We’re starting our week of Story Elements prompts with a deep dive into story structure.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
The Prompt
Write A Story With a “Cinderella Story Structure
The Life-Changing Moment
I come to believe that short stories revolve around one life changing moment.
It doesn’t have to be literally life-changing, but it has to change something for the characters (temporarily or permanently).
If you’re writing quiet internal literary fiction, the moment is going to be something small, like realizing you can’t go on in this relationship, or this job.
If the story is a big action thriller then the life-changing moment could be anything from the moment you decide you need to take action, to the moment when you win or lose.
A Cinderella Story Structure
In the story of Cinderella our heroine wants to find happiness. She tries and fails and tries and fails. A lot.
- She tries to find it by being nice to her sisters and stepmother, but they just treat her terribly.
- She tries to find it by going to the ball, but she’s not allowed to go.
- She tries to find it from her fairy godmother. This one almost works, but there are time limits and she fails. When the love-struck prince can’t find her, all is lost.
Eventually, the life-changing moment comes at the end of the story when the prince finds her and Cinderella gets to choose her happy ending.
(In most versions she says yes and marries the prince; in every version, this choice is the first time Cinders has had any power. This is when her life changes.
So, this is where the story ends because the character’s story arc is over: She has her chance to reach her goal, at long last.
How To Write A Cinderella Story
Write a story with a Cinderella story structure: try, fail, try, fail, try, fail, life-changing moment.
- Let you character want something. In Cinderella’s case she wants happiness. Your character might want anything from fulfillment to a piece of chocolate cake!
- Start the story with the character in a place where they don’t have the thing they want.
- Let us see the character trying to achieve their goal once, twice, three times.
- The first failure can be pretty small. (She drops a perfect piece of chocolate cake on the floor.) The second failure should be a little more discouraging. (She goes to the shop and discovers they’re out of cake.) The third failure should seem insurmountable.(The government bans chocolate cake!)
- These failures have taught the character how much they want their goal and that the only way to achieve it is through using their unique talents. Now the climax is on. (In my story, for example, my witty and feisty heroine decides to run a political campaign and get elected to office in order to strike down this terrible anti-chocolate cake legislation. Your story could be more serious.)
- The story ends when the character realizes what needs to be done and makes the decision to pursue it or to walk away. In a short story you don’t have to show was the rest of the events. The arc, the journey, for the character is over at the moment when they see the path to pursuing their goal.
- Of course this is not the case in every story structure but in this story structure, the Cinderella story structure, the character’s journey — and the story — ends here.
Oh well. Clearly the month’s theme is on gloominess, even when bringing in Tigger. http://tidbitsbyshannon.blogspot.com/2016/09/just-one-more-bounce-please.html
Just couldn’t resist trying to turn the structure a bit on its ear as a Western. First draft but…
Is the adopted Cheyenne girl Abequa or Abigail?
Cheyenne Cinderella
http://wp.me/p1AR9N-2QQ
Another poignant and captivating story. Thanks for sharing, Joe.
My day 8 story: https://fallonbrownwrites.wordpress.com/story-a-day-september-2016/story-a-day-september-day-8-make-peace/
This one turned out longer than expected. And is probably the end(or close to) of the novella I’m working on. So, if you don’t want to know how that ends(haha. I write Romance. That’s pretty much a given), be warned.
Well done, Fallon. Poignant and it begs the question “Why does family always hurt so much?”
Love these prompts! Had such a fun time writing this. Many thanks! 😀
https://atomicindigo.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/the-favorite-dessert/
My contribution for Day 8 –
https://annieswritingchallenge.wordpress.com/may-2016-story-a-day-challenge/day-8-story-a-day-in-may-challenge-my-aunt-joe/
In a writing slump, but I will finish the month on time!
OK. I’ve been playing catch-up, and now I want to share my Cinderella story. This isn’t suitable for work, and it’s more the slicing up their feet version of the story. It’s dark. Very dark. With a light at the end of the tunnel…
https://shanjeniah.com/2016/05/18/choices-stad-kifo-project-for-may-8/
Hope you enjoy this one! https://storiesin5minutes.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/another-cinderella-story-storyaday-post/
Well, I did it. A Cinderella style story.
https://theencouragingscribe.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/story-a-day-day-8/
🙂
Life sometimes has a way of slapping you in the face and that’s exactly what has happened to me this week…it slapped me good and hard. First we lost our fourteen-year-old Oriental cat, Napoleon, from diabetes and then, three days later, our precious Cavoodle, Cally, lost her sight.
I shall most probably be late all this week, but I shall still try to post.
https://vickgoodwin.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/story-a-day-day-8-our-journey/
With Mother’s Day and Graduation day for UK all taking place on the same day, I was late writing my Cinderella Style Story. Following the up and down sequence was harder than the others up until now. We are only on day 8, this is going to be a great exercise in writing.
This is a tough one, especially when you’re banging out a draft in a day, but worthwhile, I think!
Hi All. Followed the Cinderella prompt for today. Created a basic draft of a story that I took from an event I had noticed going on in the neighborhood . It was a quiet mini drama happening under the radar and went on for several weeks. The story will be needing more development later, and the ending needs to be figured out, because the real ending is unknown.
it’s now 9pm, so finished up on time. For me, this This was definitely a harder prompt than week one. Just what Doctor Julie ordered. 🙂
Hey, I reckon if you’re still here, you can take it! 😉
I liked this prompt and I liked my story (except for the ending, but I want to work on it):
https://notwhereilive.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/story-a-day-may-day-eight/
Ugghhhsss.. this one gave me more troubles than I thought possible. I couldn’t figure out how to work so many failures into a short story without turning it into a novella. So I settled for this: https://promptlywritten.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/the-dilemma-flash-fiction/
True, I may have specified too many try/fails. Or maybe the first one needs to have happened before the story starts…
Story #8 of my Story-A-Day quest. Today’s prompt was for a Cinderella story structure. I tried, failed, tried, failed, tried, failed. I tried, I really did. But this is what eventually came out. Knew it would happen eventually. What was it old Lodge Skins says at the end of Little Big Man? “I was afraid of that. Well, sometimes the magic works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.” Today, a different magic happened. Travelogue http://wp.me/p1AR9N-2JJ
This one started out based on the prompt but then it took a turn far, far away: https://only100words.xyz/2016/05/08/what-they-didnt-tell-you-when-they-made-you-janitor-of-the-tallest-building-in-town/
This story ended up not being about what I thought it was about when I started. Love when that happens.
http://susan-reads.blogspot.com/2016/05/coffee.html
This one could almost be a true story! I am sure that every writer will be able to relate this one. https://angietrafford.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/story-a-day-day-eight/