Story Form and Structure

A finalist in The People's Book Prize, 2022, 'Story and Structure' tells the untold story of how story works. Using just six primary symbols, author Leon Conrad outlines eighteen story structures and shows how they all optimally solve the problems which give rise to them. The book also demonstrates the much wider application of story, presenting new insights into story as a dynamic force of life, allowing the reader to access more harmony and flow in their life. Writers, storytellers, creative writing teachers, folklorists, narrative therapists, anthropologists, poets, and readers interested in how story works will all find this book useful and informative. Rethink your idea of story.

FRONTIERS IN …, 2006

In recent times, information presentation has evolved towards sophisticated approaches that involve multi-modal aspects and character-based mediation.

2009

The stories of engineering heroes can serve as an exciting means of engaging young students in engineering concepts that are linked to their math and science curriculum. This research explores the development of a storytelling framework including the story of an engineer, a hands-on activity for exploring a related engineering idea, reinforcement of standard math and science curriculum and assessment of the effectiveness of the storytelling medium to teach and inspire young students. Storytelling principles are used to develop these narratives into compelling and engaging stories through the perspective of an individual character. Archival and other scholarly materials on fascinating figures in engineering are used to construct the stories. Following the story, a hands-on activity supports the exploration of the engineering concept related to the engineer's story. A pre- and post-story test are used to assess the effectiveness of the story and activity to learn about what engineers do, and the specific engineering idea.

Finding Your Research Voice, 2019

Shaping the Dramatic Arc The shape of your story is a critical component in effectively transmitting your core message and inspiring interest in your research. Many researchers make the mistake of assuming that presenting the facts in a logical, sequential manner will be the most effective way to convey the content of their work and the professionalism of their approach. The problem is your audience may be asleep before you communicate your essential finding and may remember little of what you worked so hard to tell them. When someone steps into a room (a theater, a lecture hall, a conference auditorium) and sits down to listen to a speaker who wants to engage their attention for a period of time, they unconsciously begin to expect certain storytelling events to happen. They expect the speaker to pique their curiosity, transport them to another place, and keep them wondering how the story will end (Heath & Heath, 2007). Why does this matter? Scientists come to a conference or research presentation to hear about science and just want the facts, right? Yes and no. The science must be presented credibly, but facts are dull and hard to remember. People viewing a presentation seek an emotional or intellectual connection. Gallo called this "brain-to-brain coupling" (2014), and it is this coupling that stimulates your audience to pay attention. A good story introduces situations that pose compelling questions. Heath and Heath named this question-posing strategy "the gap theory," because a good speaker needs to open a gap in a body of knowledge before closing it with facts. In a research talk, opening a gap creates the need to know something about your topic. The gap Electronic supplementary material The online version of this chapter (

International Journal of Education and Social Science Research

The meaning and function of plot in narrative texts is thoroughly examined in contemporary literary and critical theory, having been also discussed in classical Greek and Roman works of criticism. A recurrent matter of interest in plot-reflected also in creative writing handbooks-is its relation to story, as plot is usually described as the chronological and causal arrangement of the fictional characters' actions and narrative events. This paper attempts to introduce students of creative writing to the concept of plot, providing a concise presentation of some of the main theoretical approaches to it from different, yet closely linked, aspects: as a fixed structure or design, as a dynamic process of evolving structuration and, moreover, as manipulation of readers' desire and expectation, which permeates, as it is argued, the different ways of conceptualizing plot.

2016

Story grammars are sometimes referred to as story schemata (Rumelhart, 1980). They were conceptualized in response to observations that most stories share common characteristics. For example, most stories "involve a sort of problem solving motif" (Rumelhart, 1980, p. 313) which follows a three part structure in which the hero 1) sets a goal, 2) struggles to overcome obstacles or solve problems on the way to the goal, and 3) culminates with reaching the goal or the consequences of engaging in the struggle. What makes story grammar interesting for Rumelhart is 7 How to Teach Narratives:A Survey of Approaches

Every story has its own unique constituents such as characterization, theme or narration while some of them lack the elements which, actually, are to be elaborated. In case of the remark which highlights that the term "component" enforces rules to writers and mars the originality of the work, the purpose is to comprise an elegant story-telling of these basic components, which helps broaden the readers' horizon and gain their interest, instead of distracting them from story-reading.

2009

We analyze the style and structure of story narrative using the case of film scripts. The practical importance of this is noted, especially the need to have support tools for television movie writing. We use the Casablanca film script, and scripts from six episodes of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). For analysis of style and structure, we quantify various central perspectives discussed in McKee's book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting.

Academia Medicine, 2024

There are currently over 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide and this number is growing. Previous research has highlighted refugees’ vulnerability and increased risk of developing mental health problems, and there has been a growing body of research focusing on Ukrainian refugees specifically since the Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2022. The aim of this review is to explore the current literature on the mental health of Ukrainian refugees. A systematic search was carried out and identified 21 relevant papers that met inclusion criteria. Common themes were generated using narrative synthesis principles across the included papers. Four themes were identified: (1) General Psychological Distress, (2) Common Mental Health Problems, (3) PTSD and Trauma, and (4) Coping and Resilience. This review sheds light on the current mental health of Ukrainian refugees and highlights a number of risk and mitigating factors in relation to specific mental health conditions. Implications for future research, interventions, and support are discussed, and the strengths and limitations are considered.