Editorial Thoughts #3: Structure

The difficulty in doing a book like this, when it’s the story of the season, is to let the chapters become defined by the football matches. I think Dave should watch this: as an overall arc, the football season works perfectly, as you’ve got a built in beginning and end: in terms of one match following another, they give you a narrative in a chronological sense, but not necessarily in a plot one. So Dave should make sure he is shaping chapters around plot points, as for example, in the chapter where he runs away from school to watch the match. My advice is this: work out the main plot points, and group the matches in chapters accordingly. Also, he shouldn't be afraid to miss a match, or talk about a couple together if it helps the flow of the narrative. Finally, on this point, his sections within each chapter can sometimes be quite short. Short sections can work well in places, but have more effect when used sparingly. On the whole, I’d aim for longer sections, and ‘stitch’ some of these together.