Curated and distributed in Writing
Story Templating Can Help You Write First Drafts 2x More Efficiently
Advanced story templating can help you write stories like a pro
It means that you pick any story or article and use it as a template. It must be written by someone you really like. Somebody you would want to emulate.
Usually, fiction writers use story templates for their writing. The writer presents a problem, it gets worse, and then after a long struggle, it is solved.
Nonfiction writing can also use an initial problem, story, or question that the writer explores and explains how the issue may be a real-life problem for the reader. After asking the question, the writer can share research, quotes, anecdotes, or insights to help the readers solve the problem.
Every successful writer uses a particular style to make her work appealing. When you want to emulate your favorite writer, don’t try to use their words or their original ideas in your writing. You have to follow the flow of their stories only in an appropriate way:
The topic of your story should NOT be similar to your template.
Choose any topic you want. You can use a brainstorming session to list down the points that you want to write.
You can search the internet to find out more about your points. Note down — in no particular order — the related researches, quotes, or stories you may use while writing the story.
Steps for story templating
You have to follow these steps to write your piece:
1. Open the story you want to use as a template.
You can use a well-liked story for this exercise. It is better if you like the writer and her writing style. We naturally want to write like the writers we love.
Read the story at least two times. It may take ten or twenty minutes. Try to understand the article as a whole.
2. Match the heading
For example, I am going to use this story, as a template, with the headline: Ask Yourself ‘What Makes You A Good Writer?’
Now, you have to choose your headline. For example, your headline says: Ask Yourself, “What is Your Biggest Fear.”
Explanation
The story you selected is related to “Writing,” but you’d be writing about facing the biggest fears of our lives.
3. Match the subtitle
Our template story has this subtitle: Listening to your inner emotions can be your way ahead.
Now, you can write your subtitle, matching the spirit of the template: Facing your fears can lead you to your success.
Explanation
You can see that we are not copying ideas or using words of the template story. We are just matching the sentences and their flow of logic in an abstract way that agrees with our intuitions and creative ability.
4. How to write the main content of the story
Notice how your template story starts.
The template starts with an anecdote written by a famous writer. He describes an exciting event about how he tries to write using his emotions.
You can also start your story with an anecdote. But this anecdote must be related to your theme. For example, you could write the story told by Will Smith when he had to jump out of an airplane for skydiving.
See how logic flows.
The template story asks a question and then answers it. The writer describes her intuition about the writing process arising out of the tale she had narrated.
You can follow the same style and ask questions about the biggest fear facing a human being. Use your personal experiences to move your story forward.
You can tell another anecdote or some research about how we try to avoid our biggest fears.
Notice how the writer expresses emotions.
The writer shares her own emotions about how she writes. You can express your fears and how you feel about them. It does not matter if you have overcome your fears or not — just narrate them with your insights.
Notice the length of the story.
By noticing the length of the story, you can see what every paragraph is trying to do. You must try to match the number of sections of your article to the template. But if your piece is a bit longer or a bit shorter, it doesn’t matter.
The power of the sentences must match.
As a writer, you can feel the power of a sentence. You have to craft your own sentences that match the power of the sentences written in the template story. You may not be able to rival fully. Some writers are just too good. In that case, you can always use quotes from famous authors.
If there is a conclusion, match it.
Notice how the conclusion summarizes the point or gives actionable steps. It is important. These days many readers would read your takeaways first. If they find anything interesting there, they may choose to read the rest of it as well.
Conclusion
These techniques are an advanced version of story templating. Initially, you may not completely understand them.
The techniques described above encourage you to write in an orderly way. If you follow the steps, you’ll see that it is not difficult to write first drafts at all.
Once you have a first draft, you can edit it the way you like.
If you are interested in further distribution of your stories, please read this highly recommended guide:
