Saturday, September 15, 2012

Use The Ancient Secrets Of Story Structure To Write A Compelling Novel

Have you ever peruse a good story, or watched a largely good movie that in reality empty you wishing it didn ' t tip? It seems that there are a few books and movies out there that all strike a nerve with a goodly portion of the nationality. Some people observe that there ' s no way of witting beforehand which books will be successful and which ones won ' t. The truth is that there is a basic structure that is in various successful books and movies. And if you are running on writing a novel that you hope many people will buy, read, and enjoy, then knowing this structure can help out quite a bit. And that ' s exactly what you are going to learn in this article.

Many experts have studied mythology from the around the world, going as far back as recorded history. And they ' ve found a striking similarity between all the myth ' s of the world. Joseph Campbell, a mythologist, described this structure in many of his books, namely " The Hero With A Thousand Faces. " By understanding this basic structure, you can weave it into your story and make it much more compelling..

The first part is when you are introduced to the main character. This is somebody just like you and me. A normal, everyday person who has regular wants and needs, and doesn ' t seem to be special in any way. Just like Peter Parker before he became Spiderman, or Harry Potter before he found out he was wizard.

Then, something happens to this person. They are called upon by some kind of unseen forces to go on a journey. They may or may not get some kind of special powers. They may not even have a choice. Their world is upset, and they ' ve got to overcome some major obstacle before going home again.

Along their journey, they meet up with several friends that help them on their quest. Harry Potter met his friends at Hogwarts. Neo met all his friends in " The Matrix, " Luke Skywalker met some friends in the Millennium Falcon. These friends will support the main character along their quest.

Of course, they need to come up against some kind of archenemy. Lord Voldemort, Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch Of The West, Mr. Smith, all of these were the antithesis of the main character in their respective movies. And once they meet these archenemies, they must defeat them, and return home a changed person.

You ' ll find this story structure is very compelling, and it exists, in some form, in many modern stories. By using it in your story, you will have a much higher chance of success.

If you ' ve written a novel and are ready for the next step. Many people have found that the best way to get their novel out there is with the best self publishing companies. You can find out how self publishing can help your book get out there when you visit the self publishing companies website today.