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Story Structure

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Four Forms of Writing

The 4 Forms of Writing

All writing falls into one of a few basic forms, and each has a different job to do. Expository writing...

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A model modeling the effects of great tension in writing.

How to Use Tension in Writing

Tension can arise from anywhere — in a simple conversation, a family dinner, a job interview, or even with a...

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A collection of word magnets representing the idea that all language is invented, including made-up words.

The Purpose of Made-Up Words in Stories

Have you ever read a book and come across a word you’d never heard or seen before? At first, you...

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A sea of people, all of whom might share a voice in the fourth person point of view.

Fourth Person Point of View

Fourth person point of view is a unique and rarely used perspective in stories.  First person gives us “I.” Second...

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A character waves at the camera, which is a sign of a writer not knowing how to introduce a character.

How to Introduce a Character: 5 Key Methods

A character’s introduction is one of the most important parts of your story. Done well, your reader can make a...

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A fencing match is one of many scenes you can write once you know how to write a fight scene.

How to Write a Fight Scene in 6 Steps

Learning how to write a fight scene isn’t really about choreography. It’s about tension and what’s truly at stake for...

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Climax

How to Write a Compelling Climax

The climax. This is the moment your reader has been waiting for. They’ve spent hours immersed in your story, falling...

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Inciting Incident

What is an Inciting Incident? The Story Moment That Changes Everything

With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....

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Falling Action

Falling Action: The Bridge Between Climax and Resolution

What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...

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story arc

Mastering Story Arcs for Stronger Storytelling

Ever since humans have been able to communicate, we share stories, weaving the tapestry of our shared existence. These stories...

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rising action

What is Rising Action? How to Elevate Your Plot

Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...

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Three-act structure

Mastering the Three-Act Structure for Stronger Stories

In his book, Poetics, Aristotle laid the foundation for story structure by stating that all stories must have a beginning,...

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A question hangs from the ceiling with origami birds next to it as a pretty denotation of the dramatic question
Blog
Alan Watt

The Dramatic Question

Simply put, the dramatic question is your story’s theme framed as a question. “Can the truth set you free?” “Can love survive

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September 14, 2026 No Comments
Plot vs. story is put into perspective by a piece of land plotted onto a paper set against grass
Blog
Alan Watt

Plot vs. Story

When you read articles on writing, the words “story” and “plot” are often used interchangeably. You’re wondering if there are any real

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June 20, 2026 No Comments
A man holds a duke by the hair with a knife to suggest a sometimes simple and violent heart of a central conflict. More quickly identified.
Blog
Alan Watt

Central Conflict

Though you may love and care about your protagonist, there needs to be a central conflict in your story. You must get

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June 11, 2026 No Comments
A controller below a series of puzzle pieces suggests that the controlling idea leads a writer through their narrative an an audience to the heart of the story's controller
Blog
Alan Watt

Controlling Idea

Some stories explore universal themes like belonging or ambition, while others arrive with something very specific to say. The latter is sometimes

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June 10, 2026 No Comments
Two men paint the sides of a room in one story of a building to suggest the parts of a story as a physical relationship to one's own literature
Blog
Alan Watt

Parts of a Story

“The most important part of a story is the piece of it you don’t know.”– Barbara Kingsolver In this article, I’ll look

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June 3, 2026 No Comments
Clay faces crafted throughout time suggest universal themes in story that long precedes our civilized way of life
Blog
Alan Watt

Universal Themes in Story

While the stories we spin are often deeply personal, they invariably explore themes that are universally relatable. It can feel intimidating to

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May 31, 2026 No Comments
The five-act structure visualized literally as five planes in formation — themes of tension, war, fighting, danger, organization
Blog
Alan Watt

Five-Act Structure

The Five-Act Structure is a key aspect of dramatic storytelling. The tradition stretches as far back as the ancient Greeks, and it’s

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May 27, 2026 No Comments
Common themes in literature appear often in hieroglyphic storytelling
Blog
Alan Watt

Common Themes

While every story is unique, the history of literature is populated with reinterpretations of common themes.  Through the lens of different voices

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May 25, 2026 No Comments
Conquering a giant rock is a parallel for the character who, rooted in dilemma, is guiding your audience through external conflict to make meaning of the madness in the world.
Blog
Alan Watt

External conflict

Without tension or conflict, a story will not only be boring, but absent of meaning.  At the heart of every story lies

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May 14, 2026 No Comments
A character in a broken mirror to visualize the stark nature of depicting internal conflict for a character in narrative
Blog
Alan Watt

Internal Conflict

Explore how internal conflict drives character transformation and fuels your plot with our guide on dramatizing the psyche’s dissonance.

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April 19, 2026 No Comments
A page of a book with a hole in it, a visual metaphor for plot holes to suggest an audience looks through one's work to the author when a plot hole is left in
Blog
Alan Watt

Plot Holes

Master story structure and learn how to fix logical gaps with our guide to plot holes—the “Swiss cheese” of writing that can break your story’s magic.

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April 17, 2026 No Comments
Feature image for types of conflict in literature––a couple having a snowball fight to illustrate how simple conflict can be.
Blog
Alan Watt

Types of Conflict in Literature

The types of conflict in literature serve to force protagonists to confront their deepest fear and reveal a story’s soul through the resolution of dilemma.

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March 28, 2026 No Comments

Recent posts

A question hangs from the ceiling with origami birds next to it as a pretty denotation of the dramatic question

The Dramatic Question

Simply put, the dramatic question is your story’s theme framed as a question. “Can the truth set you free?” “Can...

Read more
A car stuck in a snowstorm represents the struggle of a writer who has lost the plot

Lost the Plot: What To Do When You Get Stuck

For all our enthusiasm when we start a story, it’s easy to get stuck and realize we lost the plot...

Read more
Plot vs. story is put into perspective by a piece of land plotted onto a paper set against grass

Plot vs. Story

When you read articles on writing, the words “story” and “plot” are often used interchangeably. You’re wondering if there are...

Read more
A man holds a duke by the hair with a knife to suggest a sometimes simple and violent heart of a central conflict. More quickly identified.

Central Conflict

Though you may love and care about your protagonist, there needs to be a central conflict in your story. You...

Read more
A controller below a series of puzzle pieces suggests that the controlling idea leads a writer through their narrative an an audience to the heart of the story's controller

Controlling Idea

Some stories explore universal themes like belonging or ambition, while others arrive with something very specific to say. The latter...

Read more
A woman looks at floor plans with two people looking over her shoulder to suggest visual similarity to plot development

Plot Development: 3 Main Elements

Good plot development doesn’t rush or drag. It doesn’t stumble or take detours, nor does it feel contrived. A good...

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Two men paint the sides of a room in one story of a building to suggest the parts of a story as a physical relationship to one's own literature

Parts of a Story

“The most important part of a story is the piece of it you don’t know.”– Barbara Kingsolver In this article,...

Read more
Clay faces crafted throughout time suggest universal themes in story that long precedes our civilized way of life

Universal Themes in Story

While the stories we spin are often deeply personal, they invariably explore themes that are universally relatable. It can feel...

Read more
The five-act structure visualized literally as five planes in formation — themes of tension, war, fighting, danger, organization

Five-Act Structure

The Five-Act Structure is a key aspect of dramatic storytelling. The tradition stretches as far back as the ancient Greeks,...

Read more
Getting through the messy middle pictured here, as a woman on the opposite end of a chessboard trying to figure out what to do next

Getting Through the Messy Middle

We’ve all been stuck in the messy middle of a story.  Inspiration strikes like raw lightning, bringing a new idea...

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Common themes in literature appear often in hieroglyphic storytelling

Common Themes

While every story is unique, the history of literature is populated with reinterpretations of common themes.  Through the lens of...

Read more
Conquering a giant rock is a parallel for the character who, rooted in dilemma, is guiding your audience through external conflict to make meaning of the madness in the world.

External conflict

Without tension or conflict, a story will not only be boring, but absent of meaning.  At the heart of every...

Read more
Two alpine ibexes fight to represent the character vs. character fight in funny and light manner

Character vs. Character Conflict

Detective vs. criminal mastermind, knight vs. dragon, cowboy vs. rogue bandit — all these classic stories fit neatly into a...

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A character in a broken mirror to visualize the stark nature of depicting internal conflict for a character in narrative

Internal Conflict

Explore how internal conflict drives character transformation and fuels your plot with our guide on dramatizing the psyche's dissonance....
Read more
A page of a book with a hole in it, a visual metaphor for plot holes to suggest an audience looks through one's work to the author when a plot hole is left in

Plot Holes

Master story structure and learn how to fix logical gaps with our guide to plot holes—the "Swiss cheese" of writing...
Read more
Feature image for types of conflict in literature––a couple having a snowball fight to illustrate how simple conflict can be.

Types of Conflict in Literature

The types of conflict in literature serve to force protagonists to confront their deepest fear and reveal a story's soul...
Read more
Freytag's Pyramid Feature Image

The 5 Core Stages of Freytag’s Pyramid

In this article, I explore story structure with Freytag’s Pyramid, who structures a story into five main components that allow...
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story arc

Mastering Story Arcs for Stronger Storytelling

Ever since humans have been able to communicate, we share stories, weaving the tapestry of our shared existence. These stories...

Read more