Structure Doesn't Kill Magic—It Creates It

This is not the first time you read this if you have been following me for a while. 

I avoided writing structures for years.

I had this idea that every story had a different structure, and to find it, I would have to sit down and write it. I wanted my stories to flow naturally, to find their own shape. Even the idea of using a template felt like I was cheating on writing.

So I'd sit down to write and ramble on for 3,000 words when 1,000 would do. I'd lose the thread halfway through. I'd try to tell three stories at once and land none of them.

Then I remember a structure I used when I competed in Speech and Debate. It was five parts to get me in and out. I tweaked it a little, and that’s why I call it now The Story Frame.

Suddenly, I could finish pieces in one sitting. The editing got easier. The stories landed harder. I could memorize pieces fast. One month, after my second daughter was born, I was able to memorize about 35 minutes of new material and wrote close to 30,000 words of publishable material.

As cheesy as it sounds, structure didn't steal the magic—it revealed it.

When you know exactly where each piece goes, you stop wasting energy on "what comes next?" You spend that energy making each section better instead.

Think of structure like a song. The verse-chorus-verse format doesn't make music boring. It gives the melody somewhere to live.

Your stories need the same thing. A place to live so they can breathe.

If you've been resisting structure because you think it will make your writing stiff, try the opposite. Pick one framework. Write one story using it.

See if the boundaries actually set you free.

What's holding you back from trying a structure?