Form in Writing

Aristotle said that every story has a beginning, middle, and end, but he never mentioned how form shapes its impact. The same story feels different when read, watched, or heard. I’ve discovered that, with time, most pieces eventually find their true form; some settle easily into place, while others need to be molded again and again before the right shape emerges. One of my projects, The French Baker, has done just that, evolving from screenplay to novel, and it is still searching for how it’ll best be presented.

I wrote the first two drafts of The French Baker (title apt to change) in a college screenwriting class. The idea of the film was to follow Sebastien and his daughter through the occupation of France during World War Two. After two drafts – totally different – I could see the film. Although the form was forced on the piece due to the class, it worked. Sebastien’s story was a visual one. Still, I knew that his struggle was internal, and he would need a form that allowed that struggle to be seen.

After college, the idea stuck around. I knew the story wasn’t quite finished, and I was having difficulty getting words to paper. I began writing in long form, planning to detail scenes that manufacture the scent of baguettes and pain au chocolats. The keyword is “plan”. I wrote three sentences, and the story has fermented in writing purgatory for nearly ten years.

Even now, I imagine The French Baker as a film. But some stories fight their form longer than others. Finding the right shape is an ongoing conversation between the story and its creator. Adaptations prove that the same narrative can find new life through other forms, each one sharing something the last could not. Finding the best form for a story can keep me writing. 

A short Reddit thread on finding form.

I sometimes wonder if the story chooses the form or if the form crafts the story. I’ll reply to that query next week.

Previous thoughts on writing

Aside: after much searching through Google Drive and the internet, I can’t seem to find my original screenplay. Very sad. But this might provide the opportunity to craft a fresh rewrite.