They don't teach this in Deer College! (45-60 minute read.)
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
Hello! I'm Enayy, and I am an author on the wiki. Like many of you who are reading this, I was not the most experienced author out there when I first joined. There wasn't, and still isn't, an easy-to-point-to resource on the wiki that can give you a solid understanding of Story, Character, and Planning in a single place.
So, this will be like SCP bootcamp.
Everything we talk about in this essay will tie into those topics. Towards the end we'll take a smaller look at some masterclass-esque stuff from other authors.
This essay is targeted towards people who are at the beginner-to-intermediate level, but hopefully everybody gets a little something out of it. To set expectations before we begin, I want to address one common question people ask in writing communities all over: "Will this be an overnight improvement for my writing?"
No, it won't. I recommend that you bookmark this page so that you can keep coming back to it, until it's all ingrained in your brain. Even after you remember everything that's covered here, you still need to go out and practice those things. Reading does not automatically improve your Writing, but this essay will give you the tools you need for a good start on both.
I'll be going through the absolute basics of each section quickly, then move on to the more advanced parts. Note that nothing mentioned in this essay should be considered "right" or "wrong". These are all just tools for you to use, and a language to help you understand writing.
I also cannot teach you everything there is to know about these topics. While it is a wiki-accessible approach to them, your personal style, technique, and priorities will be developed over time as you explore and develop your skills.
Understanding the Structure and the Purpose of Story - (5.4K Words)
Why do these things matter?
Everything below is the basic language through which you can understand story. It's not exhaustive by any means, but it is what I would consider the core pieces of information you must understand before we can get into the specifics.
Understanding these concepts and applying them with intent makes all the difference in a piece. Intuition is an unreliable metric, and having logical tools to utilize will streamline your writing and improve its quality. They also give you far greater control over the experience your readers have when reading your works, and make the critique process of this site far more manageable.
What is Story?
Story can be explained in a lot of different ways, and depending on who you ask, the answer varies quite a bit. For the purposes of this essay, we will use the following definition: Story is one major value shift, composed of many smaller shifts. It's the difference between the character's life at the beginning and their life at the end. By the end of the story, an absolute and irreversible change has happened.
You might ask yourself, "Enay, what if my story doesn't have any character to focus on?" or "What is a value shift?"
The answer is that character, in that definition, can also be a property. The change simply happens to whatever the focal point of your story is. If your story focuses on an inanimate object that begins in perfect condition, and by the end has withered away into nothingness, that is still the same definition. It is an absolute, irreversible change that has happened within your story. Value shifts as a topic can get a little more tricky, because their purpose changes slightly depending on what we're talking about. Don't worry though, we'll cover their purpose in each stage of this essay.
For a basic definition:
- A Value Shift is a meaningful change in the life situation of a character, that is expressed and experienced in terms of a value and achieved through conflict.
Some common examples are:
- Alive/Dead
- Love/Hate
- Courage/Cowardice
- Wisdom/Stupidity
- Strength/Weakness
- Freedom/Slavery
- Truth/Lie
- Hope/Despair
It is also important to note that absolute and irreversible change does not mean a massive or dramatic change. Simple things like somebody making a friend or adopting a pet aren't dramatic, but they are a value shift.
What is Structure?
Like story, this could be explained in a multitude of ways. For this essay, we will use the following definition: Structure determines the direction, progression and flow of your story.
The specifics will change depending on which particular structure you choose to follow when writing a piece.
While different structures have different key points they tend to hit, below I will list those that almost every traditional story is going to have.
- A Setup - This establishes your story's setting, premise, plot and characters.
- The Inciting Incident - This is the event that forces your protagonist to act, and instigates the conflict of the story.
- Rising Action - This is where that conflict is explored and expanded upon, with more conflicts being added as your story progresses towards the Climax.
- A Midpoint - This is a notable shift in the conflict, where things reach new heights or something drastically changes. This often takes the form of a false victory, false defeat, a reversal, a twist, or a major conflict being added. This is not an exhaustive list of what can happen at the Midpoint.
- A Climax - The peak of conflict within the story.
- Falling Action - This is the aftermath of the Climax that leads towards the resolution of conflict within the story.
With that out of the way, we'll move onto breaking down the mechanics of structure a little further. The following are the smaller components that build up into a story, by order of magnitude.
Beats:
- A Beat is an exchange of behaviour in action/reaction. Beat by Beat, these changing behaviours shape the turning of a scene.
- In the SCP Article format, these are the things that happen within an addendum like an interview log or report.
Scenes:
- A Scene is where your character or characters engage in an action or dialogue, culminating into a notable value shift.
- In the SCP Article format, this would typically be the sum total of an addendum or section. Interview logs, exploration logs, reports, emails, etc…
Sequence:
- A Sequence is a series of scenes, generally two to five, that culminates with greater impact than any previous scene.
Acts:
- An Act is a series of sequences that peaks in a climactic scene which causes a major value change, more impactful than any sequence before it.
These measurements are also flexible, so you don't need to write a longform piece in order to apply them.
What are Themes?
A Theme is a message, commentary, or underlying topic that is explored through the telling of story.
You will see themes mentioned a lot in the wiki critique spaces. It's important that you understand the themes of your story, as they're the guiding principles that help inform your decision making. They're also, more often than not, the reason why somebody will want to read your work to begin with.
Popular Structures and How They Apply to the SCP Format - (1.7K Words)
Structures are complicated, and the three that I'm going to teach you aren't much simpler. There isn't enough time to go over every detail related to these structures, but we'll cover the basics of each before taking an in-depth look at how they've been used in the SCP article format.
Many stories and SCP articles break away from traditional structures, so don't feel like you absolutely must follow these to make a good story.
The Three Act Structure
The Three Act structure is the most standard storytelling structure you will encounter. It's divided into three basic parts:
- The Setup (Act 1) - 25%
- The Confrontation (Act 2) - 50%
- The Resolution (Act 3) - 25%
I've included percentages to help you gauge roughly where each act begins and ends within a story, following this structure. Keep in mind that stories deviate from those percentages all the time, so don't feel you have to follow those to the letter.
On top of the acts, there are some key points that will often occur, which have been added below.
- The Setup (Act 1) - 25%
Contains the Exposition and Inciting Incident.
- The Confrontation (Act 2) - 50%
Contains the Midpoint and the Rising Action.
- The Resolution (Act 3) - 25%
Contains the Climax, Falling Action and the Resolution.
The climax specified in Act 3 is the climax with the most impact, and the climax of the story as a whole. Acts 1 & 2 have their own climaxes, as established earlier.
That is basically the Three Act structure. It's a broad roadmap to keep your story on track, and doesn't interfere too much with your decision making. We've already covered what each of these things mean, so we won't spend much more time here.
I'll link some articles that are particularly easy to follow along with, but you can apply this structure to basically anything, so practicing it yourself would be a better use of time than me walking through examples.
Freytag's Pyramid
This is an altered three act structure, designed by Gustav Freytag, and aimed towards tragedies. It focuses more on the internal struggles and fears of characters coming to fruition, rather than external pressures.
This structure unfolds like this:
- Introduction (Act 1) - 25%
Contains the Exposition and Inciting Incident.
- The Rise (Act 2) - 50%
Contains the Rising Action and Climax.
- The Catastrophe/Fall (Act 3) - 25%
Contains the Falling Action and the Catastrophe.
What you'll notice about this structure that differs from the traditional three act plot is that things have been shifted around, and instead of ending with a resolution, they end in catastrophe.
Act 1 follows a similar set of goals as the three act structure, in which it sets up the setting, premise, plot and characters. It also introduces your protagonist's main fear, which by the end of the story, comes true.
The inciting incident remains basically the same in its function.
In Freytag's Pyramid, the Climax's function is more in-line with the Midpoint. It's a major shift in the story, often directing things to a downward path where instead of things looking up for the protagonist, things begin to feel like a disaster is coming. It's a sort of reversed traditional Act 2.
The Falling Action drives the plot forward with a sense of inevitability, a hopelessness that because of the events that occur in the Climax, this impending tragedy cannot be prevented anymore.
The Catastrophe is the lowest point for your protagonist. Whatever it was that they feared in Act 1, it's now happened, and they're left in the aftermath. This can take many forms, but for some examples:
- Character death
- Financial ruin
- Loss of agency/personal rights
- Loss of respect/social status
Any major negative value shift would align with the Catastrophe for a Freytag's Pyramid ending.
Denouement
This is a plot beat that sometimes occurs at the ending of a story using Freytag's Pyramid. It isn't a requirement, and wasn't part of the original structure, but it resolves any remaining threads and loose ends in the plot. Some stories will end at the Catastrophe, and that is fine. Including this additional beat is entirely optional.
Save The Cat
Save The Cat is a screenwriting story structure popularized by Blake Snyder. Despite being made for movies, it works great for SCP articles. There's an entire book dedicated to this structure, and I can't cover it all in one go, but I'll give the need to know knowledge about each beat and walk you through an SCP article that was made using it.
It is, in a simple explanation, a more formulaic three act structure. Although it can be a more solid foundation to follow, it can be more restrictive as a result.
The article we'll be using is SCP-9100 - DAYDREAM by Jezixo. The author has kindly provided the original outline used to make the piece, so it's the realest example we could use. It helps if you've read the article, but it isn't required as I'll walk you through the outline and point out the 15 key beats as they happen.
Major spoiler warning, as we'll go through the entire story.
DAYDREAM - Save The Cat Basic
- Opening Image: Finlay says he was sent to Site-86 as punishment for doing the right thing.
0-1% - A snapshot of the protagonist's life before things change and they're forced to go on the journey.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Theme Stated: Finlay tells Vo not to let it become personal.
5% - A statement made by a character that hints at what the protagonist's arc will be.
Average length - 1 Beat.
- Setup: Vo is a new researcher who Finlay begins to mentor.
1-10% - An exploration of the protagonist's life and its flaws, where we see what that life looks like before they begin the journey. Introduce other characters, show the protagonist not wanting to go on the journey, and hint at what's to change.
Average length - Less than 3 Scenes.
- Catalyst: Finlay and Vo are assigned to a potential anomaly following a plane crash.
10% - A life changing beat that prevents the protagonist from returning to their previous life and forces them on the journey.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Debate: The team must prove whether an anomaly exists.
10-20% - A reaction where the protagonist questions whether or not they should or could go on the journey.
Average length - Less than 3 Scenes.
- Break Into Two: With proof the anomaly exists, the team contain subjects and begin to study them.
20% - The protagonist accepts the call to action, and begins their journey in the story. It separates the previous life from the new one.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- B-Story: Finlay and Talbot squabble over Project DAYDREAM and classifications.
The introduction of a new character (or characters) who will serve to help the protagonist learn the theme. Lover, friend, family, enemy etc…
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Fun and Games: Vo tries to keep emotional detachment, but struggles with it.
20-50% - We see the protagonist going through the new world. It displays the promise of the premise.
Average length - 1-2 Sequences/Several Scenes.
- Midpoint: Finlay is now SCP-X-B, and Vo takes over. Can she stay detached?
False victory or false defeat. Something should happen to raise the stakes and push the protagonist to make a change.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Bad Guys Close In: Talbot intends to send Finlay back, unless Vo can solve the case.
50-75% - False Victory = Downward path where things get worse. False defeat = Upward path that shows things seeming to improve. Either way, the protagonist's internal problems and flaws are closing in.
Average length - 1 Sequence/1-3 Scenes.
- All Is Lost: Finlay is non-verbal, Talbot refuses outside help and orders Vo to stop.
75% - The lowest point of the story. An action beat where something happens to the protagonist that, when combined with the internal conflicts, pushes them to a position worse than where they started.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Dark Night of the Soul: Vo finds the interview that made her cry, resolves to keep her humanity.
75-80% - A reaction beat where the protagonist processes their current situation.
Average length - 1 Scene.
- Break Into Three: Vo reviews all of the project files, noticing patterns related to connection.
80% - The protagonist learns/realizes what they must do to fix their internal conflicts, and fix the external problems created in Act 2.
Average length - 1-2 Scenes.
- Finale: Vo risks everything to save Finlay out using their personal connection.
80-99% - The protagonist shows that they have truly learned the theme, and undertakes their plan made in the Break Into Three.
Average length - 1 Sequence/Several Scenes.
- Final Image: Vo is sent to Nebraska as punishment for doing the right thing.
99-100% - A mirror to the Opening Image. An after-action snapshot of who the protagonist has become over the course of the story.
Average length - 1 Scene.
You'll notice the 15 beats are measured in percentages, rather than pages or total wordcount. This is because Save The Cat is designed to fit on to any story, regardless of length, and still allow you to use the full 15 beats.
I also included the average amount of scenes these beats will take up, but those are rough guides and not strict rules.
DAYDREAM - Save The Cat Complex
Now that we've covered the basic outline for DAYDREAM, and what each of those beats means, we'll cover the comprehensive outline used by the author. This outline is roughly 2.5K words long, and it can seem intimidating at first glance. I encourage you to come back to this part later.
I'll point out where each beat is for you, but it's on you to identify some of the topics we've covered so far.
To close the Save The Cat section, I want to clarify that this structure can be quite prescriptive. You don't need to include every beat in your story, nor do you need to use this structure for every type of story. As a general rule, it works better for longform pieces, or genres with a lot of complexity like procedural dramas or mysteries.
I encourage you to use and research other structures as well as the ones covered here.
Popular Structures - B-Side - (4K Words)
After posting this essay, several people have pointed out to me that it'd be beneficial to cover a wider range of things, if only to give people more tools to choose from.
So, I've added three (so far) structures that weren't originally present.
Thank you to Billith for suggesting SCP-6791 as an example of the Monomyth, and for suggesting the three structures we'll look at next in this section.
We'll be looking at:
- The Fichtean Curve
- The Hero's Journey/Monomyth
- The Story Circle
The Fichtean Curve
Out of the following structures, this one is the easiest, so we'll do it first.
The Fichtean Curve is a plot structure that skips the Exposition section found in most other structures, and begins in the Rising Action section. It throws the story into immediate conflict, and doesn't relent much after.
There is a series of Crises that happen leading up to the Climax, followed by the Falling Action.
It looks like this:
- Inciting Incident
Act 1:
- Crisis - A challenging event or pressing issue that your protagonist must deal with.
- Break - A small pause or decrease in tension, to allow your protagonist and reader to breathe, figuratively.
- Crisis
- Break
- Crisis
- Break
Act 2:
- Climax - The point of no return and the most difficult crisis to overcome. It's irreversible and has a sense of finality, compared to prior crises.
Act 3:
- Falling Action - Handles the immediate aftermath of the Climax, and wraps up the most pressing plot threads.
You can have as many Crises as you like whilst using this structure.
This structure isn't a case of one bad thing happening after another by chance, it's more of a domino effect. Crisis 1 happens, the characters react, causing Crisis 2 to happen and so on. This cause and effect chain is what locks in the rhythm and pacing of your story, and is what makes it the Fichtean Curve. A series of bad things happening isn't inherently the same as this structure.
Stories using this structure typically begin immediately after the Inciting Incident, where Act 1 is the aftermath of that event, and we as readers are thrown into the first crisis. Act 1 in the Fichtean Curve takes up the majority of the story, roughly 60-70%.
Unlike the Three Act structure, where tension is built on a steady and smooth incline, the Fichtean Curve builds tension through jagged and sharp events that give much less 'warning' to your protagonist before they happen.
Between each crisis there are usually small breaks in the tension, where characters may evaluate their situation, things may appear to be fixed, or the next crisis is clearly looming around the corner but just hasn't arrived yet.
These aren't long pauses, and generally don't last more than three scenes each, depending on the length of your story. They're also important for keeping your reader engaged, as too much happening too fast can cause fatigue.
Exposition is woven in throughout the story, as opposed to being established early on like other structures, with a dedicated section.
The Fichtean Curve is generally best suited for fast-paced stories, or shortform. Stories that focus more on plot instead of character are also better suited to this structure, and if your goal is to make an SCP that focuses on tension or vibe, this would be the structure I recommend.
Some genres that work particularly well, often explored by the SCP format:
- Horror
- Mystery
- Action
- Thriller
Now, let's take a look at how it's been used in an SCP article.
We'll be using SCP-3043 by The Great Hippo
SCP-3043 follows Murphy Law, a tough-as-fuck noir-detective unravelling the mystery of what SCP-3043 actually is.
I can't say for absolute certainty this article was made by following the Fichtean Curve, as it's a format screw, but it demonstrates the pattern extremely well and isn't a complex article to follow.
The following is the opening from SCP-3043. Think about what it's doing while you read it, and the effect it has.
I'm still not quite sure what just happened.
Yesterday, our bots picked up unauthorized changes to documents on our internal servers. Two minutes later, all on-site personnel — including myself — blacked out for three hours. Every camera ceased to function during this period.
When we woke up, we all had headaches, the entire site smelled like cigarettes and cheap alcohol, two of my guards were injured, three bullets were lodged in my desk, and somebody had shot SCP-3043. The only clue we've got regarding those three hours is SCP-3043's old documentation, which has been… well, 'updated' is one way to put it. I've included it with this email, along with the revised documentation for SCP-3043.
We've got no clue who this 'Murphy Law' character is. I'm recommending we immediately assign him an SCP identification and start investigating. All the evidence we've got so far indicates that he and SCP-3043 are unrelated anomalies. Also, none of us actually remember him — despite some of us being 'featured' in… whatever the hell this was.
The short of it is this: Either he saved us from the mother of all containment breaches… or he just wanted us to think that he did. Regardless of which, we need to know who he is and what the hell he's capable of.
You may have noticed that there aren't any containment procedures, description, or general exposition sections that many articles rely on to hook and inform the reader. SCP-3043 kicks off immediately after the Inciting Incident, and we are placed directly into the first crisis right after this passage concludes.
This isn't to say that you couldn't use the Fichtean Curve for a non-format screw article, you absolutely can. Just be mindful of what your containment procedures and description are accomplishing whilst doing so.
You could, for example, show the inciting incident before those standard sections even show up, similar to how the audit framing is done in DAYDREAM.
Anyways, back to 3043.
Crisis 1: Dr. Lewis realizes her memories are actively being erased by an unknown entity modifying documentation.
Crisis 2: Murphy confronts Site Director August to get answers. This escalates from a tense conversation into a shootout with August's guards, ending with the revelation that Murphy himself is the anomaly.
Crisis 3: Murphy returns to find Dr. Lewis missing and realizes he has been set up to take the fall for the containment breach.
The Climax: Murphy enters Dr. Lewis' lab and finds out that SCP-3043, a typewriter, has been altering the script the entire time. 3043 panics, trying to regain control of Murphy and the story, but is ultimately shot and neutralized by Murphy.
Falling Action: This is where the containment procedures and typical SCP documentation are, displaying 3043 as neutralized and tying up the mystery.
Resolution: Murphy is having a smoke on the docks, when he is confronted by O5-5, who inquires as to where and how the Foundation can contact Murphy, should he be needed in future. The scene ends in a classic noir send-off, where Murphy leaves as abruptly and mysteriously as he came.
And that's the Fichtean Curve.
Between each of these beats, the majority of the content we see as readers are Murphy thinking to himself as the narrator, and him moving from one location to the next. The article builds tension through those jagged events we talked about, gives minimal pause for the reader, but just enough to catch your breath, and then gets right back into the action.
The exposition is woven in through the scenes, it doesn't waste time getting started, and it doesn't hang around at the ending.
Hero's Journey/Monomyth
There are two popularized versions of this structure, one by Joseph Campbell and another by Christopher Vogler. Campbell's has 17 distinct steps, whereas Vogler's has 12.
For the sake of simplicity I'll be going over Vogler's version.
First, a basic definition that's important to understand for this structure.
Archetypes are recurring patterns of human behaviour, symbolized by standard types of characters in movies and stories.
The Monomyth is a story Archetype, as opposed to being its own unique structure by the definition we've used so far in this essay. It is very similar when compared to the Three Act structure, Save The Cat, and many others because it's the foundation that many of these other structures sit on.
It also relies heavily on character archetypes, which are listed below.
- Heroes - The protagonists.
- Shadows - Villains, enemies, internal struggles and any other notable oppressive force in the story.
- Mentors - The hero's guide or guiding principles.
- Herald - The person or thing that brings the Call to Adventure.
- Threshold Guardians - The forces that stand in the way of the hero at important moments or turning points.
- Shapeshifters - These are the changes occurring around your hero. The views of the people around them, the situation, the hero's perception of something, etc… It can also be literal shapeshifters, if your story calls for that.
- Tricksters - Characters or forces who generally align with comedy, mischief or trickery who urge the hero to make a change.
- Allies - Characters who help the hero through their changes. Friends, companions, teammates, lovers, etc…
Those are the archetypes most relevant to this structure.
The Hero's Journey itself looks like this
Act 1 - Departure:
- Ordinary World - We see the hero's life in its status quo, and go through the setup of the story.
- Call to Adventure - A challenge, threat, development or event occurs that prompts the hero to take action.
- Refusal of the Call - The hero refuses to take action.
- Meeting With the Mentor - The hero meets another character who will push them towards taking action, and guide them on their journey.
- Crossing the First Threshold - The hero chooses to, or is forced, to begin the journey that they have been avoiding.
Act 2 - Initiation:
- Tests, Allies, and Enemies - The hero undergoes different challenges, meets new allies who help them develop along the way, and goes against the primary antagonistic force of the story.
- The Inmost Cave - The build up section leading towards the greatest challenge so far. Often a reflection beat, where the hero gathers what they need or looks back on what's happened so far, before continuing on past this point.
- The Ordeal - The greatest challenge the hero has faced in the story so far.
- Reward - The reward for conquering the challenge faced in the Ordeal. It can be many things, physical or not, but regardless the hero has had an absolute change.
Act 3 - Return:
- The Road Back - The hero has completed their original goal, and now returns back to their ordinary world with the reward. This isn't the end of the Hero's Journey, however, as the most trying and difficult challenge still awaits them.
- The Resurrection - The most dangerous or significant challenge the hero must overcome within the story. The consequences of which will be far reaching, and much greater than the hero themselves.
- Return With the Elixir - The final beat of the Hero's Journey, where the hero returns to their ordinary world. Regardless of what literally or metaphorically happens here, it represents change, success and proof of the journey.
The beats also have highly dramatized names, so don't take them literally in that regard.
What you likely notice about many of these beats, is that we've already covered them before, in slightly different orientations. The Ordinary World is also the Exposition section of the Three Act.
Tests, Allies and Enemies is the same as 'Fun and Games' in Save The Cat.
The Resurrection is the Climax beat.
The Hero's Journey focuses more on external conflicts and overcoming them. The overarching metaphor typically told through these stories is the protagonist dying, and later being reborn as something greater.
The big selling point of the Hero's Journey is that it's an experience most people can relate to on a deeper level, rather than only experiencing it through the lens of story. Thus, it should be more universally relatable to audiences, regardless of the finer details like genre, tropes, themes and structure.
In a lecture from Brandon Sanderson, he equates this to being a teenager, growing up, then becoming an adult. The Hero's Journey is a pretty universal experience, which is what makes it so archetypal to stories, and what makes it so effective.
To give you an example of the Hero's Journey in the SCP format, we'll use SCP-6791 by LittleFieryOne
This article deconstructs the Hero's Journey, but also subverts several aspects of it. It follows Jack, the protagonist, who actually believes himself to be a protagonist going on the Hero's Journey. The article then weaponizes that formula against him, which is where the subversions come from.
Act 1 - Departure:
- Ordinary World - Jack Jones is an average teenage boy. His two friends adhere to character archetypes, like Dennis (the clown), and Mary (the shy girl).
- Call to Adventure - Jack is kidnapped by the Foundation and taken to a facility out in the middle of nowhere. He views this as more of a Hogwarts thing though, believing this to be the start of an adventure he's waited so long for.
- Refusal of the Call - Jack skips this step, being very eager to be the protagonist of his own story, he ignores the fact he's been kidnapped so he can get on with his journey.
In a traditional Hero's Journey, however, he'd probably be kicking and screaming, demanding answers and doing all he can to escape. Just to give an example.
- Meeting With the Mentor - Jack meets Professor Hollë Berg, the Foundation researcher assigned to SCP-6791. Through Jack's somewhat warped perspective of things, she's going to serve as his wise mentor who helps him along his journey.
- Crossing the First Threshold - Jack is taken to his containment room, where he finds Mary and Dennis. Fully believing that he and his friends will go on an adventure together, he pushes onward.
Act 2 - Initiation:
- Tests, Allies, and Enemies - Jack's first couple days in containment. He interprets Mary's robotic hand-holding as blossoming romance, and views Dennis’ deteriorating mental state as petty jealousy. Jack believes he is navigating character dynamics, but he is actually watching the parasite destroy his friends' minds.
- The Inmost Cave - The illusion Jack's been under begins to crack, noticing new oddities and changes in his environment that don't quite stack up to his expectations. Jack prepares to confess his true love to Mary, believing this is the emotional climax of his journey.
- The Ordeal - Mary snaps out of the parasite's control just long enough to reveal the truth to Jack; that she hasn't been a willing companion and love interest by his side, but more of a husk forced to follow along his journey against her will.
- Reward - Jack receives an SCP document, revealing to him that he isn't some hero, but instead Subject-6791-53, the host of a brain-eating parasite that forces reality to conform to protagonist tropes while erasing his actual personality and memories.
Act 3 - Return:
- The Road Back - Jack attempts to recall memories of his past life, but finds them hollowed out and hazy. He goes from being the hero of his own world, to being a victim of it.
- The Resurrection - Jack confronts the parasite itself within his mind, culminating in the realization that he's done all of this to himself.
Jack: Is this my fault?
SCP-6791: I think I've made a grave mistake.
Jack: I can't say I didn't want any of this. Because at some point I did.
SCP-6791: For all I've torn down and burned, I've found no answers, come no closer, haven't even found a clear direction.
Jack: I let it in. It didn't have to go this far, but I let it.
- Return With the Elixir - Jack realizes that he's sold his real life for his protagonist fantasy, lost his friends and family, and ends the story wishing for things to return back to how they originally were.
There are also some notes I want to provide about the Hero's Journey that you may come across in other spaces, which I think are worth pointing out while it's fresh.
This structure can be highly formulaic, which is why I chose an article that subverts it somewhat to show it in action. It can be very easy to predict the path a story will take if it follows the Hero's Journey, which is one of the reasons it's better treated like an archetype as opposed to a set structure, in my opinion.
It has, to me at least, the highest risk of being followed too slavishly. So, I highly encourage you to use it as loosely as you are comfortable.
On the other hand, it's also highly achievable to subvert the Hero's Journey, so you shouldn't be afraid of doing so.
It's also not particularly well equipped to handle certain things, such as stories more focused on how a character changes the world around them over themselves, ensemble casts, or tragedies to name a few.
The Story Circle
This is a structure popularized by Dan Harmon as a derivative of the Hero's Journey/Monomyth.
The Hero's Journey focuses more on the external conflicts that surround the protagonist, with the internal struggles usually taking on a B-Story level of focus.
The Story Circle, however, places more focus onto the internal struggles and challenges of the protagonist, that are provoked and escalated through the external pressures.
At least, that is my primary takeaway. There are other differences, naturally, but if you find yourself struggling to choose between the two for whatever reason, that's the aspect I'd focus on. Is this story about my character, or what is happening around/to them?
It's best aimed at loose outlines, where you get your key points down and then just go for it in drafting. It's not too simple and not too complex.
It's split into 8 individual beats, categorized into the two sections Order and Chaos.
Order and Chaos
Order is the top half of the circle, and Chaos is the bottom half. Going around clockwise from the centre at the top, it goes like this.
- 1 - You - A character is in a zone of comfort.
What is the baseline value for your character and their world? This would double as the exposition section, more often than not.
- 2 - Need - However, they want something.
If your character is perfectly happy, the story won't start. What's the thing that's eating away at them? What are they willing to go on a metaphorical journey to acquire or achieve?
- 3 - Go - They enter an unfamiliar situation, in search of the thing they wanted.
This is either an active choice made by your character, or something happens that forces them to go forward.
- 4 - Search - They adapt to that unfamiliar situation.
This is equivalent to the Rising Action seen in other structures. Your character is trying to navigate unfamiliar territory, with their typical 'Order' and it's not working, so they adapt.
Trials and errors, basically.
- 5 - Find - They get what they wanted.
This is around the same mark as the Midpoint beat in other structures. Your character has found what they were searching for, and there has been a major shift in priorities or pressures.
- 6 - Take - They pay a heavy price for it.
This could be something your character willingly sacrifices or is forced to lose. This is also where the absolute, irreversible change typically happens.
It's equivalent to the 'All is Lost' in Save The Cat.
- 7 - Return - They then return to their familiar situation.
This is often the final challenge of the story. With the knowledge, abilities, items or perspectives (to name a few possibilities) that your character has gained in the Chaos section, they return to their life from the beginning of the story, now capable of overcoming the final challenge.
Often, this final challenge was also present in the beginning, or was foreshadowed. Not a rule, though.
- 8 - Change - However, they have now changed.
This is the Resolution of your story. The final challenge has been overcome, your character has proven they've learned the themes of the story, and we as readers see the new status quo for this character.
Dan Harmon's Story Circle
Characters begin in Beat 1, in the Order section. Things are normal here.
They move downwards into the Chaos section, and must face several challenges and obstacles before they are able to come back up into the Order.
Having changed over the course of the story, and their experiences in Chaos, they return to Order with a new perspective/goal.
For another way of viewing it:
Act 1: Your protagonist's first time in the Order section.
Act 2: Your protagonist's time in the Chaos section.
Act 3: Your protagonist's return to the Order section.
You can place many key beats found in other structures onto this one, for example, many stories following the Story Circle will have an Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Midpoint, Climax, and Falling Action. The difference comes in the way we progress through these moments, and the driving force behind them.
We won't cover an example of this structure in full, as it's not dissimilar enough from the prior Hero's Journey to warrant that. However, we will look at how it differs from the Hero's Journey, should we map it onto SCP-6791 again.
- 1 - You - Jack begins the story entirely comfortable in his delusion. Despite being kidnapped by the Foundation, he feels right at home, believing he is the "chosen one" setting forth on a classic Young Adult adventure alongside his archetypal friends, Dennis and Mary.
- 2 - Need - Jack desperately wants to fulfil what he believes to be his destiny. He wants to uncover the site's secrets, learn how to control his powers, and play out the romantic B-Story he believes is on the way with Mary.
- 3 - Go - Jack settles into containment, but the reality of the Foundation refuses to align with his fantasy. The facility becomes quiet, Dr. Berg acts like a researcher rather than a mentor, and a persistent humming noise starts to grate on him.
The humming represents reality starting to break through Jack's fantasy.
- 4 - Search - Jack adapts by forcing his narrative onto reality. He rationalizes Dennis' obvious mental deterioration and crying as petty jealousy, and he completely misinterprets Mary's compliance as blossoming romance. He actively searches for the tropes he expects, missing what's actually happening right in front of him.
- 5 - Find - Jack finally receives the answers he has been waiting for when the Foundation delivers the official documents for SCP-6791. He finds out exactly why he is special and the true nature of his powers.
- 6 - Take - Jack learns he is not a hero, but the host of a parasitic entity that forces reality to conform to protagonist tropes. The heavy price he pays for his fantasy is the destruction of his own memories and personality, as well as the mental degradation of his friends, who were forced against their will to act as his sidekicks.
- 7 - Return - Jack retreats deep into his own mind, wandering aimlessly until he comes face-to-face with SCP-6791 itself. He returns to the core of his own consciousness, stripped of all external illusions.
- 8 - Change - Jack is no longer under the influence of his protagonist complex. He admits his fault and realizes that he sacrificed his real life, family, and friends for a hollow narrative. Having lost everything, his absolute and irreversible change is Illusion/Clarity. More superficially, it's Hero/Victim.
Comparing this to the way I presented things for the Hero's Journey, what do you notice is different about these structures? What do they focus on? Assuming the article wasn't directly correlated to the Hero's Journey by the author, how would you have expected this outline to play out if it followed the Story Circle instead?
Character - (2.7K Words)
In this section, we'll go through the important mechanics of character, how they relate to story, and why they matter.
To start, let's define the difference between True Character, and Characterization.
- True Character is revealed by the choices that are made under pressure. The greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice is to the character's nature.
- Characterization is the summary of personality, physical traits, motivations, and psychology used to make a character believable or to give them credibility.
For a character to be credible and believable within the context of the story, your reader needs to believe they could, or would, realistically be doing the things that they do. Realism doesn't mean they need to adhere to the rules of real life, but rather the rules set by your story.
For example, if I told you a story about a firefighter who rescued three people from a burning building, driven by their desire to be a hero while in the prime of their life, you'd likely believe me. If I then told you that said firefighter was a 95-year-old who hated people, was desperate to quit their job and had a bad back, you likely wouldn't believe me anymore. The character I presented isn't believable, nor credible.
If I switch back to the first firefighter, you'd believe me again. They fit the bill for their role. When you're designing your character, think about whether or not they could, or would, reasonably be able to do whatever it is they need to do in the story.
Next, we'll take a look at the more interesting part: true character.
True character is what will add depth and complexity to your characters. It often goes against the overt characterization we've given them, and reveals what's hiding beneath it. True character can be as minor or major as you like, as every action they take tells you something.
For this exercise, I'll give you some character moments from SCP-7000 - The Loser by HarryBlank and I want you to try to identify whether something is true character or characterization, and what their effect is within the passages.
Situation: SCP-682 breached containment at Site-45 and approached the town of Augusta, Western Australia, during a folk music festival.
Intervention: Theta-7000 attempted to recapture the anomaly whilst evading the scrutiny of approximately one thousand people, including media representatives.
Outcome: Dr. Wettle was stationed between the operational zone and the festival; as containment efforts failed and SCP-682 approached, he was forced to move into the crowd. The anomaly was finally disabled within one hundred metres of the event, an action nevertheless escaping civilian notice as their attention was fixed on Dr. Wettle's altercation with a rogue kangaroo. SCP-682 returned to containment without incident, while video footage of Dr. Wettle being kicked into an industrial barbecue immediately saturated the internet.
Researcher O'Conner: Yeah, I… I wasn't saying I disapprove. Being mean to the guy is a pretty natural reaction. I've never met a more inconsiderate person, you know? I don't know how many times I've caught him taking the last drop of coffee and leaving without making more.
Dr. Sokolsky: Maybe he thinks his time is worth…
Dr. Sokolsky laughs.
Dr. Sokolsky: Man, I couldn't even get through that sentence.
Researcher O'Conner: No kidding. But no, his excuse was even better: "If I made the coffee, you'd probably all get bean poisoning."
Mindy Wettle: I remember it like it's happening right now in front of me. It was in our old house on Stockwell Row, back in Peoria. I was going to bed; I'd been smoking in the garage, Simon was already asleep. I thought William would be, too, but just as I was walking past his room I heard him whispering to himself.
Researcher LeBlanc: Can you remember what he said?
Mindy Wettle: I can hear it. He's saying: "Take anything else you want. Take all my stuff. Take all my friends. Take all my chances, take everything good and keep it… just don't…"
Silence on recording.
Mindy Wettle: "…don't take my mom. "
Simon Wettle places a hand on his wife's shoulder.
Mindy Wettle: "Don't hurt my parents. Hurt me instead, for as long as you want. I can take it. I promise. Please."
Dr. Wettle: You're not listening. I'm in charge of replication studies, yeah? Well, I've done replication studies on myself.
Dr. Sokolsky: What you do in the privacy of your room—
Dr. Wettle: Fucking listen, alright? Or you know what… let me just…
Dr. Wettle reaches into his labcoat pocket and produces, in slow sequence: three large pieces of pocket lint, a plastic bottle cap, a labcoat button, a pushpin (with the point piercing his thumb) and a Canadian quarter. He sucks on his thumb for a moment, then places the quarter on top of it.
Dr. Wettle: Gonna call it in the air.
Dr. Wettle flips the coin.
Dr. Wettle: Heads.
The coin sticks to a ceiling tile. Dr. Wettle and Dr. Sokolsky examine it for a moment.
Dr. Sokolsky: Who puts gum on a ceiling tile?
When somebody says that a character feels flat, it's often because they only have characterization, and not any choices that reveal their true character. Compelling characters are full of contradictions and conflict.
Have a think about Wettle's character, and ask yourself, "Who does Dr. Wettle seem to be?" and "Who is Dr. Wettle, really?"
Now, we'll take a look at character Goals, Wants, Needs, and Arcs. Some definitions first:
- Goals are the result of your character's Wants and Needs, and what their actions aim to achieve. Goals can be internal, external, or both.
- Wants are the Goals your character pursues throughout the story that drive the plot forwards.
- Needs are what your character must acquire or achieve in order to make a change or overcome the conflict of the story.
- Arcs are the largest value shifts for a character. They are the difference between your character at the beginning of the story, and your character at the end.
Characterization, Goals, Wants and Needs are what determine your character's actions, and by extension of those actions, determines their true character. Their true character then determines how they behave within the story, in reaction to conflict, and the absolute, irreversible change they will undergo by the end.
Do you see how it all fits together?
Only your important characters need this level of depth. Your protagonist, antagonist, and supporting character are the only ones who need all or most of these boxes ticked. If you have multiple supporting or recurring characters in a piece, consider giving them lite versions of the points discussed above. If you try to condense too many arcs into one story, the piece might collapse in on itself.
"Filler" characters, such as MTF agents who only appear for one log, are fine just having a clear goal and some diversity in characterization compared to your primary cast. They don't require an arc.
I'll briefly cover the four primary endings that characters will get, following the above advice.
- Sweet - Characters get both what they want/need.
- Semi-Sweet - Characters get only what they need.
- Bittersweet - Characters get only what they want.
- Bitter - Characters get neither what they want/need.
What makes characters good or bad?
This is another question that I can't provide a single answer to, but I'll try to cover some comprehensive points that should leave you with a solid foundation for a character.
The list is organized in the order I recommend you to fill it in, because it will help your decision making for the later items.
A good character has:
- Understandable Wants, Needs, and Goals
- True character
- Believable and credible characterization
- A few layers of complexity
- A strong voice
We've already covered the first three on the list, so we'll focus on the last two. I touched on it above, but complexity doesn't need to be confusing, nor does it need to be excessive. 2-3 well-chosen layers of complexity are plenty for a protagonist, antagonist, and supporting character.
Character Complexity
This section will focus on showing you what complexity looks like, and how it's built through different methods.
- Complex characters are multi-dimensional and exhibit conflicting traits or motivations that make them realistic and interesting. They often have internal struggles, moral dilemmas, or ambiguous qualities that challenge readers' perceptions.
Some basic things that build complexity within a character:
- True Character
- Contradictions
- Conflict
Contradictions can be a result of characterization, or true character.
For example, we'll use Vo from DAYDREAM again.
Jr. Researcher Vo, skilled and ambitious but naive
This is a contradiction built from characterization. Skilled and ambitious are predictable, thus boring, but adding naive into the mix creates a layer of interest in the character. It makes it harder for us as readers to predict this character's behaviour and choices, therefore raising more questions about them that the character answers later on, through more behaviours and choices.
That's complexity.
Next, we'll look at characters making some difficult choices, or true character.
Using Wettle again, we'll look at what his choice here tells us compared to his characterization.
Mindy Wettle: I remember it like it's happening right now in front of me. It was in our old house on Stockwell Row, back in Peoria. I was going to bed; I'd been smoking in the garage, Simon was already asleep. I thought William would be, too, but just as I was walking past his room I heard him whispering to himself.
Researcher LeBlanc: Can you remember what he said?
Mindy Wettle: I can hear it. He's saying: "Take anything else you want. Take all my stuff. Take all my friends. Take all my chances, take everything good and keep it… just don't…"
Silence on recording.
Mindy Wettle: "…don't take my mom. "
Simon Wettle places a hand on his wife's shoulder.
Mindy Wettle: "Don't hurt my parents. Hurt me instead, for as long as you want. I can take it. I promise. Please."
Wettle's characterization portrays him as a selfish, unlucky and incompetent pain in the ass for everyone around him. His decision here, however, reveals the complete opposite. Wettle sacrificed everything good he could hope for, in exchange for his mother's life. This one decision, one moment of True Character reveals three different layers to his character.
- Motivation:
Wettle is characterized as if he only cares about his own misery, and avoids as much responsibility as he can.
His True Character reveals that his selfish misery is the price he paid for his mother to live.
- Resilience:
Wettle is Characterized to constantly complain about his own circumstances, and how unfair the universe is towards him.
His True Character reveals that he has carried his misfortune for decades because he believed he was strong enough to endure it, so that his parents wouldn't have to.
- Agency:
Wettle thinks he is a victim of probability, and that his actions won't have any effect on the universe's treatment towards him.
His True Character reveals that he has had the agency since the beginning. He set himself up in this position of misfortune, and at the end he realizes he can break the cycle, because he was the one who set it.
Character Voice
- Character Voice is the unique, consistent, and recognizable manner in which a character expresses themselves through dialogue, thought, and actions. It is a combination of a character’s specific word choices, sentence structure, tone, rhythm, and persona, which reflect their personality, background, emotions, and worldview.
This is an element of character that causes people a lot of difficulty, particularly when it comes to expressing character voice through dialogue. There are a lot of things that alter character voice in dialogue, all listed above, and below are some examples of each and the effect they have on character.
For these examples, I'll be using Ezekiel Todd, the protagonist from SCP-6069 by Nickthebrick1. To avoid repeating myself, everything I cite here either tells us something we did not previously know about Todd, or expands on what we did know. All of these open up many different lines of thinking, and I'll only highlight one or two.
Spoiler warning.
Word Choices:
- Word choices inform readers of the personality, background, education and social status of a character.
Todd: Oh hey Don, didn't see you there. Nah, I'm still babysitting the skips as always.
This tells us that Todd is a low-level employee, and is cynical about his duties. It also tells us that he's somewhat unserious.
Todd: Last chance birdie! I'm not asking nicely—
This is another expression of Todd's voice that tells us a lot about him, and develops his character. For context, he's aiming a gun at an SCP in this scene, and is about to be shot himself.
It's an action movie-esque line delivered in a high-stakes situation, that we could infer several things from. Have a think about all the different ways that line and its implications could take you with Todd's character.
Sentence Structure:
- Sentence structures are the specific and intentional arrangement of words, clauses and punctuation used to inform readers of a character's personality, background and emotional state.
Todd’s sentences often reflect his internal processing speed. They are frequently interrupted by self-corrections or trailing thoughts, making him feel authentic rather than scripted.
The techies just invented some new gear and I was the first chosen to test it out. I think they called it… Ocular? No OCULUS, that's right, OCULUS.
This reinforces the observations we've made about him being low-level and unserious, because it implies he wasn't paying attention to this new, experimental equipment that could have disastrous consequences for him when it was explained to him.
This is also an example of true character, in a micro fashion, because his lack of attention to that equipment leads him into the gun conflict we briefly touched on.
Todd: So was Jeffrey Dahmer once. I mean the dude looks like a mix between Dracula and a stoner. I can't for the love of god know what Cassandra sees in him—
This is a trail of thought example that reinforces Todd's character voice through its structure, and also through his persona. The exaggeration and insults show us that Todd's good with his wit, something else we'd expect from a character in his position.
Tone:
- Tone is the emotional quality, attitude, or mood conveyed through a character's dialogue, internal monologue, and speech patterns. It often informs readers of how your character is truly feeling, regardless of the words they actually use.
i.e. it's good for subtext, and adding flavour to dialogue in between the lines.
"I think it'll be more interesting dying from a twenty-foot discount monster than dying from boredom."
Dry and dark humour that again, falls in line with Todd's established character voice, and his characterization.
"I just become Cupid and shut up?"
Resigned and sarcastic, which expands on Todd's cynicism from earlier.
Rhythm:
- Rhythm is the unique cadence, flow, speed and balance of stressed/unstressed syllables that provide a character with their own distinct pattern of speech.
Please let it be a glitch. Please let it be a glitch.
Short, repetitive sentences build tension within the dialogue.
Listen! Listen! I can explain what happened, let's just wait for the security team to arrive and relax
This is a more rapid fire delivery, which creates urgency instead of tension.
Wait, does that… Did she accept?
This is a break in the rhythm that shows us Todd's shift of focus, and through that focus tells us more about his character.
Persona:
- Persona can have different meanings depending on context, but in relation to character voice, it is the sum total of personality traits, quirks and behaviours your character presents to the people around them.
- For example, Todd is the "everyman" in the eyes of the people around him, thus that is his persona.
The director will have my balls if—
Builds more on his unserious nature and his position in the hierarchy.
I don't get how anyone could get into that stuff, even more so when they're dating the wrong person.
This shows that Todd is cynical about romance, which is an intriguing layer of irony, given that he kills and then becomes cupid.
Overview
Here, we'll take a look at how actions influence the effect of dialogue.
Prior to this excerpt, Todd has had poor aim with his rifle, due to a lack of self-confidence and his self-deprecation holding him back.
Agent Donovan: Yeah… hey Todd. Can I ask you something?
SCP-6069-C: You just did.
Agent Donovan: Todd.
SCP-6069-C: Alright, alright. What is it?
Agent Donovan: How did you do it?
SCP-6069-C: Hm?
Agent Donovan: How did you end up turning things around? I find it almost crazy we're making quick work of the CK and I know they didn't give you any enhancements. So what changed?
SCP-6069-C reloads its rifle and keeps it positioned to the field. After several seconds, SCP-6069-C speaks.
SCP-6069-C: I became real.
Agent Khan: Aren't you already real?
SCP-6069-C: No, I was only half-way. It's… how do I explain… you know how a bird can't fly unless it's using both its wings? It's like that but more complicated. I'd gotten the looks but it only did so much. But then it came to me… if playing pretend wasn't doing anyone else any favors, then what would happen if I became authentic, both inside and out?
He hasn't learned to shoot because he became Cupid, he learned to shoot because he became Todd. It's an arc of self-acceptance, and only when he makes the change described above, does he manage to overcome his challenges with his new role and his rifle.
The dialogue I pointed out before was the characterization we were presented with, that was then contradicted through Todd's actions and choices, and as a result of those actions we see his character arc from low-level, self-deprecating employee to acceptance of his new life as Cupid.
Thus, the value change of Todd's character and the story is Self-Deprecation/Acceptance.
Planning - (700 Words)
Alright, we've gone over Story, Structure, and Character. Now that you know the tools, you might be thinking "What am I supposed to do with them?"
You plan out a story!
Before we begin, I want to clarify that planning can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Nobody can tell you how you should be outlining, and my intent with this section isn't to trick you into thinking novel-length outlines are the key to a good story. Like everything else in this essay, they're just tools. Use them how you want.
That said, planning is modular, and you don't need me to walk you through every little detail. By now you should be able to fill out an outline yourself, as we've covered all the essentials. I'll provide both a basic and a comprehensive template for you to copy and paste, should you wish, but after that the training wheels come off.
The story structures that we covered previously are also available as copy-paste templates.
Structure Templates:
Outro
That was everything I wish I knew about Story, Character and Planning when I first joined.
Everything covered here, again, is just a bunch of tools for you to use how you see fit. Don't let your takeaway from this essay be that you have to slavishly follow what's covered here, because that isn't the case. There are so many other techniques and styles out there, and I encourage you to set out and find them.
I just hope this essay gave you the right kit to start that journey with.
Authors' Advice
This section of the essay is a platform for other authors to share advice that they believe has helped them the most. These sections don't strictly relate to Story, Character or Planning, and instead may touch on other topics.
This will be updated as and when advice is submitted to me. If you're interested in offering advice for this essay, leave it in the discussion page or PM me on Wikidot.
Hi I'm awb and Enay grabbed me by my shoulders and DEMANDED I offer some advice to new authors.
Write new genres! Too often do I hear people saying "I can't write x genre" and completely refuse to even give it an attempt. You will improve at writing by writing different genres, even those you don't particularly like. Genres naturally bleed into each other, so knowing how to write different styles will help immensely even if afterwards you decide you'll never be writing that way ever again.
Let me give you an example. You don't like comedy and don't feel you can write it. By opting to give it a go anyway, you will then be able to include comedic relief within other pieces of varying genres, which is a useful tool for breaking tension or putting a reader at ease. Genres are not static.
Make friends. As a new author in a new community, your biggest obstacle to views and upvotes is that nobody knows you. Find like-minded people to form friendships with. Even a handful of allies to help you with crit, promotion, and moral support is a massive advantage. And don’t waste time trying to shmooze with the big names – there’s plenty of newcomers just like you who’d be delighted to gain a friend. Start there, and you’ll have a cadre of buds in no time.
Write about your own life. However outlandish your story is, find some part of it that resonates with your own experience. The more of yourself you put in the story, the more unique it will be. Base your characters, and the way they talk, on real people you know. Put them through the same trials you’ve endured. Have them face the things that scare you most. We’ve had poop statues – we’ve never had YOUR poop statue.
- Jezixo
Resources
A list of resources that the contents of this essay were derived from, and that are helpful for learning the craft of writing.
Books on Story, Character or Planning
STORY by Robert Mckee - The primary resource used for this essay, covering Story, Structure and Character.
Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder - Some concepts from this book were used for this essay, but primarily for the structure itself.
Save The Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody - This is basically the same book as the first Save The Cat!, but it focuses more towards books than screenwriting.
Other Helpful Writing Books
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin - This is mostly a prose book, focusing on the rhythm and musicality of prose.
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose - This book is about learning to read critically, for the sake of improving your own writing.
Online Resources
YouTube Channels:
ThePlottery - A general writing channel that focuses on improving your craft, through the perspective of a professional editor.
Squampopulous - A video-essay channel that covers various writing topics and techniques, and examines what makes them effective.
Brandon Sanderson - A broad-spectrum channel that features many lectures, guides and insights from the author about writing.
