är'kĭ-tĕk'chər
As I sit here in Prague, by my new writing window, I am profoundly inspired by the architecture of this beautiful ….14th century old city. The skyline is absolutely magnificent. Prague has literally been a textbook of architectural styles throughout the centuries.
So today the muse that has inspired my writing is “architecture” a Latin word dating back to the 16th century ….meaning ”the complex and carefully designed structure of something - a particular idea or project.”
Much of my professional career was working with Architects, where I witnessed the evolution of many beautifully designed buildings and the process of how their creative minds approached their work.
I consider myself an “architect” in my own space of writing… in designing the structures of my stories.
Writers, like Architects, plan, design and review the construction of their story projects. They create their story structure and use this creative process of organizing materials and components with consideration to mass, space, form, volume, and texture to achieve all layers of their construction – what is functional, practical and artistic. Stories rely on carefully designed structures to help them function.
As a story architect, I think about the structure early and often.. As soon as I get my idea, I start by considering the best way to tell the story.. there are lots of choices in structure and no right or wrong in your design. I believe the right structure depends on you and the story.
I often consider several alternatives and try different structural approaches.. There are so many structural approaches (to name a few) …Narrative Structure – Inverted Pyramid – Martini Glass – Conflict/Resolution – Circular Story.
As a writing Architect, my efforts are to understand the elements and patterns that determine the makeup of a story and how these elements are arranged and designed in actual narratives, fictional and nonfictional.
