Breaking Down the Foolscap Method: How to Build a Story

What is the Foolscap Method??

The word “Foolscap” comes from the term used to describe the large yellow legal pad sheets of paper. As the word suggests, it takes this writing outline concept and takes the idea that you should be able to outline your story or concept into one single foolscap sheet. Simply put, the Foolscap Method is a way for any creative individual to map out, identify key points, and solidify plot points of a story.?

My introduction to the Foolscap Method happened last quarter as a Content Creator when I was thrown into the deep end of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Since then, I have been constantly using this tool to build ideas, and orient others to use this creative tool to help build their own stories. To understand how each part works and how they build upon each other, I’ll be outlining the key sections of the Foolscap and breaking it down into understandable pieces that interact with each other. ?

What is it for and who should be using it??

This method is typically used to find the fundamentals?of a story?in a movie, show, or book. While this is more commonly used to help writers structure their stories, this method can help any creative develop their idea concepts. Whether you’re a novelist, screenwriter or marketing specialist, the Foolscap Method is a valuable tool when developing concepts. It seems like a rigid concept that can only apply to certain cases, but that’s not true! As in the article, The Foolscap Method,?Steven Pressfield tells us: “The Foolscap Method is a way to get a big project started—a novel, a Ph.D. dissertation, a new business.” ??

It sounds kind of silly, but the Foolscap Method is for anyone! Its application is universal, and while the parts may seem abstract, they can work within the outline of the Foolscap. In my experience, the Foolscap has been a critical tool in nailing down a “story” before getting ahead of myself in the details related to product development.?

Breakdown and Process for Foolscap Method?

So, how do we break down this into parts? We can split up the Foolscap into 10 parts, but that tends to be confusing to understand. In my experience, a leaner version of the Foolscap tends to make more sense.?

We can think of the Foolscap Method like this:?

A hero.?

A villain.?

A conflict.?

A tool.?

Hero?

This is your protagonist. Who is the main character of your story? In the marketing world, this would be your target market. As a marketer we want to keep our target market (TM) in the forefront of our mind, this means focusing on the kinds of issues that affect our TM.

Villain?

Following closely, the villain, or antagonist, is the force or person that gets in the way of the hero. They are the main hurdle that the hero must get through to get to their desired state.

Conflict?

The conflict, this is the main interaction from both hero and villain. What does it look like when the hero and villain butt heads with one another? The conflict should concisely define the relationship of the hero and villain. It can be dramatic or mild, either way, this is key to understanding any blockers your hero may have. This can also help figure out what help the hero may need to succeed and defeat the villain.

Tool?

After the conflict, you may begin to think of the tool. What tool or thing does the hero of your story use? This is something that helps the hero defeat the villain of your story. Again, this is something that can be abstract, or a concept, something that assists the hero to progress and conquer the villain.

Putting It All Together

This is my version of the Foolscap Method. Overall, this mapping outline has other moving parts, things like the theme, genre, climax, and other parts. If you are interested in other examples or a more in-depth explanation of the Foolscap Method, I would highly recommend watching this playlist by Steven Pressfield. Each video is only around 1 - 4 minutes long. In each one Steven Pressfield delves deep into each section of the Foolscap Method and describes each moving part. He provides a great explanation as to how each part interacts with the other parts, which can help you understand how whole works.

But this version of the Foolscap I found to be confusing to understand and can overwhelm people. It defeats the purpose of helping people getting out of a rut and putting things down to figure out your story. The Foolscap should help people outline their final product. So, if that means breaking it down into smaller sections, then that is totally okay, the point of the Foolscap is to help you get out of being stuck. It is a tool to put your ideas down and keep a clear map of how it will look like. This writing tool is applicable to your own needs and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. The next time you get stuck during your ideation process, consider pulling out the Foolscap Method to help lend a hand!