Andy

Plot

Plot is what happens in a story. Every event and action is part of a story's plot.

Plot Versus Real Life

The thing to remember is that plot is not exactly like real life. Your daily life probably does not contain rising action, or a climax. It is much more random than a story's plot, in which almost every event has a purpose.

A story's plot is always about something. If someone asked you what your existence is all about, you might not have an answer. But if you ask what a story is all about, there had better be an answer. A story must be about something, whether it's about a person's life or the meaning of life, or anything.

Think about a story you've read that was hard to stop reading. It probably had a very good plot, where each event set another event into motion, and the story became more and more tense, leaving you wondering how it would all end. These stories are exciting because they are about something specific - they have a plot.

Plot is possibly the most important part of a story because it ties everything together. All the characters, settings, and events would mean nothing on their own unless there was a plot that brought them all together for one single purpose - not many purposes.

Works of fiction cannot be about a million things - they are usually just about one thing. For most stories, that one thing is a single, pressing question that needs answering. It's called:



The Major Dramatic Question

The major dramatic question is generally a straightforward yes/no question. Will Wally ever grow up? Will Liette save the world?

It is the central organizing force even in complex novels, and in the case of long stories, might not be answered for a very long time. But that question is always important, because the suspense it creates is a major reason why people keep reading that story. The reader wants to find out the answer.

Eventually, you will have to give an answer. “Yes” and “no” are both possibilities, as long as the story justifies the answer. Some stories even answer with “maybe”, but only if you can convince the reader that at the end of the story, “yes” and “no” would not be truly honest answers.

For example: Will the world be destroyed by global warming? Maybe, because nobody knows all the facts just yet. It is too early to call.

Keep in mind: many readers will not be happy if the question is answered in some way that the reader is completely unprepared for: a “deus ex machina”, which means a random act of God or luck that resolves everything.

For example: Jen must save the world. The book is about how she’s trying to save it. And right before she begins to fight the big final battle, she wakes up! It was just a dream, and the world was never in any danger: it’s a happy ending! But many readers will not be happy, because the story was resolved with a deus ex machina that was completely out of nowhere.

Instead, the answer should come directly from the thoughts and actions of the main character. The answer should reflect his/her decisions throughout the story.

It is important to remember that the story should match the question. If the story is about how Brianna is trying to get a job, the story should not end with: “She got married and lived happily ever after,” without resolving whether or not she gets a job. The conclusion has to be about the question. If you change questions in mid-story, the reader could get annoyed and say “What’s this story about anyway?!” and close your book. Bad, bad…

All in all, the major dramatic question arises from three things: the protagonist, his/her goal, and the conflict blocking that goal.

The Protagonist:

The protagonist is the main character. Most of the time, the major dramatic question should revolve around that character, and he/she should be one of the most complex characters in the entire story. However, in order to keep the reader turning pages, that character has got to have a story:

The Goal:

This is what the protagonist wants. The goal is going to be related to getting an answer to the major dramatic question. It could be any kind of goal. While the story is about that one question, this goal is what pushes that question at the reader, daring them to keep reading and see it answered. Of course, the way it’s answered will revolve around:

Conflict:

The protagonist’s goal could clash with the goals of other characters, and could even clash with physical and social reality. This means there are obstacles for the protagonist. There have to be obstacles, because an easy plot means bad fiction:

Nobody cares if Marcus will do well on a test if he already does well on every single test, because there’s no conflict. But if there’s something that could stop him from doing well, there’s a conflict, and a story.

And to keep the story interesting, the conflict should escalate. The protagonist and the forces against the protagonist should gradually push at each other harder and harder, until one of them loses or quits. The fiercer the fight, the better the story. There could even be multiple conflicts, which could make an even more interesting and unique story.


The Structure of Plot

Plot is the sequence of events in a story that drives towards answering the major question. It needs a structure to keep the sequence of events in a good order. Luckily, the most successful model has already been created. It basically consists of a beginning, a middle, and an end. Duh, except that each of those parts has several important things to do, which sometimes are missed.

The Beginning

A story’s beginning has to do 3 things:
1. Drop the reader right in the middle of the action.
2. Provide all the necessary background information so the reader understands what’s happening.
3. Establish that major dramatic question.

1. Drop the reader right in the middle of the action.

A story must start at the right time. It shouldn’t start when things are quiet, when nothing’s happening. If your friend told you a story about a movie he just saw, wouldn’t it be boring if he started the story two days before he actually saw the movie? Usually, the entire reason for telling a story is because something new, interesting, or important happens in it. Start your story right where that change begins.

2. Provide all the necessary background information so the reader understands what’s happening.

The important part of your exposition is to strike the right balance. If you give the reader too much information, they will be overwhelmed, and will be so confused about what’s important in it that they may put it down. Too much info will slow your story down. Remember that your reader does not need to know everything, and certainly not right away.

At the same time, you cannot provide too little information. That will also confuse the reader, for obvious reasons.

3. Establish that major dramatic question.

The importance of this has already been discussed. It’s what will keep your reader wanting to read more, to keep going through the middle of the story.

The Middle

This is what takes up most of the story. That’s because it has the most work to do. More information on the characters must be given. Most of the action takes place in here. The middle also has important things it must accomplish.

In the middle, the protagonist experiences a conflict. The path towards his/her goal should be blocked again and again by increasingly difficult obstacles. The conflict should escalate.

You should also know: in the fictional universe, events should happen for a reason. Each event should happen because of a previous event, and each one should set the stage for future events. It’s important that these events are not just a random jumble of scenes. The middle should contain a chain of events, where each one is tightly linked to the ones before and after it.

For humorous example, which plot is better?

Obviously, it’s the second one. Each event is tightly linked to the others, and each event happens for a reason. The first is a random jumble that would make for a confusing story.

The second one also has a major dramatic question: will Matt pass his next test? Better yet, it gets answered!

The End

In most stories, the End is the shortest part. It doesn't have to introduce anything new like the beginning, and it doesn't have nearly as many events as the middle. Even so, it has significant responsibilities, because this is the palce where everything comes together (such as in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - which brought tons of stuff together).

The end usually has a pattern called "The Three C's" - crisis, climax, and consequences. The crisis is where the tension hits its maximum, the climax is where the tension finally breaks and the major dramatic question is finally answered, and the consequences are the aftermath of the conflict, the resolution.

Many people say that a good ending is one that should feel inevitable but unexpected. Meaning, looking back, it is the only ending that would make any sense, but it should still feel shocking and surprising when it happens. Think of a murder mystery. At the climax, you finally find out whodunnit, which may surprise you. But all the clues were given in advance, and now you realize, "Oh, of course. That makes complete sense now." Looking at the evidence, the guilty person couldn't possibly have been anyone else.


Subplots

A major difference between short and long stories is that longer ones can have much more complex plots. Thus, the opportunity for subplots arises. A subplot is a plotline that runs alongside the main plotline of the book. It could be about a character other than the main one, or it may focus on an issue that isn't quite the main issue, but it's not unrelated to the main plot. It could be about the same character. For example, the main plot might be about a woman's hunt for employment, and a subplot might be about her love life.

Sometimes the subplot is like a lesser version of the main plot. For example, the main and second plots could be about two different characters who are struggling to seize power, both of whose stories will be slightly different.

Sometimes the subplot is a contrast to the main plot. For example, one man is seeking to seize the throne, while the current king is slowly losing it. You may have a story where a victory for one plot means a defeat in another plot.

With subplots, it is possible to have multiple climaxes. While the main conflict will not be resolved until the end of the book, subplot climaxes could be resolved much earlier, such as Tom Robinson's guilty verdict in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Of course, subplots are not necessary in a novel. It all depends on what you want to reveal to the reader, and how you want to explore the main plotline. Do you want to focus solely on the main character and his/her struggles, or do you want to show the reader other characters and other struggles?


How Plot Emerges

This entire section about plot might seem overwhelming. But luckily, you don't have to know your entire story's plot before you even start writing. You might not even finish the plot until you finish your first draft.

Sure, you'll definitely have some ideas about what will happen in your story. Some writers like to outline their entire story in advance, but not all. A lot of writers prefer to see their first draft as an experiment, where inspiration runs wild and takes the story where it will, instead of adhering to a outline. Plot is something that emerges over time, over numerous drafts. It's not very important when exactly it emerges, only that it eventually will.

Sometimes plot will emerge from a character. You have your main character, and you know what his/her goals are. Thus, you already have the major dramatic question - will the goals be achieved? - and thus have a basic idea of the plot.

Sometimes plot comes before the characters. Maybe you want a plot that will show readers that the government is unreliable and untrustworthy. In this case, the plot is there, and the characters need to be imagined second.

Whether your story arises out of characters' need or the plot itself, both should be compelling, and both should work with each other. Every story needs both. Make sure neither is less than your best. Work on the one that seems weak.

Once you have a major dramatic question, you may want to think about possibly creating an outline. Though it may limit your story, it will allow you to determine the crucial parts in your story, and find the places where tension will need to be increased or decreased.

If that appeals to you, you may want to start taking notes on how your story could divide into a beginning, middle, and end. For the beginning: what exposition will you give, where and when should it start, and what is your major dramatic question? For the middle: what additional exposition is necessary, and when will you give it? What conflicts will the protagonist encounter, and how does the conflict increase? For the end: what is your crisis, climax, and consequences?

Another way to outline is to write down all the events you want in your work, and make sure each one offers some conflict between the protagonist and his goal, and then determine an order for the events that allows the conflict to increase with each step. The idea is to boil the novel down to its basics and to see if those basics are the right ones for the story. You don't need to stick to an outline (it can change), but it will give you a tentative guideline to follow.