Dan Wells’s Seven-Point Story Stucture

So, other than Brandon Sanderson’s sage advice, Dan Wells gave what I found to be the best presentation at LTUE (the aforementioned symposium at BYU.) His presentation was on story structure, something I have been struggling with since I started trying to write a novel. (I began planning Chronos in August of 2008. I wrote it from November 2008- September 2009. And since then I’ve been struggling with what to do next. A post to come on what I did wrong …)

Anyway, there are different kinds of writers. Stephen King just defines his characters, comes up with a “what if,” and goes. Some people call these “Discovery writers,” some people call it “Pantsers.” (as in writing by the seat of your pants). I call it lazy. If you don’t agree, read The Stand. You can’t tell me that somewhere around page 500 you weren’t feeling lost. And you can’t tell me that not one, but two random bombs is a satisfying resolution to the plot. (King talks about this decision in his book On Writing. He says he was floundering with the story, didn’t know what to do next, but couldn’t turn his back on such a large manuscript. So he decided to just blow everything up. Twice. Not the kind of ending I want for my story.)

The other kind of writers are the planners. These are the people who spend months planning before ever writing. At the signing for The Hero of Ages (book 3 of Sanderson’s Mistborn series), I asked Sanderson about how much he planned before writing. He related something similar about Stephen King (which I guess he got from On Writing too), then went on to tell about Orson Scott Card. He apparently plans for months and months, then spends maybe two months writing. Now Ender’s Game was the first sci-fi book that really grabbed me. I LOVE that book. Nothing Stephen King ever wrote has affected me in the same way. 

So. I’m a planner.

But how to plan? Sanderson says he makes a word document called, for instance, “The Elantris Book Guide.” He plans about his characters, setting, magic systems, history of the world, plot…everything. Then he’ll write.

I’m still looking for a create-a-character method that I love. Any ideas? As far as plot, I’ve been trying to use The Snowflake Method, which I could never really get into. But now, the seven-point story structure method has revolutionized my planning.

On Dan Wells’s website you can watch the video presentation, but, more importantly (given his pacing!), you can also find the Powerpoint that goes with it. The sum up is this:

1. Start at the resolution. Where do you want your character to end up?

2. Next, start your character out at the opposite extreme. Now they have to change to become who you want them to be.

3. Find a midway point. Here your character will move from reaction to action.

Now, to show you the rest, it makes more sense to show you the steps laid out in order.

Hook- start main character (MC) in opposite state as the ending. (IE- ends up as a powerful wizard, starts off as an orphan living under the stairs)

Plot turn 1- introduce the conflict. MC meets new people or discovers a secret. (Harry learns he is a wizard!)

Pinch 1- something goes wrong. Villain is introduced, MC is forced to act. (A troll attacks)

Midpoint- character moves from reaction to action. (Harry finally learns the truth about Voldemort and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and swears to protect it)

Pinch 2- situation becomes hopeless. The Jaws of Defeat. The death of a mentor, a plan fails, the bad guy seems to win. (Ron and Hermione fall to traps in the dungeon, and Harry is left to face Voldemort alone.)

Plot turn 2- MC obtains the vital piece of info/courage/item he needs to vanquish bad guy. (Harry finds the stone in his pocket, and learns that the power to defeat Voldemort is in him- by touching Quirrel.)

Resolution MC succeeds, and is now a changed person. (Harry defeats Voldemort, has friends and cool new powers.)

It seems rudimentary, but when I tried to map out my (already written) novel, several steps were missing. Finally I was able to pinpoint why it just wasn’t right. I was missing key points in the plot that would motivate the characters to do what they did.

Now, of course, there is more to it than this. There is also the Ice Monster Prologue, and Try/Fail Cycles, not to mention round characters and rich environments. But watch the presentation for that. Or maybe I’ll write another post on this.

What I love about the presentation is all the examples he gives to illustrate how this method works for all genres of great fiction. He uses the examples of: Harry Potter (1), The Matrix, Othello, Pride and Prejudice, and The Tell-Tale Heart. Also mentioned are Star Wars, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. There was so much info in this presentation, it could have been two hours instead of one (hence the break-neck pacing). But I have studied the power-point many times, and typed a few outlines of what I’ve learned. If you want me to email them to you, I certainly will.

The amazingness of this method really comes when you see it applied to so many different stories. I actually haven’t watched the video since attending, so I don’t know how good or bad a representation it is of being there in person. But I do know that I’ve never been this excited about story planning before. I am currently working on “Book Guides” for a fantasy novel and a fantasy trilogy, and I will be using Dan Wells’s Seven-Point Story Structure method to work out the plot.

What’s worked for you?

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