Friday, February 18, 2011

Plot Structures that Capture the Essence of the Story

Every story has these  basic plot  points which my friend Lia Keyes shared with me. I have added my two cents to it.
  
Inciting Incident. Every story has this event. The Inciting Event  is responsible for throwing the protagonist headlong into the path of trouble/conflict or problem.

 Plan. It’s what the Main Characters decides to do, to thwart the obstacle, to bypass the roadblocks and overcome the Antagonist. This is a course of action the MC decides upon to tackle the problem at hand.

Game. Every conflict is like a game where there is only one winner; either the protagonist or the antagonist. The result depends on who plays smartly and aggressively. The game and its rules come into play here. Who has the odds stacked against them? Who is the Dark Horse?

Changing  Obstacles. These  obstacles  in the story keep changing, very often they grow not only in size, but also change their direction and shape. The introductory of  sub - plots comes into focus here. This change of direction can get the protagonist into more trouble and make the antagonist more powerful.

Plot Twist. These curves in the path of the plot help to set the pace. Many times plot twists happen when new  characters arrive or the old ones wave a goodbye.
Sometimes even the unexpected actions of few trusted characters bring about a twist in the plot.

Dark Moment. This is the moment when the Main Character is left completely alone. He or she has to now trek the route to victory only on the sheer strength of  his or her  own efforts. External help may or may not come. But the war started has to be waged and the battle fought.

Epiphany. The moment of Epiphany  brings about an illumination. It’s the moment when things fall in place and the path ahead is clear as though someone has showed the Protagonist a roadmap complete with detailed directions. A light bulb literally lights up.

New Plan. With the moment of Epiphany a new course of action is charted, new plans made. Once again there is a change of speed.

Cliffhanger. The Cliffhanger sees the execution of  the  new plan/s. Will they bear fruit? Will the protagonist fall flat? Will the antagonist win because of the protagonist’s foolishness. It’s the moment that adds  tension.

Climax. The final battle is fought. The protagonist is all set to do or die, while the antagonist is all ready to kill or be killed.

Ending. Where perfect resolutions find their true place and the loose ends are tied together. 

These are the plot points I  loosely base my stories on. They are like a rough map that help me chart the course of action the protagonist takes and the plans he or she makes. What about you all. How do you plot your stories? We all would love to get familiar with your individual processes, as I am sure we can learn a lot from it

16 comments:

  1. Yep, most good stories have these plot points. We once had a debate in creative writing class about whether or not following this classic story structure hurt spontaneity and we concluded that it did not, it only helped because it gave a structure in which spontaneity could blossom.

    Jai

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  2. I think I recognise this in most stories. You can also use this to plan a synopsis. Thanks Rachna.

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  3. I couldn't have said it better than Jai!

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  4. I really enjoyed your explanations of each term. I'm familiar, as are most writers, I think, with the terms: plot, climax, resolution, protagonist, antagonist, etc. But I like how you dealt with the entire list, as part of the whole story plan. I'm sure every story needs plot twists and cliff hangers as well as the rising action and climax, etc. this is a nice road map.

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  5. Thank you, thank you for this!!! I'm going to measure up my WIp right now and see if I hit all of these points. I love maps like this, I'm a nerd that way. =)

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  6. I like this - it's similar to the plot structure I'm using for my Nano novel.

    Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  7. This is a good breakdown. I would essentially use these points with varying emphasis depending on the type of the story.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out and the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011

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  8. This is a great way of mapping the structure of a novel. It's a similar plan to what I've used in the past.

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  9. Great stuff! Love the breakdown here. Like Lee said, it could vary by story but it's all there.
    Have a great weekend! :)

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  10. This is really useful. My only worry is it shows me now how much I'm missing in my novels!

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  11. Yes. These are all excellent elements of a novel, especially plot points that are a major part of screenwriting. I learned a lot a few years ago when I tried to write several screenplays (which more and more I'm thinking about going back to). I learned about plot points, and how action is character, character is action. And about the importance of the scene. Dialogue isn't the main thing in a film; some films have very little. But in a book dialogue can be paramount. Also in a book, you can get inside the mind(s) of the character(s). I'd highly recommend studying the art of screenwriting; it helped me a lot when I finally wrote my full length book.

    Thanks for the helpful information, and for stopping by my blog. I always enjoy seeing your lovely face and reading your comment.
    Ann Best, Author @ Long Journey Home
    Ann Best, Author @ Long Journey Home

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  12. Nice post, Rachna. For a new writer it can seem like a daunting task. But it all just falls together as we write. :)

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  13. You've got it exactly right Rachna! These are all great elements that make a good story, although they can vary depending on the story :)

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  14. Excellent post with the explanations of each of the elements. Good job!

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  15. This is an awesome post, Rachna!

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  16. I never get tired of reading about plot structure!
    Thanks for laying it out there. Now all we have to do is come up with a brilliant story!!!

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