The Magic Triangle: 10 Questions To Format Differently And Avoid The Story Comparison Trap

Hey there!

This is the Magic Triangle for differentiated writing:

• New Category

• New Format

• New Voice

Whenever you see a writer explode in popularity, it’s almost always because they successfully executed at least one or two sides of this Magic Triangle.

We already showed you how to create a new Fiction Category by naming and claiming your own Sub-Genre. And today, we are going to dive into formatting and how you can use AI to come up with new and different ways to present your idea.

Here’s the thing:

You could be the most talented writer in the world, but if you unconsciously choose to compete in someone else’s category (“I write love stories”—oh really? Like everyone else? What makes your love stories different?), you’re doomed to a career stuck in comparison.

Category selection is critical, but there are two other ways you can differentiate yourself as a writer: Voice and Format.

2 Ways To Differentiate Your Story With Formatting

Voice is how your writing sounds. Formatting is how it is organized.

For example, is your novel written conventionally using long and short paragraphs, and chapters in order? Or is it written out of order, with some chapters being 100 pages and other chapters being not even a full page of text? Do you use subheads or no? Bulleted lists or no? Each of these decisions changes the way readers interpret and consume your writing.

There are two ways to think about formatting.

1. Literally

The first is literally.

For example, in the year 2000, a writer named Mark Z. Danielewski published a book called House Of Leaves. According to Wikipedia, “The format and structure of House of Leaves is unconventional, with unusual page layout and style, making it a prime example of ergodic literature. It contains copious footnotes, many of which contain footnotes themselves, including references to fictional books, films or articles. In contrast, some pages contain only a few words or lines of text, arranged in strange ways to mirror the events in the story, often creating both an agoraphobic and a claustrophobic effect. At points, the book must be rotated to be read. The novel is also distinctive for its multiple narrators, who interact with each other in elaborate and disorienting ways.”

This is a terrific example of how a writer and a story used format as a primary form of differentiation—the story is told literally through footnotes rather than actual prose.

2. Conceptually

The second way to think about formatting is conceptually.

The easiest way to think about conceptual formatting is to extract a format directly from the subject you are writing about. For example, if you wanted to write a story about a pilot, what objects or experiences are relevant to pilots? Maps? Command centers? Take-off checklists? Then take one of those objects or experiences and use that as the format to tell your story. It can feel very daunting to “write a whole book.” But if you work backwards, and are able to think of it like “a pilot’s checklist,” suddenly each chapter sort of writes itself.

Conceptual formatting adds another layer of depth to the story, and can be a very effective way of helping you quickly make decisions on how to best organize and tell the story.

10 Questions To Find Different Literal And Conceptual Formats For Your Story

Here are some questions to ask yourself when thinking through how to use formatting as a differentiation strategy:

1. Can I tell this story backwards?

2. Can I tell this story by jumping around sporadically?

3. Can I explain this information visually instead?

4. Can I explain this information using sound?

5. Can I organize this by day? By hour? By yearly calendar?

6. Can I alternate between stories and actionable advice? Can I do both at the same time?

7. Can I give this idea a clearly defined structure or name?

8. Can I incorporate other elements, such as statistics, footnotes, quotes, etc?

9. Can I use more subheads and section dividers?

10. Can I bring this information (that is conventional in the conventional category) and bring it into a different category so that it will be considered unconventional?

One last example:

The publishing world tends to think of non-fiction and fiction as entirely separate. But most people don’t know that the hit movie, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (a fictional story), actually started as a non-fiction “How To” book, called How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days: The Universal Don’ts Of Dating.

When thinking through the format of your own story, a very effective intersection to play at is the combination of story and actionable advice. Does your story have to just be a story? Does your How To book have to just be a How To book? Or can you find ways to combine the two?

All of these decisions change what sort of story you tell, and what sort of book you write. Which changes how readers then talk about your work to other readers. And when readers start talking to other readers, that’s how you end up on the best-seller list.

Let’s see if we can leverage AI to help us come with some ideas.

How To Use AI To Brainstorm A New And Different Format To Tell Your Story

You could sit down on your own with a piece of paper and work through each of the 10 questions above, or you could kickstart with process with this AI prompt.

All you need to run this prompt is a short description of your story, a story logline, or a working outline. For example, “A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.” Once you are ready, copy / paste your story details into the prompt and then run it using ChatGPT, Gemini (formerly Bard), or Claude.

I’m going use ChatGPT for today’s example.

Here’s the prompt: