However, not wanting to continue on the wrong path as I write my latest story and theory books, being ordered in paperback, did not appear instantly, so I found myself with a weekend in limbo. What to do?
And then I had the idea to study stories I already had. I would choose 3 and plot their structure and then look for the pattern in each of them. I chose film as reading 3 books would take far longer and 3 films I could manage in a day.
I sat and watched and noted down when they used backstory, when each character was built or dramatic scenes were fitted and it was seriously interesting. I chose a dramatic emotional love story, a chick flick and a straight forward romance. Each had a different structure on the surface and one was far more easy to spot with a pattern. The drama was beautifully structured, the chick flick, less so and the final one I had to struggle to see it. Of course, the books may have been more obvious, but I think I learned a lot. A poor man's guide book.
So, lesson learned: be observant and study others.
The books have arrived now and I will read those too, but I feel I learned a lot this weekend.