Story Recipe

Most people who cook use a recipe at least part of the time, and the most valuable use of a recipe isn’t to “try something new.” It’s when you’re doing something you don’t do that often and you don’t want to forget anything.

And that’s really how I believe the “recipes” of plot structures, beat sheets and stock characters should be used.

But even following a recipe requires “knowing the basics” about how to perform each step, and a lot of the time when it comes to stories…

…those “basics” aren’t as basic as they initially appear.

The theory is that great stories all have certain structures, characters and arcs based on the type of story you want to tell.

This is true, but the question you need to ask is simple:

Do you want your story driven by the structure…

…or do you want the structure to be a function of your story?

Of course, it’s not really one or the other completely—just like following a recipe.

But if the only thing you do is start with the recipe and then go to the store to buy the ingredients…

…the thing is that by the time you realize you need a particular pan by Chapter 3 you didn’t know you needed because you didn’t really fully understand what following the recipe meant…

…your progress will grind to a halt…

…and so will your story.

I don’t want that to happen to you, because I want you to understand what drives all great stories from the inside out vs. the inside in:

The choices the characters make in a given situation based on what they know, the skills they have and the resources available to them.

Because if you focus on making sure all *those* ingredients are in place…

…then any scene in your story…

…is going to basically write itself.

Because the outcome of that scene are going to be coherent, credible and inevitable.

That’s why I wrote the Breakthrough Scene Blueprint for you, so if you’re still struggling to break free of structure-based storytelling…

…or you’re still stuck on your Breakthrough Scene…

…then just grab your copy of the Blueprint using this link:

https://storysys.me/blueprint

Because your story needs to be in the world, not stuck because you don’t know what happens next.

And the best way to get it unstuck…

…is to set things in motion…

…so the story tells itself.

To unlocking the soul of your story,

ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Creator of the Perpetual Story System™