Book writing Structure – 5 tips to properly structure a Book (A story)

Book writing Structure – 5 tips to properly structure a Book (A story)

It is no news that writing a book, regardless of the kind or type is a wonderful adventure that a lot of people wish to embark on worldwide. Whereas most people have a central idea or theme placed in their creative skills, they are however faced with the difficulty of breaking down this central idea into bits and turning it into an actual book or written work.

In other words, one of the major difficulties which writers are faced worldwide is the art of properly structuring or layering a book. The term ‘Structure’ in this context goes farther than the general components which a written piece ought to contain like chapters, summary and so on. It, however, refers to the means or methods in which a writer can break down that general or central idea in his/her head and use it to form an actual written and magnificent piece.

Hence, the essence of this article is to provide useful tips in which the stated problem or difficulty can be solved with ease. These tips include:

Start your Book with an outline

An outline is a rough sketch of a piece of writing. It entails the headings, sub-headings and topics which ought to be included in the written piece. In other words, it can be defined as an informal piece of writing which contains relevant points regarding a piece which ought to be written.

Its aim is to serve as a form of compass for the writer, directing him/her on when and how to put down key points in a piece of writing. When writing or commencing the writing of any form of a piece of literal work, writers are advised to begin with an outline. When creating this outline, the writer ought to consider and aptly give answers to the following questions:

• Theme: What is the central theme of the story or what is the general message that the story is trying to tell the public?
• Character: Who is the main character in the story, and what is he/she contributing to the storyline. What are the names of other subsidiary characters and what is their relationship with the main character(s). What are the roles and uses of each character in the book?
• Setting: What is the geographical location(s) of the story.
• Chapters: How many chapters will the piece have and what elements will be included in each chapter?
• Plot Development: What are the essential elements or happenings which will contribute to the growth of the story?
• Plot Twist: At what point in the story would events start to go south or change?
• Crisis Point: What is the worst event that will happen in the story and how will it take place?
• Resolution: How will the conflict be resolved?

The writer is permitted to include other elements in the outline and answer them, however, these stated questions are the basic ones which ought to be answered.

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Pick an ideal point of view for the story

The Oxford Dictionary defines a point of view as the narrator’s position in relation to the story being told. In other words, a point of view can be regarded as the perspective from which the story is told. In the general sense, there are three types of points of view namely:

• The First Person Point of View.
• The Second Person Point of View.
• The Third Person Point of View.

The First Person point of view is a situation whereby the story is told from the perspective of the main character or protagonist. The Second Person’s point of view is a situation whereby the story is narrated from the perspective of a different character in the story, it could be the antagonist or another subsidiary character in the story. The third person point of view on the other hand is a situation whereby the story is narrated by s character who is not inculcated in the book.

Picking a point of view for a story ought to be a meticulous process. This is so because, in different ways, it decides the general outlook or the means by which the readers will view and appreciate the story. On this note, writers are advised to pick a point of view for the story which best suits the story. In order to pick out an ideal point of view for a story, the writer is advised to adhere to the following instructions:

• Master the art of writing with the three types of points of view.
• Convey the story in the most informal means, using a different point of view at different intervals.
• Pick the point of view that best describes the thoughts of the characters as well as conveys the messages which ought to be passed properly.
• In addendum to the stated point, the writer should also pick the point of view which he/she best flows with. So that he/she will enjoy the story writing journey better.

Commence each chapter with mischief in mind

In order to get the readers hooked to the story being conveyed, each chapter ought to commence with an action or specific goal which ought to be delivered or described in the spiciest way possible. Similarly, it should be noted that each chapter in a story counts, hence, each chapter ought displaced as a building block to a bigger crisis or event which will occur in the latter part of the story or book. The two stated points can best be displayed through the following means:

• Introduce the main character and his/her life situation in either the first or second chapter of the book.
• Begin each chapter with an event twist in mind.
• End the chapter either at the beginning or middle of this event or twist.

Include subplots in the story

A subplot is secondary or subsidiary storylines included and connected to the main plot of a story. The aim of a subplot in a story is to divert the attention of the readers from the main plot for a particular period of time and provide a different form or type of reaction from the reader during that specific period. For example, a writer can include a short funny story in a novel which has a tragic theme to divert the reader’s attention from all the tragedy in the storyline and provide comic relief for the readers.

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Remember the word ‘PACING’ in every sentence of the story

In a nutshell, pacing is the art of building the storyline up to a significant or specific stage. Similarly, pacing can also be defined as the continuous build-up of a story to a specific or significant stage. Note the word ‘continuous’ in the second definition. Writers are permitted to inculcate meaningless and quiet scenes for readers in the storyline. However, these scenes should not exceed five in the entire make or build of the story.

If the scenes produced in a story do not have any form of action in it and it happens continuously, readers will lose interest in reading or story. Hence writers are advised to keep bombarding readers with fresh action or events in virtually every scene of the story. As fore mentioned in this text, the best way to do hat is by introducing and ending every chapter with an event or a form of mischief in mind. Remember that these actions or events ought to be building blocks to a major action or event which will occur and give the entire story a massive turning point.