Four-Part Short Story Structure

[rynling]

I think I’ve figured out a good structure for my short stories. It goes like this:

Part One: Introduction of the viewpoint character, their setting, and the world state
Part Two: Introduction of the main character through an interaction with the viewpoint character
Part Three: The viewpoint character takes action to investigate the main character, but fails
Part Four: The main character provokes a crisis that leads to a revelation for the viewpoint character

What I mean by “the world state” is metaphysical: What supernatural elements exist in this world? Do inexplicably terrible things happen in this world? What is the tone of the story? Is it tragedy, comedy, or Murakami-style deadpan magical realism?

This isn't going to work with every story, of course, but it's a good fit for my "You got lost in the woods, Congratulations, You live here now" style of soft horror. In other words, the viewpoint character sees something that they can't unsee, or perhaps something happens that can't unhappen, and now the viewpoint character has to deal with the horror. Sometimes "dealing with the horror" means getting killed, but sometimes it means deciding that your crush is still cute even if they have eldritch tentacles.

Come to think of it, this four-part structure is really close to the formula people use to write romance novels.