Loading…
19
The 3-act structure advice made every short story I wrote sound the same until I read a blog post from 2011
I was stuck in a rut where all my stories had the same shape. Setup, turn, punch. I found a blog post from 2011 by a writing teacher named Kim who said something that stopped me cold. She pointed out that the three-act structure is a tool for fixing a story, not for starting one. That one line flipped a switch in my head. I had been starting every prompt with plot beats instead of a person who wants one specific thing. So I tried a different prompt: write 200 words where your character lies about something small. No arc, no turn, just the lie. The story got weird and felt alive for the first time in months. Now I keep a list of 10 starter prompts that have zero structure and I rotate them. Has anyone else found a prompt that breaks you out of the same old shape?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
charles_kelly4312d ago
That line about it being a tool for fixing, not starting, is dead on. My buddy had the same problem, every story he wrote turned into a hero's journey whether he wanted it or not. He started pulling one random object out of a hat and building a scene around it, no plot at all, and it loosened him right up.
2