I like simple. The simpler the better. In the research for my current children's-book-adventure-series project, I have tried not to leave a helpful-to-new-writers-resource stone unturned. And, when I discovered this one, I knew that I had hit pay dirt!
Kenn Adams created the original 8-line format of The Story Spine in 1991. He describes it like this: "The Story Spline is both a practical technique for learning how to tell a well-constructed story as well as an outlining tool to help construct a story." Simple isn't it? As I've utilized this tool to streamline the focus of my 4-part adventure series, I've celebrated over and over again its magnificent simplicity.
Here is the complete Story Spline. The whole thing. In its entirety.
Once upon a time...
And every day...
Until one day...
And because of that...
And because of that...
And because of that...
Until finally...
And ever since that day...
That's it. No bells and whistles. No frills. Simple.
I've taken that simple outline and filled in the details for each of my four stories. It has given me confidence that they are structurally sound. Now I am in the process of putting meat and bones on each of them!
In a guest post called "Back to The Story Spline" found at aerogrammestudio.com., Kenn demonstrated how to find The Story Spline in two movies: The Incredibles and The Wizard of Oz (two movies that I greatly admire!). Check those examples out. The Story Spline will knock your socks off in its uncomplicated ingenuity!
In my next post, I am going to end this "naming-names" segment by highlighting the significant influence Dan Wells has had on me with his 4-Part Plot Planner. His dissection of The Matrix movie is fascinating. Come back soon and see what I learned from Dan (and put into practice on my stories!).
Kenn Adams created the original 8-line format of The Story Spine in 1991. He describes it like this: "The Story Spline is both a practical technique for learning how to tell a well-constructed story as well as an outlining tool to help construct a story." Simple isn't it? As I've utilized this tool to streamline the focus of my 4-part adventure series, I've celebrated over and over again its magnificent simplicity.
Here is the complete Story Spline. The whole thing. In its entirety.
Once upon a time...
And every day...
Until one day...
And because of that...
And because of that...
And because of that...
Until finally...
And ever since that day...
That's it. No bells and whistles. No frills. Simple.
I've taken that simple outline and filled in the details for each of my four stories. It has given me confidence that they are structurally sound. Now I am in the process of putting meat and bones on each of them!
In a guest post called "Back to The Story Spline" found at aerogrammestudio.com., Kenn demonstrated how to find The Story Spline in two movies: The Incredibles and The Wizard of Oz (two movies that I greatly admire!). Check those examples out. The Story Spline will knock your socks off in its uncomplicated ingenuity!
In my next post, I am going to end this "naming-names" segment by highlighting the significant influence Dan Wells has had on me with his 4-Part Plot Planner. His dissection of The Matrix movie is fascinating. Come back soon and see what I learned from Dan (and put into practice on my stories!).
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