Plot #1: Quest: 20 Master Plots

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 17 Jan 1997 09:35:26 EST

Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B. Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.

Master Plot #1: Quest

The quest is the "search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible." Specifically, the main character is looking for that certain something that they expect or hope will change their life.

Structure of the Quest

Act one is setup, where the hero(ine) gets the royal boot -- "a force moves him to act, either out of necessity or desire." There is usually a major event or incident, a "motivating incident", which shapes and foreshadows the rest of the quest.

Don't forget the sidekicks, good buddies, and other traveling companions. There is almost a natural magnetism about a person setting out on a quest that pulls a suitable cast of helpers out of the fields, woods, and other hideyholes.

After act one, the reader should be asking "Will (fill in your protagonist's name here) _find_ the (fill in desired object of quest)?"

Act two is where we wander through wonders, disappointments, and delays. We run into difficulties, obstacles, those little "experiences" that make your character show their mettle in interesting ways.

Act three! Do we reach the goal (get the gold, find the lost treasure, etc.)? And when we do, what happens?

(p. 67) "It isn't unusual in this type of plot for there to be additional complications _as a result of obtaining the goal_. Things aren't what the hero expected them to be, and it could be that what the hero was searching for all this time wasn't what she really wanted. But there is the moment of _realization_, which is an insight made by the hero about the nature and meaning of the quest itself."

Checklist:

1. What is the object of the quest? How does it relate to the intent and motivation of the main character?

2. Where is the quest going to take the main character? Why? What do they learn, what changes occur, how are they prepared for the finale? I.e., we should wander through strange lands and outrageous situations, and every one of them should tie into the final effort, the final realization when the goal is won (or lost!).

3. Are we leaving home and returning there? Or at least starting and ending in the "same" place? How are the changes in the character displayed against that backdrop?

4. What or who does the main character become? How are they different?

5. What is the "wisdom" which the hero "comes to realize" from the search? Does a child become an adult? Does an adult learn something about life?

6. Make sure your beginning provides solid motivation to initiate the search. And make sure the readers know _why_ your character is setting out. Just because there is a quest waiting doesn't mean every person will set out on it, so give your character solid reasons for leaving.

7. Think about the traveling companion, the foil for conversation, insight, even emotions. Who are they? Why are they traveling with the big oaf?

8. What is the revelation or realization that the main character finds?

9. Don't forget--what the main character finds (both in object and realization) is often something different than they expected originally. The treasure on the hill might be a philosophic work, for example.

Got it? So let's think about writing a little quest...

1. Let's start with a character. Your choice.

2. Now write one sentence about what this character needs to learn. Perhaps they haven't found out that other people hurt? Or maybe they just need to learn that what they want doesn't come by wishing?

[pssst? Having trouble? Pick a number from one to six, grab one of these oldies, and refine it.

1. The best things in life are free
2. The bluebird of happiness is sitting in your own backyard
3. Parents are people too
4. Home is where the heart is
5. Don't burn your bridges until you get across them
6. Learning grows out of the broken shells of mistakes

well, some of them are kind of strained, but maybe you'll figure out what I meant.]

3. Back up a step. What kind of specific person, place or thing could they be searching for that would teach them that lesson? Make a list of five people, places or things they could be searching for. Pick one that you like.

[pssst? one to six, pick up sticks...

1. an animal (pet? rare breed for xxx? you decide...)
2. a place that matches the ... (picture? memory? description?)
3. the almost forgotten relative (teacher, etc. pick the relation)
4. a dreamed of place... (with shades of ancient myths peering over your shoulder)
5. the fabled jewel of Apt (with amazing properties, more valuable than your dreams, and...)
6. the cure for (pick a condition. does the character suffer or)

if you want something more mundane, consider a missing wallet...]

4. And let's make it a bit more interesting. What can the search itself teach them? Again, try making a list of five possible lessons the search could teach them (which may reflect, diverge, or have some other relationship to what the character thought they were searching for or learning). Pick one that you like.

[aphorisms and other simplifications of life available from horoscopes, books of quotations, and similar sources near you.]

5. Go over the checklist above. Answer the questions or think about the points.

6. Write out your story. Make the first paragraph catch the reader, then keep us going until we are running full-speed through the jungle with the main character, trying to get the serum before it is too late; cudgeling our noggins to solve the riddles and find the treasure; working and sweating with the main character to find it, to reach that goal. And once we win or lose, don't forget to twist our brains with the realization of what we have learned, of what we have lost, of what we have done.

[quick start? how about:

The morning that it all began started just like any other morning, with a thump, a rustle, and cold stone underfoot.

to go where no man has gone before, to find the missing link, to touch that star, to strap yourself in those waxen wings and fly....WRITE!]

Do that, and then we'll want to come along tomorrow!

Plot #2: Adventure: 20 Master Plots

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 10:02:41 EST

Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B. Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.

Master Plot #2: Adventure

I suspect I may have misled some of you with Plot #1, the Quest. I forgot to stress that the Quest is a character plot, a plot of the mind. The adventure, in contrast, is an action plot, a plot of the body.

The difference is that in the quest, we are watching a person making a journey; in the adventure, our attention is on the journey.

Exotic, strange, dangerous, new! A venture into the unknown, a look at the unexpected or unusual...

The Plot in Outline:

One--set the scene and motivate the adventurer. Consider the "unwilling" adventurer and the "willing, even eager" adventurer--often the same person starts as one, then becomes the other.

Two--on the journey. Events, difficulties, excitement. Don't forget to put some thought into reasons for your hero(ine) to be venturing into the wilderness.

Three--we have arrived (somewhere). Fairly often, there are also romantic twinings and other rewards to having gotten there.

Or perhaps you can remember--setting out for the top of the mountain; the trails, stumbles, and cliffsides along the way; and the glorious view from the top!

Checklist

1. Focus on the journey more than the person
2. The story concerns a foray into the world, to new, strange places and events. (make sure they really are interesting!)
3. Fortune is "out there," not at home--we have to search for it
4. Give your hero(ine) a good kick by someone or something to start the adventure
5. Make sure that your acts have some cause-and-effect links -- watch out for the overly episodic adventure.
6. Your hero(ine) may not change much. It goes with the territory.
7. Don't forget the seasonings--romance, suspense, etc

Okay, it must be time to play. Have you got some numbers? One to six, for example?

1. A kitchen (four star restaurant? truck stop? The golden barfers? You decide)

2. backstage (at the all nude review? Broadway? rather far off broadway, in our own little high school? pick one)

3. at a shelter (homeless? running away from home? pick the shelter...)

4. in the mink-wrapped lap of luxury (homes of the rich and famous, you know the type)

5. in a home (you pick the family, you pick the striations of wildness and oddity, you design the little steps that lead from the common world outside into the heart of deepest, strangest suburbia...no one knows what goes on behind... picture windows?)

6. institution (school, prison, asylum, monastery or other place, at your insinuation)

[I skipped bathrooms, but if someone draw an ace, I think the bathrooms of the other sex are one of the great mysteries of the American culture. What strange devices lurk behind the couches in the ladies' room? What oddities hang out where urinals grace the walls? And who knows what disasters may be unleashed if someone dares to enter against the markings?]

So we have a bit of a framework for where we might go. Take a moment and think about the character(s) in your world. Remember that we want them to explore this strange new world, to go boldly where we dare not peek.

Stop now and consider at least five wonder enriched moments (touched by a rainbow? spangled with silver bangles? full of the finest whipped lard? You decide what makes these moments, views, escapees from the cupboards, or other touches of drama truly esoteric and lightful--delight must be the lack of light, right, so these are lightful?) Ponder them, smell their savory excitement, and then pick...the best two or three.

And back up one more step, pick a number from one to six:

1. To help a friend
2. To win a bet (on a dare? you betcha!)
3. Because someone said "You can't!"
4. Following someone (something? the flickering shadow of the little man that wasn't there?)
5. You answered the phone (read the message, read the closed captioning?) and it said to go...
6. To get away from...(daddy? the bentnose boys? the rat race of daily life, rolling along in its ruts...)

So that's why we are making this detour through the wonderside. Interesting, isn't it, how that little pebble started a landslide of adventure that day, taking you through the steamy side of the world and out again to...

Pick your number, please?

1. an arroyo - a steep-sided gully in an arid region, carved by heavy rains
2. a caldera - large basin formed by the explosion and collapse of the center of a volcano
3. a fen - low boggy land partly covered by water
4. the weald - forest, wilderness; rolling, upland region of woods
5. a pool - a deep, quiet place in a stream; a small body of water
6. an estuary - the point where the river mouth meets sea's tide; the arm of the sea at the river mouth

Okay? That's the place we're going to end up. Note that it need not be literal, it may be the veriest hint of a metaphorical background enveloping the apparent physical setting, but think about that natural resting place, that peaceful presence as something that flavors the last act of your tale.

Got it? Pick your characters, move them out, take a walk on the weird side of life, and end with a grand trope, trope, trope the metaphors are roiling, a simile of place that resounds within the echoing minds of your readers...let the adventure begin!

[One little sentence, a part of a phrase to kick off the chains that bind our fingers from dancing on the keys? How about:

Under the carnival disguise beat the heart of an old youngster who was still waiting to give his all.

Adapted from a line from The Waltz of the Toreadors [1952] by Jean Anouilh, quoted in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

You may use (or ignore!) this line. Sometimes it starts things, sometimes it ends things, and sometimes it doesn't do anything at all...go ask alice, when she's ten feet...have fun!]

as the ticking keyboreds idle on, with the empty hum of silence filling the networks, buzz-click-crackle to the sound of a different modem, let them multiplex to the sound of the modems they hear?

Plot #3: Pursuit: 20 Master Plots

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 09:15:39 EST

Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B. Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.

(p. 79) "The pursuit plot is the literary version of hide-and-seek."

"The basic premise of the plot is simple: One person chases another. All you need is a cast of two: the pursuer and the pursued. Since this is a physical plot, the chase is more important than the people who take part in it."

First phase: establish the situation, who is running and who is chasing, and why? Stakes? Motivating incident?
Second phase: the thrill of the chase! twists, turns, reversals, death-defying plunges, narrow squeaks, and that's just the beginning!
Third phase: the resolution. Are they caught? Or do they escape?

The cardinal rule: Don't Bore the Reader!

The tension is greatest at the moment just before it seems capture is inevitable. Wham! Foiled again, and off and running....

Don't forget confinement--limit the motion, and feel the tension mount.

Checklist:

1. The chase is more important than the people, so stress it.
2. Make sure the pursued is really in danger of getting caught.
3. Give the pursuer a reasonable chance of catching the pursued; even let her catch him...for a moment.
4. Physical action!
5. Make sure the twists and characters are stimulating, engaging, and unique--the plot surely isn't.
6. Develop characters and situations against type to head off cliches at the pass (ouch!)
7. Make the area of the chase as confined and tight as feasible.
8. In the beginning, make sure the reader knows the ground rules for the chase, the stakes involved, and the motivating incident that starts the race.

[I should skip by it, but something tells me I should point out that Roadrunner and Wily E. Coyote have been doing the chase scene for quite a while now...beep-beep!]

Okay? As you might suspect, we're going to think about doing some writing. So saddle up your horses, pilgrim, and let's start.

First, how about picking a number from one to six?

1. a horse
2. a frog
3. a cat
4. a snake
5. a monkey
6. a fish

Now, before we go any farther, take your animal in mind and consider it. What breed is it? What color eyes does it have? How old is it? Think about its life--what sets it apart from the rest of the...herd, lilypad gang, backalley slinkers, jungle drapery, swingers, or school?

And with that in mind--What kinds of locomotion does it use? What kinds of motivations? What pursues it? Make up a list of at least five points about the way this animal travels.

Second, let's pick again (one to six, if you please?):

1. to get the answer
2. to stop a crime
3. to overcome one's fears
4. to give them the object
5. to keep them from revealing the answer
6. out of anger

This, in case you can't guess, is a bit of motivation. Pick a pair of characters (type, age, and other characteristics at your discretion. You may even elect to have more than two, if you like.) Flip a coin to decide who is going to chase who.

And take your motivation and think it through. Why is this going to motivate the chase? What is involved? What kind of incident could unveil the characters and their chase, clearly and quickly?

[I like to motivate the other party, too. But in fact, being chased by someone almost automatically creates a desire to escape, to run...as the adrenaline spikes and the ancient fears creep in. You still may want to think about why the person being chased doesn't stop--or what happens when they do stop, turn, and...!]

You may want to stop at this point and do some dreaming about the chase itself. Think about some incidents along the way, some skids and twists that might happen. Think about surprising the reader, making them duck as the skeleton falls out of the ceiling or jump wildly as the shotgun blasts away on hitting the concrete floor... (one approach is to list about five different twists, then throw out a couple and focus on the real winners. Think about order--start with a little twist, raise the stakes and the involvement, then get into a little more white-knuckle stuff, back off, and sliderightintoarealcruncher...

One more little tidbit to color your mentation (yes, one to six!):

1. birling -- log rolling, or log birling; turning a log underfoot as it floats, which loggers known as river drivers did as work and sport.

2. clip a brand -- to cut away a critter's hair, grown long during the winter, to get a good look at the brand.

3. ear down -- to twist or bite the ears of a horse to get him to stand still; said especially of broncos, where one cowboy ears down the horse while another saddles it for a first ride. Horses that are often eared down and thus wary of having their ears touched are called _ear-soured._

4. hidalgo -- In the south-west, a Hispanic landowner, usually an aristocrat. Borrowed from Spanish, it's generally pronounced by Americans with an _h_, Hee-DAHL-goh.

5. muckamuck (1) In Chinook jargon, food. (2) In verb form, to eat. _High muckamuck_ (also from the Chinook term) is a derisive expression for a person of importance.

6. praying cow -- A cow that's getting up. The critter rises hind end up and the cow momentarily looks like it's on its knees.

[definitions taken from The Wordsworth Dictionary of the American West by Winfred Blevins, ISBN 1-85326-356-7]

So there is a bit of color borrowed from the American West. You should feel free to work it in wherever it fits.

Take your animal. Don't tell us about it, but do use that wily nature as the background for the chase. Think about the motivation, maybe review the checklist provided above. And don't forget that touch of Wild West color, smearing across the watercolors of your creation.

Turn on the blender and let your mental processes gurgitate, gurgle, grunt, grind, grrrrrr....

And WRITE!

[a short start? okay, try this one:

A lifetime can happen in twenty-four hours, especially on the run.

Drop back, sketch where, when, who, and why the heck they are starting to run...]

Take a moment to stretch. Right hand, fingers nice and loose, rub the tension out of that knuckle...left hand, wiggle that little finger, shake it down, shake it down...and get set!

On your home keys!

Type!