My readers know I’m always on the hunt for alternative ways to structure stories.
Over the past 12 – 20 months, I’ve gotten much better at plotting out a novel that doesn’t drop to sleep at the midpoint. I won’t say I’ve mastered it, because every story has its own needs. You may master what this novel requires, but what you’ve learned may or may not apply to the next, or in the same way. That’s why finding joy in learning and in the actual writing are both so important, and I think it’s why a lot of writers crap out after two or three books. They hit a wall somewhere and instead of figuring out what new skill to learn, they decide they don’t have what it takes.
But I’ve improved. When I look over the outlines of my two works in progress, the middle parts appear to have forward movement and character agency. I’m not struggling to contrive a situation that helps my protagonist get from Point C to Point M. Plotting has always been my weak suit, which is why short fiction was my preferred poison. I don’t know if something clicked for me with this particular protagonist or if I simply read the right bit of advice for my brain, but it’s working for me. For now.
But, as I said, not every trick works for every book, so I’m continually on the lookout for fresh advice, told in a clever way or approached from a different angle. This week, I came across a new kind of story structure, which is the kind of writing tidbit I hoard. It also has a cool name.
Chiastic structure.
Credit where credit is due: Kay DiBianca shared this story structure in a post on Killzone, a site created by a group of suspense writers and publishing professionals.
In the chiastic structure, the second half of a story parallels the first half, but in reverse. An interesting alternative to the traditional pyramid of rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. DiBianca illustrates the concept with this image from Wikipedia depicting the biblical story of the flood.
This is similar to the five-act structural pyramid – Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Denouement – but in a chiastic structure, the falling action closely mirrors the steps in the rising action, and the denouement mirrors the introduction. Rather than an A-B-C-D-E sequence, the story follows an A-B-C-B-A structure.
Journey stories are common examples of chiastic structure. A character leaves for adventure and returns home again. Classic murder mysteries are another good example:
A – The status quo
B – An unknown killer disrupts the story world
C – The investigation
B – The unknown killer is revealed
A – The return to normality
In addition to the story of the flood, a number of other biblical tales come to mind, as the parables frequently relate a character’s journey towards knowledge. The Prodigal Son leaves home with a head full of steam and returns chagrined.
A – The family is together
B – The prodigal leaves
C – The family abides
B – The prodigal returns
A – The family is reunited, but the prodigal is displaced from his role
In the Parable of the Talents, the servants are given money to invest and then return to their master to report their success or failure, and are rewarded accordingly. Even the story of Christ could be viewed as having a chiastic structure: a divine being comes to Earth in human form, he studies with scholars, he becomes a teacher, and finally reattains godhood by suffering a human death. He arrives in blood and leaves in blood, transmogrifying at his entrance and exit.
In other literature, we have The Hobbit. It’s right there in the title of the book. In fact, any story in which a journey is a central element – The Odyssey, Heart of Darkness. From a certain angle, The Handmaid’s Tale fits the structure:
A – Offred is captured and brought to Gilead
B – Offred loses her freedom, independence, and self
C – Offred sees cracks in the Gilead fortress
B – Offred regains her sense of self, plots her escape
A – Offred flees Gilead, regaining her freedom
Contrast this will Emma Donohue’s Room, which I’d describe as an A:A structure. In the (approximately) first half of the book, Ma struggles to create a life for six-year old Jack and maintain her mental freedom, despite being imprisoned in a cramped room for seven years. Once rescued, Ma has physical freedom, but remains mentally shackled, and risks losing her sense of self and will to live. While not following the A-B-C-B-A structure, Room uses thematic mirroring to create dual prisons from which Ma must escape. Physical restraint/mental freedom: Physical freedom/mental constraint.
That’s a great addition to my cache of story structures. I don’t have a story that could use it right now, but maybe you do!
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