Three story Method Foundations of Fiction by J. Thorn
Some fiction stories last generations or more. They stick with humans, transcending time and space, moving along through oral renditions when paper is not available, written and rewritten for each more modern age.
What makes these stories stick like that? And how can we write a story that will last longer than the modern attention span?
That is the question so many writers have.
J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon came up with one answer together: foundations.
Just as a house that outlasts weathering and war for centuries has a firm foundation, so too do these stories. A firm foundation for fiction has six layers to it: plot, structure, genre, theme, character and world, according to Aristotle.
J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon agree.
But while that might make sense when you read it as a writer, it’s hard to know how to take that theory and put it into practice in your writing. Sure, we need a plot and structure and… well, genre, okay. But how does genre and theme get worked into it? And why not start with character? And what is the difference between plot and structure?
All very good questions that cross our minds at lightning speed when we see these sorts of writing commentary. In other words, WE NEED MORE than just this idea that a good story needs a foundation of plot, structure, genre, theme, character and world.
How do we get more?
Over the course of ten years of writing fiction together, Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn found they needed more as well. They came up with a method to follow to keep their co-written fiction consistent, eventually it calling the Three Story Method. After talking with other writers who were also in need of a method for writing fiction, they decided to put this book together as Three Story Method: Foundations of Fiction. The wonderful thing about this book is that they TELL US HOW TO PUT THIS FOUNDATION TOGETHER AND BUILD THE STORY ON TOP OF IT.
First, we must understand the idea of using a method for story writing. Just like many writers, I too thought that I didn’t need any method. In fact, I thought methods would burn up my creativity, but that simply isn’t true. Methods are a way to go about doing something. Even if you want to ‘pants’ your way through a novel (that is, not have an outline but allow the story to come as you write) you should still have knowledge of storytelling methods.
Understanding what makes a great story, what stories are at their heart and how to build a good foundation for your story, will help you FINISH the story, will help you write it FASTER, and it will help you spend less time EDITING it.
There are several writing methods out there. This is just one. But it’s a good one.
Three Story Method
Three Story Method is an easy to read book on a certain method that builds upon the ideas of Aristotle. For research J. Thorn read over 40 books on crafts by the greats such as Steven King, Joseph Campbell, Christopher Vogler, Maureen Murdock, and more. Don’t worry, Three Story Method is not a regurgitation of what Aristotle said hundreds of years ago or what anyone has said before. Instead it’s gives homage to the greats and their theories, breaking them all down for us mortals who just want to write a story to understand.
J. Thorn admits that a story at it’s core is three things: a beginning, a middle and an end. True enough. So taking the foundations set forth by Aristotle (Plot, Structure, Genre, Theme, Character and World), Thorn groups them into three pairs in order to break them down further. Then he sets up how to use this in the three-act structure and then pulls us even closer into the three things we need for each act: Conflict, Choice and Consequence.
Sound simple?
It is. And best of all, he uses Star Wars to show us exactly how this is done, giving hints, helps and pointers on how writers can do it for their own stories. It’s easy to follow, easy to understand and easy to put into practice. On top of that, there is a workbook that goes with the book to take the method as far as you want.
For anyone who wishes to understand craft a bit more, who is looking for a method to work with in their writing or who is interested in how stories that last years are created, I recommend this one.