Writing signposts

questions
#1

I was examining the signposts which appear in my structure to get a better handle on the story. But I am not sure what the structure implies beyond the genre level, which is vague.

My OS throughline is Manipulation/Psychology. My first OS signpost is Developing a Plan/Conceptualizing. There are 4 variations and 16 elements within the Type. Should my goal in illustrating and weaving this part of the first signpost be to incorporate all of these variations and elements somehow? Do these 16 elements then need to be assigned to OS characters for signpost 1, and the 4 variations explored in some way, I am guessing with respect to the OS problem?

Yet the Goal, Issue and Problem do not appear until signpost 2. So must I wait until signpost 2 to have the OS characters encounter the OS goal/issue/problem??

#2

Everything in the storyform is about solving the inequity at the heart of your story. If your Goal is to ‘Fight back against the aliens’ and there are no aliens to fight back against until page 50, then this story might not start until page 50. The first 49 pages could be other throughlines or backstory. If you for sure have a scene in that throughline prior to page 50 where the aliens show up, then that sign post, when taken as a whole with the other sign posts, still needs to show an effort to deal with fighting back against the aliens, or, at the very least, needs to still deal with a domain level problem of the same kind. For instance, if your OS is Physics and sp1 is definitely before the aliens show up, they could still be working on fighting back against the aliens by building a giant ray gun used to blast meteors out of the sky that will ultimately be used to fight against the aliens, or they could be dealing with something else in Physics, like competing in the Olympic Games. The storyform will tie it all together and it will make sense.

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#3

No. All you need to do is illustrate the signpost type (Conceptualizing). It should be a source of conflict for this act, and may appear in both small instances and as a larger-scoped thing that applies to the whole act. Let me know if want an example for this.

This is not really accurate. The Goal “exists” from the beginning, even if none of the characters are aware of it until much later.

The Issue and Problem should appear in signpost 1, though these instances may appear different (different gists). For example, maybe the OS Problem of Help for the whole story is something like “helping defend Earth” but in the first signpost it might be “answering a distress call”.

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#4

When the model is twisted up and biased according to your Dynamic choices (MC Resolve, MC Growth, Story Driver, etc.) the Variations and Elements under each Type shift. State of Being, Situation, Circumstances, and Sense of Self are likely not under Conceptualizing now that your story has started.

For an insight into how those have moved around, you can go to Reports > Advanced Reports > Plot Sequence Report

The shifting Elements underneath those are currently not available.

But @mlucas is right – you don’t need those Variations underneath - you just need to show Conceptualizing - even a simple line of dialogue, or an act can be enough to fulfill this Storybeat. If you want to break it down and really explore Conceptualizing - make a story out of it - then go to the Plot Sequence Report.

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#5

Sure, the Goal might exist from the beginning, but as it falls under Playing a Role, which is signpost 2, does that suggest that this is where it first appears in the OS?

It seems I would be mixing up signposts to put the Goal, Issue and Problem in SP1.

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#6

My PSR tells me that for the OS, act one deals with Developing a Plan, explored in terms of Closure, Hope, Dream and Denial.

That quad (Closure, Hope, Dream, Denial) is in Fixed Attitude>>Innermost Desires, and is also labeled MC Benchmark, Forewarnings.

So does the shift you mention reflect some relation between the different throughlines?

What does it mean to associate a set of variations and elements with a type, generally speaking? I am guessing it has to do somehow with the (twisted and biased, as you say) perspective that the characters in a given throughline have on the inequity. Is that correct?

#7

I would search for “Plot Sequence Report” - you will find a TON of information on this question.

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#8

No, your Signpost 2 is a different thing from the Overall Story Concern – a different instance of the same Type (Being aka Playing a Role). It may be similar or quite different to the OS Concern in terms of how you describe it; but its scope is the second act while the Overall Story Concern and Story Goal have a scope of the entire story.

Same with Issue and Problem – they apply to the entire story.

To give an example from the recent novel draft I completed, which also had the OS Domain as Psychology (I will use the original terminology here):

  • The OS Concern was Becoming and had to do with “becoming the defenders that Earth needs.” The Goal was something like “preventing humanity from becoming infected (by the alien Unworlded Virus)”.
  • Signpost 2 also happened to match the OS Concern’s Type in this story. But my Signpost 2 Becoming was basically “becoming members of the secretive Firelion Club”.
  • Meanwhile, the OS Issue of Obligation (obligations to family, friends, club; promises made, oaths given) and OS Problem of Help were present from pretty much the beginning of the story until the climax.

Does that help? Can you see how Signpost 2 (or any particular signpost) has a smaller scope than the OS Concern and Goal?

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#9

I would enjoy reading such a novel :slight_smile:

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#10

Mike has made some parts of the novel’s current (first) draft available to read on his blog, to illustrate how to weave multiple throughlines into one scene:


A Word of Caution: The character Becca uses a lot of strong language in these scenes.
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#12

I will read! Can’t wait.

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