The structure of your story is very important not only for its development but also for its success. If your story does not have the right structure and smooth development, you will have a hard time grabbing the attention of any publisher. The best way to make sure you cover your bases is by building a solid story arc that not only supports your story but makes it intriguing for the reader as well.

Understanding what is a Story Arc

Story arc or the narrative arc is basically the shapes the overall theme, tension and the feel of your story. The pace of your story, character development, and plot development all depend upon the story arc that you create. While you are writing your draft, make sure you have a concrete start, middle, and end of your plot. Nothing should be left vague or halfhearted; the more concrete ideas you have, the better it is going to be for the future.

How to Create a Brilliant Story Arc?

There are certain things that you can do to make sure your story arc is complete, concise and perfect for the development of the story. These include:

Taking help from the classics is the best way to go. Classics can help you in more ways than one. You can borrow the arc from classic stories - some of the most common arcs include rags to riches and the rise and fall of a character. Give your characters their own arc, make them complex, give them background and then give them a goal to achieve.

Plan your story by using the 5 W’s. The W’s (what, when, why, who and where act as the basic structure of your story. These will not only help you develop your story better but will allow you to be more creative with your work. Take a look at each W and see how it affects the story and what kind of impact it should have.

If it helps you, try to make a visual diagram of the structure of your novel. Shape out your story like that. Make a timeline and add in the core events of your story along with its themes. Visualize your story and make a diagram of it so that you can see which part works the best. It will help you sustain your narrative tension, help you maintain the attention of readers and make sure they stick with you until the end.

Create smaller story arcs that will help put tension in the story, make the narrative interesting and overall support the main conflict of the story. The smaller arcs will help in character development as well as strengthen the themes.

Make sure that the action is not lost when the story reaches its middle. This is where a strong story arc and the visual representation of your story’s flow will come in handy. Keep the middle of the story strong; strengthen it with action and tension so that you have a bigger and wider base to build the end of the story.