Structuring Your Novel, Part 1
In my 20s, I wrote a novel.
I was a postdoctoral veterinary anatomic pathology resident pursuing a PhD in infectious disease, and I longed to be a novelist. A professor on campus ran a group for geeky, science-minded wannabe novelists. People like me. With trepidation, I handed over my “soul-laid-bare” manuscript and waited for his response.
He told me my story would never be published. It lacked structure. He added that God's hand had not reached down from the heavens to touch me. I was not extraordinary. I was no genius. I hadn't reinvented the wheel. My manuscript didn’t even amount to sliced bread.
Humiliated, I retracted into my turtle shell.
Nowadays, when I attend a literary conference and the speaker asks for a show of hands- pantser vs. plotter- and I see about 90% of the hands in the room shoot up, “Ooo-ooo. I’m a pantser. I’m a literary genius without structure,” I remember what that *&%!%!@ guy said. After some reflection, I have come up with a hypothesis.
Writers are creative types. Many people attending writing conferences write elegant, flowing, gorgeous prose. They have strengths. What limits them is their inability to confront their weaknesses.
It’s easy to flow down an open channel. If you write lyrical prose in your sleep, this isn’t your rate-limiting step. If you hear the word “structure” and an unnavigable dam blocks your progress—you are Gobber-stopped—this is your challenge.
Admit it. Ask yourself how to break down the dam blocking your progress. Research. Get a book on structuring your novel. Read it. Highlight it. Outline it. Put what you have learned into practice.
It’s gonna be clunky. If this isn't your strength, it isn't your strength. It takes work and diligence. You might end up with ugly holes and high-pressure jets. Flood the damn neighborhood. Reconstruction zones! But if you keep going back to this unnavigable, damming-up-the-works obstacle, you will refine your abilities until you have carved out a channel and your story flows.
Structure gives writers a road map. It liberates you. With benchmarks, you can progress with confidence from A to B, B to C, C to D, and so on, until you reach the end. You can fill in the gaps between benchmarks with goal-driven prose that makes sense. Not only does your prose flow like the River Ganges (you gorgeous, fabulous thing, you), but your manuscript is coherent.
Ahh… clarity. People want to read it.
For a synopsis of story-structure types, read Martin Cavanagh’s article “Story Structure: 7 Types All Writers Should Know,” last updated October 15, 2025, at https://reedsy.com/blog/guide/story-structure/.
Popular structures used in modern fiction include:
I. Three-act structure
II. The Fichtean Curve
III. Seven-point structure
Three-act structure:
1. Set-up: Status quo, inciting incident, and first plot point; 0-25%
2. Confrontation: rising action in a new world, a midpoint event upends the mission, a test and failure at the second plot point; 25-75%
3. Resolution: pre-climax or the black moment, the climax or a face-off between the protagonist and the antagonist, denouement, which ties up all loose ends, and a new status quo with a lesson learned; 75-100%
The Fichtean Curve, for tension-packed suspense novels:
1. Inciting incident
2. First crisis
3. Second crisis
4. Third crisis
5. Fourth crisis
6. Climax at 2/3 or 66%
7. Falling action
8. Resolution
Seven-point structure:
1. Status quo, protagonist’s lie or misbelief, a compelling hook that grabs the reader
2. Plot point 1: first door of no return (25%)
3. Pinch point 1: understand the power of the opposition (37.5%)
4. Midpoint moment: shift from passive to active (50%)
5. Pinch point 2: understand the power of the opposition (62.5%)
6. Plot point 2: door of no return, key to solving the conflict (75%)
7. Resolution
Other named structural plans include the Hero’s Journey, Freytag’s Triangle (Shakespearean tragedy), the Save the Cat Beat Sheet, which mirrors the Hero’s Journey, and Dave Harmon’s Story Circle, which is similar to the Three-Act structure.
My personal favorite is the seven-point structure, which Larry Brooks outlines in his 2011 book, Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing, published by Writer’s Digest Books.
Budding novelists should gather their three favorite books. Check the publisher. Analyze each book’s structure. Define it. Research this format. What benchmarks did the author use to organize the novel? Follow their lead and let their structure guide you. One day, that same publisher may be interested in your manuscript.
In upcoming blog posts, I plan to review Larry Brooks’s seven-point structure in more detail, John Truby’s 22 steps as outlined in his book The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller, and James Scott Bell’s 14 signpost scenes as outlined in Super Structure.
If an author outlines their story according to Brooks’s, Truby’s, and Bell’s recommendations, a coherent narrative should follow. With a solid framework, you can confidently let your gorgeous prose flow—free of dams—like the River Ganges.
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