Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello friends. In this class, we will talk about
creative writing. The topic of the class will be about creating an
adventurous story structure, using the Hero's
Journey structure. In this class, I
will explain you some examples to show you how to use the Hero's
Journey structure. The examples will help you understand how to
structure a story. And it will also help
you comprehend why story structure is important
while writing a story. In this class, I have
covered topics such as, first, I will explain
what is structure. Then we will talk about different ways
to structure a story. Then we will talk about difference between
plot and structure. Then we will talk about
elements of a story. Lastly, we will talk about the structure
of adventure story.
2. What is structure: Understanding how to
structure a storyline is one of the most important
parts of story writing. Therefore, let's start with
understanding the structure. First. Let's define the
structures definition and then it's meeting. Allow me to ask you a question about this
thing called structure. What is your definition
of structure? Structure is commonly defined as the formation and the pattern of segments and their
relationships. But it may also be defined as the organization of anything complex that must be organized so that it
can be neatly arranged. Let us now examine the
relationship between the structure and its definition in the context of
the story writing. The term structure in the context of stories
simply refers to the sequence order and the arrangement in which
the story is presented. In other words, the structure of your story is way you organize your story by putting
one significant part after another in some type
of chronological sequence. Or it may also be in a non chronological order
and random as well. It is sometimes referred
to as a skeleton or a framework around
which the story is built. One of the primary
goals of designing the structure and the
framework of the story is to fully develop a very
good story that can influence many people because of its plots powerful approach, and it's powerful impact. In order to portray your
story in a style that will captivate many readers and keep them reading all the
way to the conclusion. Your story must be
well-structured. If you want to create
a short story, then developing the
structure and the framework of the story is a pretty
clear and simple task. However, if you want to
create a long novel than developing and
building the structure and the framework
might be difficult, and it might be
time-consuming as well. However, this is
for those who do not know how to structure
a good storyline. The framework of
the short stories might differ from
person to person. For shorter stories, the pattern of the
story might also vary. When the story becomes longer, such as in novels, you must establish
a specific pattern and a specific structure and try to arrange it in a way that will keep your readers
interested in the story.
3. Different ways to structure a story: There are several ways you may use when structuring your story. Now, let me tell
you about some of them so that you may
write a fantastic story. The first way of structuring a tail is to begin
it in the present, carry it forward in the present, and finish it in the present. It means that the
story will be over just only in a matter of
days or just some weeks. The story's time period
will be completed. Only in a relatively
short amount of time. It will not continue
for a long time, or it will not
continue for years. This style of story
is often linear. When it comes to the second
way of story structure, it may be classified
as non-linear. It's because the story
will begin in the present, or it may begin in
the past and then move from present to past
and past to present. That is why it is referred to
as a non-linear structure. In order to offer the reader a very clear understanding of
where the story is heading, as well as the message that lies behind it and its significance. The story frequently
bounces back and forth between the
present and the past. Now, let's have a look at
the third story structure, which is comparable to
the linear structure. The main difference between the previous linear
structure and this one is that the prior linear structure
was just a few weeks long. However, this style
of linear structure, on the other hand, is a chronological one. And it will span over years. It may begin during the protagonist childhood and continue until the
protagonist gets older. Or it might begin in the protagonists adulthood
and continue through the years until the
protagonist to achieve his goals and become
successful and as life. The next way to
structure your story is to follow a pattern that will ensure that it advances steadily through
both time and space. You write this story in this
manner because you want to provide the readers with a thorough comprehension
of the plot, as well as a deep
emotional touch to the characters to which
the readers may relate. Now that I've outlined the various ways in which
you might structure a story. Many of you may think
that the structure of the story is similar
to the plot of the story. It may appear that the
aspects present in the plot of the story are also
present in its structure. And because those aspects appear to be the same
in both the plot, in the structure of the story. It may be confusing to some writers who are
just starting out. As a result. In the following section, I will try to explain the
difference between the plot of the story and the structure of the story in a very
simple and clear way.
4. Difference between plot and Structure: Of course, we all know
that both the plot and the structure
of the story is very important
part of the story. And without both of them, the story will fall apart. So in this case, both are inevitable
to the storyline. Therefore, we will talk
about the difference between the plot and the
structure of the story. They both are very
different things. There is a very big
difference between their definitions
and their elements. The definition of a plot is a series of events, incidents, and occurrences, and
it's descriptions and telling in describing what
will happen in the story. On the other hand, however, the definition of the structure
is completely different. It means that you
tell the reader when the events and the occurrences
happened in the story. As an author, you will decide which occurrence in which
event will come first, which event in middle, and which one and last. It also means that you decide how you will present the
events of the story. Another major difference
between the plot and the structure of the story is that when you create a plot, you always created
in a linear manner. However, when you decide to create the structure
of the story, you can decide to make
it a linear structure, or you can also make it
a non-linear structure. You can make it either way. And it will work perfectly. Because the creation
of the structure of the story does not need to adhere to the linear
manner as the plot. Even if it jumps one
time to another time, it will not disrupt the flow of the story because
of the nature of the plot creation is easy and different from the nature
of the structure creation. The plot creation
always comes first. It means that you will have
to first create a plot, then you have to
structure it afterwards. It implies that you first have to write down
all the events, occurrences, and incidents of your story in a linear
and sequential order. Then afterwards you can decide which event
should come first, which one should
be in the middle, in which one should
be in the last. It also means that the
structure of the story decides which events should
come in which chapter. And it also decides
how the story is broken down and
divided into sections. It also means that
you can decide when and how you prefer to present the conflict
of the story, climax of the story, of an ending of the story. Let me give you an example and try to explain it to
you in a simple way. Let's say it as a story of a simple man who achieved
success in life. At the start of the story. He is just a simple man. Then as the story progresses
towards the middle, he is working hard and he has found a good way to
become successful. Then towards the
climax of the story, he faces some obstacles
in the way of success. However he overcomes it. But in the end of the story, all the things that happened in his life or just to dream. He was dreaming. Then he suddenly wakes up. After waking up, He is
back to his old self, living as simple and
normal, regular life. This is how a structure
of a good story works. However, in the
beginning of the story, if you tell the readers that all the things that
happened to him was just a dream than the readers would not be
interested to read it. It works much better if you disclose it at the
end of the story. So this is how a structure
of a story works.
5. Elements of a story: To understand the
structure of a story, we first have to understand
the main elements of a story. This is because the elements of a story are the things that
drive the narrative actions, such as protagonist, conflict, and setting of a
story and so on. So to understand the main
elements of a story, we have to first know and
understand what they are. First element is the
introduction element. Many people refer it
to as Exposition. It means to describe and
explain the setting of the story and the situation
of the main characters. Therefore, in this
part of the story, the author will introduce the characters of the
story to the readers. The author will also introduce the readers to the
setting of the story. First, the author will have to introduce the main
protagonist of the story. This is because the story we'll tell the journey
of the main protagonist. Then the author will
introduce the readers, the antagonist of the story. This is because he will oppose the protagonist
throughout the story. It means that his goals
and his situation is opposite to that
of the goals and the situation of the
protagonist of the story. Now, if there are any
extra characters or any side characters than the author will introduce
them to the readers. There are usually two
types of side characters. First are the people who change according
to the situation. It means that they will change as a result of
the events of the story. The second type of
side characters are the ones who are static
and do not change. They do not change no matter
how the story affects them. They do not change at all. They remain the same
throughout the story. Now, let me explain
you with an example on how to introduce the characters and the setting of the story. Let's say the name
the hero is Adam. So in the opening
scene of your story, you have to introduce
your story's protagonist, that is atom, to your readers. Then you have to introduce
the setting of the story by explaining where
the main characters lives and what they
do for a living. So the hero lives in New York. He is an architect. When he finished
his high school, he went to Germany to pursue his further education
and research. When he was in high school, he was in love with Susie, who was his classmate. Now, after finishing
his studies in Germany, he works there as an
architect for a big company. Now he has returned
home to reunite with his love, Suzy, this girl. Suzy was not able to finish her studies due to her
poor financial situation. Now she works as a waiter in
a restaurant in New York. The main antagonist of the
family is the father of atom. He does not want to add
them to reunite with Susie. He opposes the
reunion than Adam is forced to marry someone
else who he doesn't love. The person Adam Mary's
is a girl called Sophia. She is a Dr. her family is rich. Her father and Adams father. Our childhood friends
and business partners. Sophia is in love with Adam since they
were both children. They used to play together. When they were small children. Susie gets married
to someone else. Then she changes. In this story. Suzy is a dynamic character because she'd changes as a
result of some situations. However, Sophia is static
character who does not changes. Her love for atom remains same. The next element of the
story is rising action. It means that in this
part of the story, the protagonist will face
many different difficulties. He will have to face different crises and
hard challenges. It is the one the main factor that sets the course
of the story. It sets the story in motion. They're crises. And the challenges that
protagonist faces are very hard. Because of the
harsh difficulties, the protagonist
has to step out of the comfort zone and
face the challenges. Now, let me explain you
this with an example. When Adam comes
back from Germany, he directly goes to the
place where Susie works. There, he meets Susie and
their reunion starts. Then they both admit that
they love each other. Now comes the challenge. That is Adams father is now
aware of their situation. He tries to separate them. Now. The next element of the story
is climax of the story. In this part of the story, the hero has to make a
very important decision. This decision will impact his future and the
future of Susie as well. It will also influence lives
of the people around him. This part of the story is most entertaining and
most interesting part. This is because the protagonist is tested in this part of story. Now, the protagonist
tasks to make a decision. He has to choose between
Susie and his family. If he chooses Suzy, he has to leave his family. And his father will disown him. If he chooses his
family and rejects Susie than his father and
his family will be happy. His father will give him a very big house and
an office of his own. But of course, Adam has to marry Sophia if he wants the
House and the Office. In this part of the story, protagonist decides to reject Susie and decides
to marry Sofia. He does this in order to
protect Suzy from his father. The next element of the
story is after climax. Many people refer to
it as falling action. This part of the story
tells the readers that the protagonist has failed
to achieve his goals. He is in a very bad mood
because he is very upset. In this part of the story. The protagonist shuts himself
in a room for some time. He does not speak
or talks to anyone. He is very upset and depressed. All the people around him
are very worried about it. The next part of the
story is ending. This part of the story is
where the things resolve. In this part of the story, the conflict will
come to an end. In this part of the story, the character will change. In this part, the
author can decide to go with a happy ending
or a tragic ending. The author can end the
story in three ways. First is by giving the
protagonist what he wants. If the author wants
to end it this way, than he can make the protagonist happy by resolving the
conflict with his father. Then making Adams family except Susie as their
daughter-in-law. The second way to
end this story is not giving their
protagonist what he wants. It means that atom will have to follow his
father's order. And Mary, Sophia, and Susie will have to
marry someone else. The third way to
end the story is by not giving the
protagonist what he wants, but giving him something better. It means that atom will
not get what he wants. But he will realize that he got something that
is more important. It implies that Susie will marry someone else and she
will forget atom. Then Adam will marry Sofia. He will reciprocate
Sufi is feelings. He will also forget Susie and will they both
will live a happy life. There. Protagonist will
soon come to realize that family is more
important than anything. And he will come to
realize his true love, which is Sophia, because she has been with him
and his good and bad times. She always helped him no
matter what the situation. So they live happily ever after.
6. The structure of adventure story: In this part, we follow one of the best story structure is
called as the hero's journey. Many authors have used this structure to write many
famous and good stories. So we will also use this structure to write an
adventure story structure. This story structure is one of the best-known story structure. This type of structure works
on many types of storylines. In this type of story, we will see that the protagonist will
first leave his hometown. Then on his journey, he will face many
different difficulties, trials and crises,
and overcomes it. Then he will return
to his hometown. So to start, the story will begin in the first
phase called departure. In this phase, the
hero will leave the place where he has been
staying since he was born. He has not seen outside world. He will leave this place to answer the call
for adventure. His ordinary and
mundane life will end and an adventurous
life will begin. Then comes the next phase, which is called initiation. In this phase, he will
set out on a journey. The journey may be his
individual journey, or he will meet some
friends in this journey. Since he has not seen
the outside world, he will be introduced to a world which was
unknown to him, a new world which will
be an adventurous one. Here. He will face some
challenges and find some opponents which he will overcome and become successful. The last part is return. In this phase, he will complete his adventurous
journey successfully and return back to his hometown, the place where he was
born and brought up. He will return home as a
stronger and more mature person, as if he is transformed
into a new person. Now, I will show you how to structure an
adventurous storyline. Using this structure style. You do not have to
follow it step-by-step. If you want. You can skip some steps. If you think it will not
be needed in your story. I will explain each
step with an example. In each step, the
protagonist of the story will become more stronger
and mature person, which will eventually lead
to his success and future. He will transform
and a new person, both internally and externally. The first step is the ordinary
and mundane world of hero. In this step, the author will introduce the hero
to his readers. In this step, readers will get to know the everyday
life of the hero, which is ordinary and mundane. This is the only kind of
life which hero knows. This step is very
much similar to the first element of the
story called exposition. In this part, the reader will get to know the world
of the protagonist. What kind of place he
stays in, what eats, what he wears, his friends, and who are as family
members, and so on. In this phase, the journey of the protagonist has not started. It is yet to be started. The place he stays
in his whole world. This is called as
his known world. This opening phase
will set the stage and make the readers aware
of the hero's world. This will make the
readers feel that the protagonist of the story as a normal person, just like them. They will feel
connected to the hero. The things hero will do will
be relatable to the readers. The readers will feel
the normal life of a protagonist and the
normal setting of a story. Now, let me explain you
this with an example. Let's say the protagonist's
name is Adam. He is an orphan. He stays in a very small town. This town is very far
away from cities. Now. He is 20 years old. He stays alone in his old
and small rented house. He is a mediocre
man who has been a very poor since he was a child. The people of his town helped
him in getting education. Now his is an errand boy for the people of
his small town. He is a very good runner. He gained this ability by running errands in
his everyday life. The next step is
calling of adventure. This step is also called as
invitation of the journey. In this phase, some things
will happen to hero. Then there will be some changes to the
heroes mundane life. In this step, the hero will make a decision to go on
a journey or not. It is that he will have to make a decision as to whether he will continue as mundane life or go on a journey
to change his life. This journey can be
a very long one, or it can just be
a change of place. In this step. Sometimes the adventure itself
comes to the heroes door. It means that hero will not
have to choose adventure. The adventure we'll
choose the hero. No matter what. In this step, the hero
will have a new idea. That is, he will
think of leaving his hometown for the
first time in his life, leaving his comfortable
mundane life behind. He will think of leaving
the comfort zone. It is because he
will come across a big problem or a big
change in his life, which he is unable to
ignore it or delay it. In this step, the
hero is invited to leave the place and
start a new journey. In this stage, the goal of the hero will be
revealed to the readers. The hero will also recognize what are the
things that are on steak? Now, let me explain this
to you with an example. After running daily, Adam has
become a very good runner. One day, he will receive a mail telling him to join the training team for
running competition. Adam has been invited by a famous person to be
in his training team. Now, Adam has to
decide whether he will leave his hometown and go to the big city
and train or not. The next step is refusal
to the invitation. In this step, the hero will hesitate to
go to a new place. He is not willing to
go to a new place because he is more comfortable
than his current life. He is not willing to
leave his comfort zone. Here, the protagonist
may directly reject to go to
an unknown place. Or the protagonist might just be hesitant for just some
time, temporarily. Now that the
protagonist is called to a new place which
is unknown to him, he might naturally hesitate. The author will decide if this hesitation is
temporary or permanent. If the hesitation is temporary than the protagonist
will eventually go. However, if the, he
just doesn't want to go than the author will
decide to raise the stakes. Let us continue the story
to understand it better. Now that Adam has
received the letter, he is not ready to
leave his town. He is not willing to go
to a new place where he doesn't even know what
is awaiting him there. So to give him a further push, he will be receiving
another male. In this male, the sender tells him that he
wants to meet him. Next step is to meet a mentor. In this step, the
protagonist will meet a mentor or get to know someone who will guide
him on his journey. They will help make the mind of hero to leave on a journey. They will give them
the extra push that is needed to
go on the journey. He will help him make
decision and leave his hometown and
go to a new place. Now, let's continue with the story to understand
this better. When Adam was hesitant to go
to city to join training, his next male said that
the sender was his father. The father is also
a coach and he is training people for
running competition. So. His father says that he wants
to meet him and he wants to train him personally so that he can win the
running competition. The next step is leaving the comfortable unknown place and going to the unknown place. In this step, he will
leave this place and start his actual journey to a place
he is not familiar with. This adventure will
make him realize that his life will start a new. And everything
that has been with him till now will change. It means that the hero
will enter the new world. It also means that the hero
is ready for the new world. It means that there is no
turning back for the hero. The hero comes out of the life which was
comfortable to him, and he takes a step to the unknown life
awaiting him in future. Now, let us continue our story to understand
this step better. Now, when Adam reads
his second male, he is ready to leave the
hometown and go to a new place. Although he is unfamiliar
with to the New World, he decides still go
on this adventure. Because first, he wants
to meet his father. Second, he wants to become best runner and win
the competition. Therefore, he boards the train
and leaves for the city. The next step is about
finding new friends and allies and discovering
new rivals as well. In this step, the
author of the story, we'll introduce the readers with new people and new
characters of the story. These people are not from the hometown of the protagonist. He has never met these
people until now. These people are for new place. In this place, the protagonist
will make new friends. He will also make some
enemies or rivals who will become an obstacle in
the way of heroes success. He will face new difficulties. He will overcome these
difficult situations with the help of
his new friends. Let us understand this
better with an example. By continuing our story. Now that Adam left his hometown, he has arrived in the new city. This city is very strange
and very unfamiliar to him. But when he starts
training with his father, he will make some friends who are his training colleagues. They are also training with his father to become winners
and running competition. They will help him get
adjusted to the new place. Here. He will also meet his rivals who are also training
to win the competition. The next step is called
approaching the inmost cave. It means that the protagonist is very near in achieving success. As if he is born for
this situation and born for running and
winning the competition. The hero of feels as if he is very near and
achieving his goals. The hero feels that
he is almost there. To understand this better. We will continue with our story. Now. Adam and his friends
are training very hard. However, the training seems very good and helpful for him. Now. He is able to run more faster
without getting tired. He feels like he will win
that competition very easily. Now in the next step, the protagonist will
face the harsh reality. In this step, he will face
a very hard difficulty. Now, he will feel that he
is not ready for this. In this step, the
protagonist will have to come face to face with
his biggest fear. That is, he will face a challenge that he will
not be able to overcome. He will feel as if he is in the situation where it is
getting worse and worse. Until now, all challenges he has faced are nothing compared
to this new challenge. Now, let's understand
this better. Continuing with our story, Adam is training very hard. He feels he can win
the competition. When his father sees this, he will bring Adam to have a trail match with teams
from another city. When Adam competes
with another team, he will fail miserably. The other team beat him easily. Although Adam gave his best, he not able to even
come closer to the team which he
was competing with. This will make his
world crumble down. The next step is reward. In this step, the
hero realizes that he has some flaws and he
finds a way to overcome it. He will find some new
techniques and some tools and strategies that he will use to overcome as challenges. The realization of its flaws
and accepting that he has to work more harder to become
stronger is the reward. Also the methods and
strategies he will apply to overcome as
challenges is reward. He is seeing a light
in end of the tunnel. He just has to cross the
tunnel to feel the light. Let's understand this better
by continuing the story. Now that Adam has lost
against the other team, he will realize that
he has to work harder. He will develop
some techniques and strategies to overcome
as challenges. He drops the over-confidence
and believes in his training and in his
hard work and strategies. The next step is about
the hero realizing that the challenges he is facing is harder than
he may have thought. He will come across some unexpected crises and
some unseen difficulties. He will come face to face with some things that he
may not have predict. Now, let us understand this better by continuing our story. Now, Adam has finished
his training. He is now in the competition. His rival is evenly
matched with him. Although Adam has used all the techniques and
applied all the strategies, he is still not able
to surpass his rival. Both his rival and him
are equally strong. The next step is
called resurrection. This step can also be called
as climax of the story. In this step, the hero
will become a new person. He will have to push
his limit further. This is the last
challenge for the hero. In this step, the hero will face his last obstacles that he has to overcome, no matter what. In this last challenge, he will have to use
every material and every resource available to him to understand this better. We will continue our
story from before. Adam is now in the neck to neck competition
with the other team. He is using everything
that he has learned just to
surpass his opponent. He and his opponent both are
at the verge of collapsing. Now, it is rivalry
of courage and endurance because it will
decide who will win. The last step is called
return with elixir. In this step, the hero will
finally come out of the game. As a victorious champion. The hero will win at
the end of the journey. He will return home. As a winner. The
hero will return home as a stronger
and matured person. To understand this better, we will continue our story. Now. Adam will use all
his courage and endure the game till
the end and wins it. Then he will give the
trophy to his father. Then he will return to
his hometown as a winter, where he will start
his next journey. The man who left the
hometown and the man who returned are completely
different in terms of maturity. Now, Adam has grown up. He is wise and sensible person. He is much stronger than before. He has transformed
into a new person. This is how you can write an adventure story structure using the Hero's
Journey structure.