing and character arc. To make Part 3 “the longest” would mean the pace of the story needs to slow down, when in fact it should be speeding up. Or, to throw in too many twists here that perhaps should have (or would have worked better) appeared earlier in the story.

Hope this helps. This is the point when some writers resent what they feel is being presented as “rules,” when it fact, they’re more like principles of story physics.

It isn’t a “rule” that if you jump out of an airplane with the wrong sized parachute, you might die. That’s a principle, one that is designed to keep you safe.

Same with story pacing. I’d tread very carefully when considering making any of the parts markedly different than the parameters of proven principles.

Hope this helps.

By: Linden

Linden — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:35:33 +0000

Can box three be the longest?

By: 21 Must-Read Blogs for Luck-Makers — Happenchance

21 Must-Read Blogs for Luck-Makers — Happenchance — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:25:06 +0000

[...] Part 1 of the 10 Part Story Structure Series [...]

By: Rachel Law

Rachel Law — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:03:14 +0000

Hey Larry,

I’ve been trying to practice dissecting stories to really see the individual plot points, but I’m struggling. Would you be able to show me how a story like “Pride and Prejudice” fits your story structure?

Thanks! -Rachel

By: Adventures in Plotting: Structure « Writing « Blog « Jamie Grey

Adventures in Plotting: Structure « Writing « Blog « Jamie Grey — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:52:39 +0000

[...] there was another view on structure – the Four Part Story. I found a great run-down on it at StoryFix, as well as an extremely well done series on the various parts. But in a nutshell Larry Brooks says [...]

By: Building a story | 2 Kids and a (Dead) Dog

Building a story | 2 Kids and a (Dead) Dog — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:19:58 +0000

[...] to make sense of how to approach the structure of the story, I’d strongly suggest you head here and spend a couple of days going through his story structure [...]