Breathe
Walking the writer’s path: Plot patterns
In this third and final part of his three-part series, Leon Conrad, author of Story and Structure: A complete guide shares some thoughts on how to move from story structure to plot pattern from his practice as a writer and story structure enthusiast.
Leon Conrad
When inspiration manifested in my imagination as a strange character, I had no idea what it would demand of me. Our first meeting was unexpected. The character I saw looked straight through me. Our second meeting came about because he knew I’d seen him, and he knew I could release him from the burden of ages. The problem was that I wasn’t willing to do so.
All I had to do was close my eyes, invoke his presence, and he’d appear. But I wasn’t ready. How could I kill someone who was so clearly a part of me?
He’d left me dumbstruck, with a dilemma to resolve, a story to write that I was unable to finish. The answer, when it came, emerged from a growing realisation of a way forward informed by an exploration of the story structures involved.
The sequence of events was clear – but flexible. There could be sub-plots. If there were to be any, then I knew exactly where in the sequence of events they branched off, where they came back to, and because I was aware of the shape of the main plot, I also knew exactly how they would need to relate and connect to the unfolding of the story as a whole. Not only the ending ( ), but any ( ) event could be uplifting or tragic. Structure also made me aware of how I needed to shape the reader’s journey. And that meant spinning a bit of suspense into the mix.