Writing a story is not as simple as it looks when you start weighing the different possibilities available in your writer’s toolkit. Will your story follow a linear structure or non-linear structure? In other words, will the events be relayed in chronological order or out-of-sequence?
It’s an important question to answer if you are to score the biggest possible impact with your audience. This article will look at one popular film with two different approaches to plot structure.
Linear Structure
Teaching structure should begin with linear structure. Laying out a chronological timeline, or sequence of events, is essential, even if you don’t end up using it as your plot structure.
In the film Office Space, Mike Judge chooses the linear structure to relate the story of Peter, a disillusioned software programmer, who is burned out with his job and his life until a chance encounter with an occupational hypnotherapist leads to Peter being stuck in a state of indifference.
Judge decides to select the linear story format because he wants the audience to empathize with Peter. He wants you to be stuck in the same rut as his protagonist so you’ll become more closely involved with the story.
He begins with a typical day going to work. Traffic jams in every lane – something everyone can relate to – slow Peter down to a crawl as he watches an old man and his walker making better time on the sidewalk. Once he arrives at work, he’s greeted by two different camps: the annoying lifers and the equally disillusioned.
You feel the frustration building. And as funny as it all is, nothing compares to the moments of discovery when indifferent Peter starts rebelling against his old worries and cares. As Peter rebels, the audience does, too. Could this story be told in a non-linear fashion and still be as effective?
The next section takes a look at how Office Space might look if it were written with a non-linear story format.
Non-Linear Structure
There are numerous ways to relate the non-linear story format. For the purpose of this article, one clear method will be examined.
Instead of starting at the beginning, most non-linear story structures start at the ending. It stands to reason the opposite form of storytelling would begin, well, oppositely.
In the theoretical version of Office Space, Peter decides to turn himself in for ripping off his company. From this point, the story goes back to the beginning as Peter tries to make it to work. He tries to cope with the annoying lifers. He drowns himself in sorrows and beer, along with the equally disillusioned.
It’s at this point Peter tells the audience about his first wake-up call: Jennifer Aniston. This gives the audience an opportunity to see his fractured relationship as well as his trip to the occupational hypnotherapist.
Life starts to improve until the layoffs come. It’s at this point Peter hatches a scheme, along with his buddies, to rip off the company. Peter explains to the audience what leads to this conundrum. Gradually, the audience sees the events take shape, leading him to this moment where he feels he must turn himself in.
Works, right? But it also has more of a distant, depressing feel to it. Almost like it’s not even a comedy. Judge’s decision to go with the linear story structure pays off in the lightheartedness of his final script and film. It also invites the audience to become Peter. Instead of observing the events, the audience lives them.
Final Thoughts
When writing a story, don’t think there is a single right way or wrong way to build plot structure. Good structure can have multiple forms. Lay out the sequence of events and determine what story techniques work best. At the end, it could just be a matter of what feels right. What mood are you shooting for? If teaching structure, have your students deconstruct and re-structure the events in a movie or book they enjoy. Ask them what works best, and why. Only then can the intangible elements that define story development come to life.
Visit IMDB to read more about Office Space.
For great lesson plans on teaching structure and other story techniques, visit Read, Write, Think.
Aric Mitchell - ABOUT ME I have approximately 7 years of instructional experience -- 5 in the corporate world and 2 in public education. I am also a ...
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