The seven point story structure

There are about 1 million structures that you can use when writing a story (joke) BUT so we all on the same wave length, this morning we are going to use this one, shown left.
  1. Quickly give your character some ‘life’ if people are not interested in the character in a story they won’t bother reading the story. The reader has to care what happens. Don’t overdo this, there is not much time.
  2. Choose a situation from the following list. a) Interviewing a member of the team. b) Buying a replacement car. c) Meeting a stranger
  3. This depends on the situation. Choose something that is going very wrong
  4. Give the character a chance to solve the problem
  5. Their solution just does not work
  6. They have a final attempt at overcoming the problem
  7. Write about the outcome, which is not an obvious one (the element of reader surprise)
This is not an easy exercise;
  • Think before you make a start
  • Begin at any stage where you have an idea eg. Start at the end and work backwards or start at the middle and fan out forward and backwards. THE MAIN THING IS TO BEGIN
  • You have 15 whole minutes – do not procrastinate too much or overthink it – what you will end up with is an idea of a story to develop later
  • Your short story must be complete. It starts somewhere, goes somewhere and has a conclusion of sorts.
  • You do NOT have to read your story to the group if you do not want to