Mary Robinette Kowal gave this talk on story structure: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/blehVIDyuXk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> She uses the MICE quotient (which is from Orson Scott Card): - Milieu - stories about entering and leaving a space - Inquiry - stories about asking and finding answers - Character - stories about angst and character growth - Event - stories about something that disrupts the status quo and the restoration of the status quo Different types of stories can be nested within each other like boxes. The nested boxes must be closed and completed before the encircling boxes can be closed. So a story could start out as a milieu story, then digress into an inquiry story, close the inquiry story, and then close the milieu story. (Inception might be a good example of multiple nesting?) The following formula gives a guide to how many characters and scenes and MICE can fit comfortably into a given length of story. Each character or scene adds 500 to 1000 words. Each additional MICE increases the length by half: $ L=(c+s)750*M*1.5 $ L = length of story in words c = number of characters s = number of scenes M = number of MICE Here's a cool MICE calculator I found online: [https://blackwolfeditorial.com/resources/calculators/#minimum-word-count-calculator](https://blackwolfeditorial.com/resources/calculators/#minimum-word-count-calculator) To open a story, we describe: - Who: what is the character's point of view, their attitude - Where: sensory detail about place - Genre: specific and unique clues to genre This allows the reader to get into the story quickly. Violations of this rule add to the slowness of the story. In the middle, the author's job is to put obstacles between a character and their story objective. We do this by introducing try/fail cycles, which come in 2 forms: - "Yes, but" – they make progress, but there's a setback - "No, and" – they don't make progress, and are pushed back About 2/3rds of the way, the character must start making progress. There must be resolution: - "Yes, and" – they make progress, and a bonus good thing happens - "No, but" – they don't make progress, but something good still happens To close the story, we mirror the beginning: - Who: action / and their reflection upon the action - Where - Genre / Mood: the mood should shift over the course of the story