How to plot a story

I tried to click to open and I can't see it or make it larger.

 

@JBean keep in mind these graphics are just reminders. Unless you've read up on the hero's journey arc you don't know what any of those little phrases mean. And I don't think your story is a hero's journey. That would be a very classical, traditional kind of thing, where there's a call to adventure and a mentor and the main character goes through great struggles and difficulties to transform himself into a hero—some sort of journey through an underworld where he must face and confront his own inner demons, and then he emerges, purified and strong and capable of being a great warrior.

Yours sounds like a much more modernist story. In modernist stories there's no sense of struggling and winning, because there's no sense that the world inherently has meaning, or that truth will prevail etc. Modernist stories are much more existential—there's no real meaning in anything, the world doesn't necessarily make sense, life just is what it is and we must make the best of it. There's no good guys and bad guys, just random people who sometimes get into conflict against each other or try to connect. They're about struggling to find meaning or purpose in a meaningless world.

I don't see any emphasis in your story on a character becoming a hero, or even pursuing a deeply meaningful course in life. It feels more like a slice-of-life thing, where people's paths cross and connections are made, but ultimately nothing comes of it. Nothing deep and lasting anyway. That sounds pretty existential to me, not classical hero's journey stuff.

In fact I'd say the real point behind modernist stories is that the classical stories don't reflect reality for most people (who don't generally become heroes). Modernism is a critique of classical beliefs in meaning and the value of truth etc. They're basically saying "Nope, that's not what life is really like. It's pretty random and meaningless."

 

Spoiler: large image)

 

Agreed- very much so, with on your analysis here. You summed what I was thinking up very well that I could not put into words. That is why it makes this harder, in my case. I know these tools are all just supposed to help guide the writing process, not necessarily write the book for me sort of thing, just learning how to utilize them for my purposes is the challenging part. Then after all is said and done-- have to put it all together!! LOL

When I have a little more free time I am going to go back and re-read through this entire thread and take notes and try to summarize everything that has been suggested, mentioned, etc. There has been so much helpful guidance that I am beginning to lose track of earlier comments and getting rather disorganized in the process and needing to go back and formulate a recap of all the points made.

Among it will be writing a list of every book or film that has been suggested and for what purpose.

I am inclined to ask also for some suggestions on any books anyone can think of that are structured similarly to mine, that offer a good example of showing two characters' relationship/love grow over time, throughout the story?

 

I'll say a few more things that might help you understand all this story structure stuff, the various strains of it and reactions against it.

Robert McKee, one of the big writers on story structure, who's deeply familiar with the variations, divides it into three basic categories—Narrative, Minimalism, and Anti-Narrative. Narrative technique is the classical approach, basically it's the three act structure and its variations (four-act, five-act etc). The Hero's Journey is a particular take on the three-act structure.

I've said this before on this thread, but I'm trying to put all this into perspective now, so there will be a bit of repetition. Storytelling is the native language of the human mind, it's how we impart ideas to each other and how we think to ourselves. Logic, reason, the scientific method—all of that came much later and really are very specific variations on standard storytelling. Storytelling was with us from the very beginning, as we crouched around the fires and the hunters related the tales of their exploits, originally through pantomime and then, when we had spoken language, verbally. And the natural structure to a story is in three parts—an introduction, the main body of the story, and then a conclusion. So the three-act structure isn't somebody trying to impose rules on anybody, it's really just the way story works.

In the modern age there's been a reaction against this classical structure. That's what McKee calls Minimalism and Anti-Narrative. Minimalism actually does use the three-act structure or some variation on it, but it's minimized to the point that it's hard to see it unless you look pretty deeply. Anti-narrative is built on the idea of "I'm going to deliberately break all these rules." Or at least some of them.

So this is why it's often said that all story derives in some way from the three-act structure—either by using it or some variation of it, by minimizing it (trying to hide it), or by reacting deliberately against it.

This is why I say it's important to at least learn about the three-act structure. Without understanding what it is, you're going to be lost.

 

Same goes for a negative change arc, but in reverse.
Characters in disillusionment and corruption arcs will end in a place that’s a darker reflection of their beginning,
while characters in fall arcs will end up in a place that’s the same as the beginning, only worse.

Flat arc characters won’t change themselves, but the world and the characters around them will be drastically different from how they were in the beginning of the story.

I was reading through the links provided earlier, for this specifically, about character arcs and how to find which one is yours. Given that, it has been suggested many times that with my story it seems most appropriate for Chris to have a flat arc (which sounds very bad until reading what, exactly, that means). Upon further reading (quoted above) I am seeking some clarity on the subtle differences of the two above named types of arcs.

They seem almost the same. I feel like Chris falls well into either, just unsure which more appropriately, and better understanding how these two are different would help determine this. To me: "darker reflection of their beginning" and "same as the beginning, only worse"

How are these different/the same?

I feel like Chris is definitely in a worse place at the end of the story. Life has done a number on him by the end. At the beginning when he and Ben meet he is still very optimistic or enthusiastic about life and taking pleasure in experiences. He's sweet and happy and confident and by the time he's dying in England and he's been through the wringer he is dark and depressed and angry and disenchanted. Physically he is no longer optimal because of being sick and the effect of all the years of living life hard has done to his body and mind.

Ben on the other hand, is though heart broken and lonely, ends at the story all the more connected to his feelings and ready to break away from his comfort zone whereas he probably would have never had anything that inspires him to move on or change his life. Chris opens his world. It goes from static to interesting. He's never ignorant or anything like that, but I guess it just never occurs to him at any point that he has access to the world outside his own life anyone else does. His younger sister goes to school and goes off and gets married and flees the city to go live in the suburbs in NJ. The rest of his family has moved on from the city. He's left behind to fend for himself against endless odds and never quite able to get ahead until Chris. It's still a struggle, that is part of the plot, but there's less motivation to.

That being said, I believe Ben very much to have a positive change character arc. In the end he does VERY well because of the bequest from Chris.

 

It sounds like Chris has a fall arc (a big fall into despair) and yeah, Ben is just beginning a new positive change arc at the end of the story.

Maybe Ben was stuck because of Chris, he always felt like something might happen, they might get together, or whatever, and it kept him frozen, unable to move on, until Chris died. That freed him.

 

Hmmm, that is a very interesting perspective. I'd have to think a lot more on that but I can see that especially in that whole post-breakup/pre-death period of 82-85 where there is this unknown for Ben, this possibility that Chris *may* resurface in his life at any point... like how he sits up all night watching out the window for him to come back after their fight. He's holding his breath hoping and waiting.

In a way I can kind of see that a little in both of them, honestly. Chris in this holding pattern of living day to day to find the most readily available pleasure or distraction in life to satiate his boredom and loneliness- as if he's killing time waiting for Ben, too, and can't bear being alone . The city seemingly is his world as if he does not exist outside it yet he leaves it behind once Ben being a part of it with him won't be an option.

As for Ben- I assumed he's stuck because of his circumstances. If he wasn't tied down by his baby mama and his kids and if only he and Chris had had more time together undivided he could have committed to crossing over entirely into Chris' world. It is an interesting idea you propose @Xoic and it kind of relates to a scene in the modern part of the story after Ben's daughter has learned all about Chris and how much it hurt him, how much guilt and blame he places on himself for Chris's downfall, she offers the suggestion to her dad that he may have done everything differently, become involved and lived together and Chris' outcome may still have been the same and that there is no guarantee having gotten together early on would have saved him from himself. Chris may not have been able to be faithful to Ben, even as a couple, and hurt him in the long run and worse yet- they both could have been infected with AIDS. Long story short, she yells at him to stop blaming himself and try to see possible silver lining. It may have been a blessing in disguise and he dodged a serious bullet- or both their lives could have been exponentially different and happy. Chris and Ben could have become one of those couples Chris was so envious of who buy a home in the country together, etc etc.

So the next question is, if Chris in fact has a fall arc vs. flat arc, does that impact using a picaresque format at all?

 

It hit me just now and I had to rush to the computer to write out my thoughts before I lost them!!!!! I understand it.

They are in essence the answer to one another’s questions in life. They are meant to be, they're perfect for each other! But at the same time there is an ugly dichotomy within this harmonious relationship. Chris gives Ben his first taste of what life could be like for him if he were not from the disadvantaged life he is from and was suddenly emancipated from all his stress, financial hardship and obligations and could enjoy relaxing for a change; with no responsibilities or worry.

At the same time, though Chris is a very good person and he is not nefarious nor is he an antagonist or trying to thwart Ben in any way- he is a deeply tortured and lost soul and trouble seems to follow him everywhere. He is a victim of his own life. The next drama and next disaster or need to be rescued is constantly looming around the corner and because of that there is always this worry for Benny, this sense of impending doom, never sure what is going to happen next or when- the beach, the bad trip after smoking angel dust, the emotional crisis calls in the middle of the night, the call late on Christmas Eve from the hospital needing a ride home after getting beat up, etc, etc.

Ben loves Chris very much and it destroys him to witness these bad things. The constant drama is emotionally exhausting- especially since it only goes backwards, it never gets better. I can connect now how this is how Chris holds Ben back and his death would set him free in a way, not that Ben doesn’t care for him or wishes he didn’t or seeks a way out- but because Ben is holding his breath waiting for the other shoe to drop as he knows he can’t help him or that Chris will never call with good news someday.

I can relate this to when my older sister passed away and the ironic feeling of relief it brought. She was in a very bad life pattern and it was only getting worse, never better. I wanted her life to be amazing and for something good to happen to her for a change and it never did. Get the jobs she applied for and really wanted, anything. Was waiting for her life to start being good and normal, for her to get back on track. I miss her deeply, the way she was before her life got so whack back when we used to have good times together, but I don't miss that merry-go-round of bad stuff. Coming around once in a while only to borrow money from my mom, that sort of thing.

Chris is his pride and joy, his inspiration yet he is a harbinger to his peace of mind and tranquility.

 

Actually that probably isn't a fall arc. I don't know much about them, but I think it's supposed to be a really big fall, like from wealth to poverty, or from being celebrated and adored to being hated by the public. And you don't have to necessarily follow all the conventions of a genre. Most stories these days blend together several different genres. I would just think about a picaresque character study as a model, but then write the story. I don't really think about genre when I'm writing (of course I also haven't been published), and I don't think most people do. I certainly wouldn't care to write specifically to a genre and try to make sure I hit all the beats for it.

 

The difficult part is filling in the middle and linking it all together. How do I show these concepts through character interactions and dialogue? Some of it I have done fairly well, or at least gives me a good start.

It is still murky in my mind as I work on tightening up the plot or structure or point a to point b of it all but it is slowly taking shape, I think, I hope! I can visualize the pattern of how it happens.

 

I would write it down, the goalposts and beats inbetween. Thats what helps me keep my narrative together, just writing down how I want my story to go in short little bulletpoints, such as:

"The child will be very powerful but lack control, learns more tips and tricks as time goes by, explores his own powers and learns his limits, ultimately his magical knowledge will not matter against the main villain who is an evil mastermind sorceress, must think of a way to defeat the main evil without his powers."

Kind of a spoiler for my book Voodoo House, lol, but if anyone was planning to buy it I feel like they would've by now, so it should be fine. That was part of my commonplace notebook pages of notes for this story, even though I didn't have the final battle completely planned out I still knew I wanted him to defeat the enemy without using magic which I felt would be a more satisfactory and impressive victory than just the same old "I'm more powerful/skillful than you" that I've seen in many fantasy novels. But it took me several long months to even finish my book, so by the time I got to the last chapter I had time to think on it and the idea came to me eventually. I find inspiration in nature and going out, whether it be to the art museum, or just walking around my college, or going shopping, or hanging out with friends, etc etc. Whenever I feel drained and/or suffering from writer's block, I always find it best to get out and live a little to refill my battery.

I heard someone else say (don't ask me who, it might've been an interview I saw on TV) that when you get writer's block then you have to go out and do something, because you can't write if you aren't living and having experiences and absorbing new information, not exactly how she worded it but you get the gist. I do that naturally anyway, so that was very affirming to here someone else verbalize what I felt in heart.

 

Sorry for such a delayed response on this! My timing was bad with the hack to the forum and such. When you have gaps in your outline do you feel like you need to invent something to fill it? I have tried outlining following the 3 act structure and stuff and I keep finding I am not really sure where certain pivotal scenes would best be plopped down- that is if I am trying to follow the guidelines. You had used a word previously- forumlaic. SO appropriate to how this all feels.

I found myself questioning if some rather significant alterations to the storyline were necessary or valuable and when I proposed my idea the other night to my BF he was stunned and immediately began dissuading me from this. He said what he understands my story to be and that it is good the way it is, according to everything I've told him, and that he's worried that in my coming here I am overthinking (doubting?) my work too much and that it is OK for it to be a bit different and that it doesn't necessarily have to follow what everyone says it should.

When I was just outlining or guess creating timelines it seems the story came together better than trying t create these formulaic sections where x, y and x go and then blah blah blah. Then I 360 and end up back where I started and what brought me here--- a bunch of scenes with murky sense of how to put it all together and no discernible physical plot-ish.

 

Ultimately its your story and you know best. I told my sister how my book ends and her immediate reply wasn't "thats a good twist!" but instead she said "But something good happens in the next book to balance out the bad, right?" So instead of appreciating the tragic twist at the end of the story, she was worried about the overall plot and whether the next book would rectify the negative outcome for our main character. She didn't see the big picture, she was too focused on how she thought it should end or rather how it should continue. She's not even much of a reader, but I just got excited and thought to share it with her, haha, obviously I stopped doing that as much, especially for people who don't even read a lot. But even if they are avid readers, your opinion matters more because you ultimately know how you want your story to end. Its always important to edit yourself too, its just you have to follow your gut, if you're really passionate about something just make sure its well executed in the story and everything should be fine.

Its best to only ask opinions when you really really want or need opinions, and coming here is a great place for that considering we are experienced writers. My advice is to just go with the flow and every so often, maybe when you have writers block even, then reread some of your writings and edit any grammatical errors and double check to make sure its everything you dreamed it to be.

 

Yes. Everything you said- agreed 100%. I have been down this road before, anytime I start seeking help it leads me to question or second guess myself. Considering I don't consider myself a "writer" and it's picked up on by others very quickly, I compare anything I am doing to what good writers do.

Of course while reading other books to help get the juices flowing- sometimes it is discouraging and I want to give up because it's this feeling like, man! I could never have said x in that way or that was so clever!! My bf will often remind me that books that have beautiful prose and language- even if I could or would write that way, it wouldn't be right for the tone/theme of my story. So that being said, outside perspective can help save me from my own insecurities yet also play into them.

It is correct that it is my story and only I know it best. I keep asking for suggestions here on plot or scene ideas and yeah there is a fine line between asking people to "write my story for me" like I am struggling with coming up with the scene I currently have another post about with the intent on fleshing out all the details and stuff but I can't come up with the actual basis for the scene!

 

Honestly I think you need to stick with your initial idea. That was for a very unstructured story, and it seems to resist structuring when you try. To reduce it to a genre story (almost a formula) would do it a strong disservice I think.

I guess it comes down to what's your purpose in writing it? Is it to try to make the bestseller list? Or is it more that you have something important you're trying to figure out or that wants to express itself through you, and your job is just to get it down in some form, maybe try to wrestle it into some kind of vague shape? That's more the feeling I get from the posts you're making. It seems the ideas just keep emerging from somewhere, and your job is mostly to get them down in some form. You're a discovery writer. If you try to overstructure it then you shut off the fountain of discovery. Maybe it isn't important to get it published or end up with a popular book, maybe what's more important is the material itself. Some ideas don't lend themselves to a lot of structure.

It's not necessarily even a picaresque, maybe it's more like literary fiction? In published stories, even at the literary end of things, there's usually some vague kind of structure, but it can be very minimal, or maybe sometimes nonexistant. But maybe the goal isn't to become a published writer, maybe the ideas themselves are what's important. You're dreaming a sort of waking dream, maybe the dream just needs to dream itself through you.

It sounds like sort of a lifetime project. By which I don't mean The Lifetime Channel, but more that the story might just keep emerging from your mind. Maybe it isn't for the general public so much as it's for you. Or maybe you just need to learn the basics of loose structuring and try to write it up in some sprawling form.

 

This is a good question. Ultimately, what is OP trying to achieve by completing the story? Depending on that what he needs to do might change. If he really wants to get published so people read his book, I think he'll have to structure it one way or another so agents pick it up in the first place. It's just too loose right now, like a mountain of disorganized ideas. So many people have nicely structured stories and they still have trouble getting picked up for publication. Just look at the rejection thread started by deadrats!

On that note, did JBean ever post an excerpt of his writing? There has been so much discussion around this story but we haven't even seen a single page of it. His writing in itself might provide some insight as to why he struggles so much with the book. Maybe it's all over the place and without direction. Or maybe not, I don't know.

Have you considered posting the first chapter on the workshop @JBean ? (Do note that you need to write two critiques first)

 

No, I am too chicken sh&t to share anything, just yet. I only have isolated scenes, some that I linked together... at one time there was a "chapter 1" but that has since disintegrated, especially now that I have decided it might help create more of a plot or unified series of physical events that move the story forward by shifting around the order of things a bit. It may mean discarding the stuff I added more recently that takes place in 2002, unless I save all that stuff for the end. Just as a recap since it's all in my head and can't expect that anyone else remembers, this was how I had it structured when I first landed here:

This version tends to lend itself more to following the character(s) through a journey and is more about revelation meaning there is not a lot of info at the beginning and things get revealed later.

Beginning:
Present day aka 2002 where we meet MC in his established life as a middle aged guy, receives email from a woman, the daughter of someone from his past and summoning him to meet because she essentially was tasked with tracking him down to give him a letter her father wrote as he was dying. MC's daughter sees email and wants to know more- she learns, as an adult, her father has been keeping some massive secrets for years.

Middle:
Flashback begins following his unfolding relationship with this person, Chris, throughout 1973-1982

End:
Back to 2002, secrets about his past are revealed, MC then goes to England where he discovers Chris had been from a very wealthy family and gets the chance to learn the things he never knew about his deceased friend/lover. The trip brings closure to what has been a deeply buried painful memory. ​

So that being said-- in an effort to create more plot structure-- I am working on outlining the story from a structure more like this. This is still very shaky because I am not sure what info or how much should be revealed at the very beginning of the story so haven't decided yet the best way to approach it without giving way too much right away. This version tends to focus more, I think, on the overall change for Ben given Chris' death. Still working on the order of events that make most sense as I prefer not to reveal anything about Chris or his backstory until after the flashbacks.

New structure ideas:
England, 1985. Chris has recently passed away. It is learned a considerable amount is left in his will to someone of an identity unfamiliar to his wife. MC , Ben, is introduced in his current life in Brooklyn. He receives unexpected communication from England (from the estate lawyer? family? Not sure how this would work). No one except Chris' 18 year old daughter is aware if who Ben is/was to her father, as she had spent a lot of time getting to her know him while he was sick and in going through his personal belongings after he passed away. She had been tasked to track down Ben and give him a letter he wrote before he died (mentioned above).

Ben travels to England where he discovers Chris' back ground. He has already been buried and all and the backstory begins as Ben gets the opportunity to go through various things that spark his memories of their relationship some years earlier. He learns that Chris included him in his will.

Story wraps up in 2002 showing Ben as a middle aged guy and the new life he has compared to when the story starts out because of the things that happened and what Chris had left him when he died.

 

Yes yes and yes!

It's a world I love and want to bring to life, to share with others and put in their imaginations and hearts. In my wildest fantasies, I dream about one day completing it and it being made into a movie. That is my ultimate life fantasy. Sadly, the absolute perfect person I know of, he only person I have seen in my life who comes the closest to ever being able to bring to life my Christopher would have been River Phoenix- and I just learned this last week when I unintentionally stumbled across a photo of him online that struck me immediately as somewhat Christopher-esque. I lunged into a deeper search to discover for the first time in my life more about this woeful actor we lost too soon. I never ever ever realized. I only remembered him in Stand By Me (which I believe you actually referenced previously, @Xoic ) It brought on instant obsessive maddening joy to start binge watching his movies and interviews and start gathering the plethora of images from online where he resembles Chris. Everything about him, his facial expressions, his mannerisms, his voice- oh man. It makes me want to CRY because he could have played him and brought my character to life almost 100%.

I bought My Own Private Idaho the same night I made my discovery and loved it, his character is such a personifcation of Chris. One day, maybe, I might share some of my character boards. I went into overload with all the photos of RP. I downloaded or screenshot at least 2-3 dozen different images of him and made a new character board that included my favs and most Chris-like ones.


That's really what I want- to bring this world that lives in my mind to life. Sometimes I half joke that it's all past life regression. Things always seem to just naturally fall into place or lead me perfectly into the next thing- like how a conversation with co workers about Corey Feldman transpired into my Googling him later which led to discovering RP could have played my Christopher on screen.

Would it be amazing to finish this story into a novel and have it published and read and loved by others who love both characters and feel for them as I do and feel bad for them as I do and root for the two of them to get together and look forward to the movie? Ab-so-friggin-lutely. I want the movie to come out 15 years ago! It would be my fav movie. It's everything about it that I feel and want to bring to life- that era, the settings, the emotion, the characters themselves, Chris' wardrobe, his adorable apartment. All of it. I wish I had a Benny- that's for sure. I could definitely be down with that.

I want to capture things about that era as they really were. Maybe I just live in the past- IDK. Anytime I see a "Benny" out there in the world I go nuts lol but I also would be dangerously intoxicatingly poisoned with Chris, too, if I was Benny. The real life me is more like Chris, that is who my alter ego is more of. As the creator and mind of both characters who can feel everything they can to the extent that that do- of actually being able to cry or feel anger when I am in a scene in my head- theirs is a dangerously deep love. The kind that can drive a person to madness. Just as I have this newfound infatuation with RP- it's only because of the ways in which he makes me think of Chris. I am not attracted to him like that- I just can't stop loving the idea of him as Chris. That sounds weird, I know. I honestly suspect sometimes I lived in another life and feel like I am searching and drawn to certain things just remind me or like familiar things might help lead me to what I am trying to find?

 

Lol well, you don't ask much, do you?

The reason I was aksing is, there would be different routes depending on what your goals are. If your interest is in getting published, then I'd say your best bet would be to learn story structure and write it as genre fiction. Meaning nicely structured and fairly short. Of course if you want to be a published author it's highly doubtful your first book is going to sell or even be published. Look at the rejections thread to see how many people are on their 4th or 5th book and still hoping to get anything published. Generally you need to write several books before you learn your stuff well enough to start getting published (if it's ever going to happen).

From the things you've said so far (up to this last post) it sounded like you didn't care about the writing rules or getting published. I thought you had this idea you really loved and you wanted to write it up, rules be damned, exactly as it presents itself to you. Art for art's sake rather than for money's sake.

I mean yes, it's possible to get a story published that doesn't follow the genre rules, but you'd have to be a successful literary fiction author, or whatever, to get a nearly structureless book published. I don't know what the rules are like in the litfic world, but for genre fiction they have rules for how long a debut book can be. They're not going to publish some massive rambling tome unless they're pretty sure it's going to sell well, meaning you need to be an established writer whose work sells like hotcakes.

And of course a movie being made from it is entirely beyond your control. Getting anything published is beyond your control. The only thing that's entirely within your control is actually writing it.

 

Oh, okay. I get it. Perhaps though, instead of the workshop, you can PM the a sample of the book. I'll give you my thoughts and perhaps some insight as to why you're struggling so much.

A big part of that is first deciding an audience to target. OP's book sounds like it would fall into the genre "queer literature" which encompasses many categories like "gay fiction", which is what this is.

I'm not familiar with that market at all, but it sounds like there might be an audience there for you. You should be able to find agents that take in such manuscripts I imagine. But you might want to seek some specialized advice on that front from people who actually read such books. I don't. I am a Sci-Fi person.

And this. At the end of the day, markets will always exist and you'll probably find one if you try hard enough. But no writing means no market for sure. You need to write. Get reading, writing, reading, writing and something might happen someday. That's what I did. There was a book I wanted to realize and I did that. In retrospect, it needs re-writing, but at least I wrote and realized that. If I didn't take that step that would never happen.

Of course, if you feel you need to figure out a structure first, do that

 

Do they allow loose rambling stories of hundreds of thousands of words for a debut author? My guess is they don't. I don't think gay fiction is any different from straight fiction when it comes to what the publishers are looking for from an unproven new author. Loose, rambling and unstructured has its place, but I think that's mostly in lific, and I don't know what the publishing rules are there for new authors.

Maybe people don't understand what I was saying. I'll try to be more clear.

You ( @JBean ) need to decide what your goal is in writing this story. Do you want to write the story however it emerges from your mind, loose and unstructured, and however long it turns out to be? In that case you're writing for art's sake and aren't concerned with the restrictions of genre publishers. Do whatever you want. Make it a loose rambling picaresque with no structure or very little.

If on the other hand your goal is to get it published, you'd be far better off learning story structure and writing it as genre fiction, keeping it under 150,000 words or whatever the number is in your genre for a debut author, and keeping it tightly structured. But also be aware not many writers manage to get the first story they write published. It generally takes many years of writing, and several finished books, before one gets in.

As for Stand By Me, that was Stepehn King, based on his novelette The Body. From reading his book On Writing, he doesn't seem to use any kind of structure, at least he doesn't plot stories out or outline them, but whatever he does works for him. The stories become bestsellers overnight, so the publishers let him do whatever he does. I think when he entered the business restrictions were a lot looser (not sure about that). But at any rate, I also think even though he doesn't use standard outlining or plotting devices, his stories still include the standard genre elements of character motivation, forward drive toward a goal that's blocked by an antagonist, rising action, and a climax, which are the basics of story structure. They hook a reader in the beginning and include an inciting incident that kicks off the story. I don't remember if he studied story structure or if he absorbed it just by reading and carefully examining what he read, but in any event his stories do seem to conform pretty well to it. And even when they veer away from it, he gets special leeway from his publishers because he's a bestselling author. He's one of their big cash cows, so they don't question his method. Once you become that you can do whatever you want, and as long as it keeps working then you're golden. The problem is getting there in the first place. It's pretty tough just to get published these days, I think a lot tougher than it was when he wrote Carrie, his first published novel. Nowadays you gotta conform to certain rules to get in past the gatekeepers. Story length is one, and some kind of recognizable structure seems to be another, if you're writing genre fiction. As I say, I don't know what the requirements are for literary fiction. Or where exactly the picaresque falls on the spectrum.

 

Of course the other possibility is that you're such a talented writer they'll accept anything you do. There's a chance of that happening. That chance exists for all of us. It's about as likely as winning the lottery. Most of us have issues we need to work on for a long time before we reach anything like professional quality levels.