If structure is the skeleton of a story, then Design is everything that gives it depth, texture, and voice.

Design is where your creative choices come to life. These choices include: character, point of view, setting, plot, conflict, tone, dialogue, pacing, and theme…

It’s where you decide not just what happens, but how and why your reader should care.

At Story Structure Studio: Device & Design, this category will dive deep into each of these essential elements. These elements are not studied in isolation. Instead, we’ll explore how they work together to create compelling fiction.

We’ll explore stylistic techniques that elevate these elements beyond cliché and into something fresh, emotionally resonant, and true to your unique storytelling voice.

Each of these design elements will get its own mini-series over the coming months. For example:

Character and setting will be explored through the lens of juxtaposition. This technique shows how the world your character inhabits and the characters they associate with show who they are. It also reveals or challenges their identity.

Conflict will be broken down into the 7 key types, from internal dilemmas to societal and cosmic struggles.

Theme will be treated not as a message to impose, but as an organic outgrowth of your character’s deepest need.

We’ll unpack the elements of plot and show how to integrate them with intention.

We’ll take a long look at point of view. This includes third-person limited, omniscient, and first-person. We’ll dedicate an entire series to the art of Deep POV. In Deep POV, character and voice fuse seamlessly.

Because design is more than understanding the parts of a story—it’s knowing how to shape them with style and purpose.

Every Wednesday, we’ll study the core elements of fiction. We’ll learn to style them for the utmost emotional impact. We’ll also focus on their narrative impact.

Welcome to the Design series at Story Structure Studio: Device & Design.

Let’s craft stories that aren’t just built well but built beautifully.