The Plot Machine Page 2

  Ask yourself how much time passes in the course of your story, particularly in the second act. Hours? Days? Years? Consider how much physical space your characters inhabit. One room? A city? Various planets?

  Tone

  WHERE scale involves the range of time and space in your story, tone reflects the range from reality to fantasy. This spectrum has nothing to do with genre. Comedies can range from realistic to screwball. Some science-fiction is tough and gritty while many contemporary stories are fantastical.

  The tonal spectrum can be described as the real-world relationship between cause and effect. When a character is knocked on the head, do they bleed or do they roll their eyes and see little birds? Children’s stories and comedies lean toward the fantastic end of the spectrum. Drama, particularly tragedies, lean toward the realistic.

  Where your story fits on the tonal spectrum will influence what kind of scenes are plausible in your particular universe. A pie-fight that is appropriate in a comedy would be out of place in a gritty crime drama.

  Theme

  WE KNOW THAT THE BEST stories provide life-lessons that have lasting meaning. These are expressed as the theme of your story.

  Traditional story structure presents a hero that embodies a universal human frailty. Their attempt to reach their goal initially fails due to this frailty and only after they have recognized and corrected their flaw can they reach their goal.

  At the broadest level, all themes are about achieving balance. The hero finds balance by gaining what he lacks or giving up what he has too much of. As the audience experiences the story through the hero, they also appreciate what aspects of their own lives are out of balance. This thematic equation informs the events of Act III.

  Popular Character Arcs/Themes

  Start—End

  From Dishonest—To Honest

  From Lone Wolf—To Team Player

  From Traumatized—To Healed

  From Naive—To Worldly

  From Peacemaker—To Warrior

  From Impulsive—To Thoughtful

  From Bitter—To Forgiving

  From Selfish—To Selfless

  From Timid—To Bold

  From Intellectual—To Emotional

  PART TWO

  Elements

  The Parts

  of a Story

  Stories are comprised of various elements: characters, settings, situations, themes, and so on. Some elements burst into the writer’s imagination effortlessly, others require conscious thought and trial and error. You may already have a variety of elements in mind, but it’s important to focus on the main elements of your story.

  Don’t start with Act I. The most important elements are those that fill Act II and III. You may wonder how the second act can be designed without knowing what happens in the first act. Look at it this way: Act I merely sets the table for the feast of Act II, and you won’t know what dishes to put on the table until you know what food is being served.

  You can find many story elements by exploring the logical extensions of the elements that first sparked your imagination. In this way, assembling the main parts of your story is a process of asking the right questions in the right order.

  Question One: What do you have?

  CHANCES ARE SOMETHING popped into your imagination and you thought, “Hey, that would make a great story!” It was most likely a Character, Setting, Situation, or Genre. This is the seed from which your story grows. The great thing about a seed is it holds the DNA of the plant it will become.

  Some story elements naturally relate to others. For example, a genre can imply a setting such as the gritty city of a crime story. A setting is naturally filled with certain types of characters. For example, hospitals often have overworked nurses and egomaniacal doctors. In turn, characters can imply goals: detectives want to catch bad guys.

  The design process starts by exploring what you have. What drew you to this idea? Why has it captivated your imagination? Why would it make a great story? What is compelling about this setting or character? What entertainment value does a particular genre or situation promise?

  Explore what you have. Make a list.

  The objective is to identify the main components of character, endeavor, a goal.

  Remember that you have the grand storytelling tradition to draw upon. It’s your job to meet the expectations of a given genre, exceed them, and twist them in surprising ways.

  You also have your own writing skills and tastes to consider. What sort of scenes are you comfortable writing? Are you great with action? Do you loathe dialogue? What genre do you love and know deeply? Keep your strengths, weaknesses, and passions in mind as you make your list of elements. By studying what you have, you will also learn what you don’t have and must find.

  Common Starting Elements

  Characters

  Lover

  Warrior

  Fool

  Introvert

  Settings

  Contemporary

  Historical

  Fantasy

  Situation

  A new power or wealth

  Facing a great challenge

  Going into battle

  Finding a killer

  Goal

  The love of another

  A great treasure

  Vengeance

  Accomplishing an impossible feat

  Genre

  Romance

  Crime

  Mystery

  Thriller

  Science Fiction

  Question Two:

  What is the hero’s goal?

  OFTEN THE GOAL STEMS naturally from whatever element first sparked your imagination. The POW planning an escape is seeking freedom. The cop going undercover is trying to trap a criminal. The romantic hero on a quest is trying to win the hand of a lover. In the best of situations, the goal flows naturally from the other elements you have set in place.

  The key relationship to keep in mind is that the goal must be worth the torment the hero endures in Act II. If the endeavor is extreme (and it should be), then it may be difficult to devise a goal that justifies it. And the endeavor must be justified or the audience will question your hero’s sanity (and the writer’s talent).

  Where your story fits on the taxonomy chart will also indicate what your hero’s goal is. Threat stories have a general goal of safety, but this can be achieved in different ways. A dragon may need to be slain, but an approaching tsunami implies a goal of reaching higher ground.

  If the desire is love, then the goal comes in the form of a potential mate. Intangible desires such as freedom or vengeance are best symbolized in some tangible form. A detective may dream of personally putting the elusive Mr. Big behind bars. Let’s look at four common goals.

  Treasure

  THE SIMPLEST GOAL IS treasure. Nothing stirs a reader’s imagination more than a buried treasure. Of course, treasure can come in a variety of forms: gold, a secret formula, proof of one’s innocence. What these things have in common is that the hero lacks them in the first act and needs them so badly they will endure the tribulations of the second act.

  Safety

  IN STORIES OF SURVIVAL, the hero’s normal world is threatened by a storm, invading army, or some other antagonistic force. Sometimes the force can be opposed. A lion attacking a village can be hunted and killed, but you can’t kill a typhoon or a volcano. All you can do is escape it. In such situations, safety is made tangible by a geographic destination. Perhaps it is high ground, or a different island, or a storm cellar.

  Personal Achievement

  WE ALL DESIRE ACHIEVEMENT. Very few of us are content with our present circumstances. We are drawn to stories involving a hero determined to prove they are more than they appear to be. Such stories present the hero with an opportunity to prove themselves. This typically is a chance to demonstrate a talent—performance, athletics, intellectual ability—in a public venue.

  Emotional Wholeness

  EVEN THE MOST CONTENT human beings may fee
l out of balance. Their creature comforts have been satisfied, but their soul aches. Emotional wholeness can set a hero on a more internal quest. The goal itself can be elusive. They’ll know it only when they find it. In such stories the goal is identified and defined through the act of searching for it.

  If you start with a character or genre, the goal may be self-evident. If you start with a situation, ask yourself if it would naturally lead a hero to seek a desire or safety. If you start with a specific kind of treasure, ask yourself who would want it, and prepare to place it well out of their reach. If you start with a setting, explore the people who live there, and likely situations they encounter.

  Question Three:

  What is your Hero’s Endeavor?

  THE MOST IMPORTANT element your story is the endeavor. In the modern world of high-concept storytelling, the endeavor is what drives audiences into theaters and bookstores. Even the hero’s ultimate goal takes a back seat to the manner in which they overcome obstacles to achieve it.

  You may have locked in on a hero, but set that character aside for now. It is best to define their endeavor first. Compelling endeavors make compelling characters, but a tepid endeavor can make even the most interesting character dull and pedestrian.

  You may also have a general goal. For now, keep it that way. A general goal helps design the endeavor, but the endeavor itself may require adjusting the specifics of the goal.

  Fortunately, there are only a handful of ways human beings reach goals, so there are only a handful of endeavor types. These endeavors can work in any story though some are closely associated with specific genres. Thrillers and crime stories often involve a quest. Romances often involve subterfuge.

  Consider different options and choose one that best sustains your second act with conflict and entertainment. Keep in mind that some stories require only one endeavor while others may employ a handful (hero on a quest may be captured and need to escape). At this point focus on the main endeavor. Lets examine each type one at a time.

  A Quest

  THE quest is a classic endeavor. The Odyssey, Canterbury Tales, and Don Quixote are all quest stories. So are Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and the James Bond movies. Perhaps a quest strikes some universal human need to explore what lies beyond the mountains or over an ocean. They appeal to our curiosity and restless nature.

  The entertainment value of a quest story lies in the new environments visited along the way. Landscapes, cities, and cultures all provide visual spectacle and potential danger. Quests need not span continents. Exploring the dark underbelly of a small town is a kind of quest. The hero’s goal could be to obtain something, deliver something, warn someone of a pending danger, or perform a task as a test of their skill and bravery.

  Storm the Castle

  IF THE HERO’S GOAL is guarded by layers of defenses, they must storm the castle to reach it. This story type focuses the activity of the second act around one guarded location. The writer can invent as many obstacles as they wish. A short story could involve simply a tall wall to climb over. A feature film could involve guards, a moat, motion-sensor alarms, laser beam triggers, and guard dogs. The potential weakness of this endeavor is that it can become repetitious.

  These hurdles may be known to the hero before they embark on the endeavor. There may be a scene in which each is listed, conveying to the audience the difficulty of the task they are about to witness.

  Subterfuge

  A subterfuge endeavor has the hero take on a different persona to obtain their goal. The entertainment value comes from watching a person struggle to be something very different from their true selves. Changing occupations, races, sexes, or social classes is often played to comedic effect. Such an endeavor typically requires a significant goal to lead the hero into this desperate situation. These stories generally utilize a broad, farcical tone.

  Escape

  AN escape endeavor is the opposite of storm the castle. The hero is trapped in a location or a desperate situation and must find a way out. Many prison dramas are based on planning and executing an escape. War dramas may involve a squad of soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. The situation need not involve physical confinement. A family drama could involve a hero trapped in an unpleasant marriage. A thriller may involve a hero who is mistaken for a criminal and must prove his true identity.

  The great thing about escape endeavors is that the goal is inherent to the situation. Very little motivation is needed to explain why a POW wants to dig a tunnel under the barbed wire fence.

  Prepare for Battle

  PREPARATION IS PART of almost every story, but sometimes it can be the primary endeavor. Consider the boxer preparing for a title match, or the lawyer preparing for a big case. There is less conflict in such endeavors as the hero is typically not engaged in head-to-head competition with the opponent until Act III. The writer must layer on the internal and external complications through Act II so that the climax carries multiple impacts. Losing the boxing match may mean losing a romance. An acquittal might wreck a lawyer’s career.

  Empowered

  WHO WOULDN’T LIKE SUPER powers? It is an ancient human desire. We’d all like to fly, read minds, seduce lovers, or travel back in time. Many stories involve characters imbued with new powers. These could be fantastical or based in reality. Inheriting a fortune from a long-lost relative grants the power of wealth. Being cured of a debilitating disease is to gain the power of health. The entertainment value of such stories lies in the vicarious thrill the audience has in experiencing these new powers.

  Episodic

  SOME STORIES IGNORE structural paradigms and merely engage the hero in a series of loosely connected episodes. Comedies often employ this loose framework in order to present various gags and set-pieces. Such stories typically entertain in the moment, but have little lasting meaning or universal theme.

  Given the different elements you have, try on different endeavors. In some genres, the endeavor is self-evident. Detectives and dragon-slayers go on quests. If your story started with a situation, that may also define your endeavor. Take a moment to consider alternatives. Be open to alter your goal if required. Nothing is set in stone.

  Question Four:

  Who is Your Hero?

  YOU MAY HAVE THOUGHT this is where the design process starts. After all, isn’t the hero the most important element of your story? Well, yes and no. A compelling, sympathetic hero is vital, but heroes are only made compelling and sympathetic by the goals they have and the endeavors they endure to obtain them.

  By waiting until we have the other key elements in place, we can efficiently devise the perfect hero to inhabit them. For example, the goal tells us a lot about our hero. A romantic goal means our hero is lacking in love or unhappy in their current relationship. The goal of treasure implies a poor hero. If the goal is escaping prison, then the hero’s back-story involves a crime that put him behind bars.

  The hero must be physically and mentally capable of surviving the endeavor. Great endeavors, therefore, require great abilities. Some heroes may have these skills while others need to go through training.

  Your hero must also be logically motivated to undergo the endeavor. In the simplest situations, their motivation is linked to their occupation. Cops investigate crimes. Secret agents fight maniacal villains. Doctors and nurses heal people. No further motivation is needed.

  More challenging are stories in which your hero has no organic motivation. They must be pushed to undertake the travails of Act II and there must be no logical alternative. If there is a logical alternative, they must attempt it and be foiled. The endeavor can be their only course of action.

  Here are the common hero types:

  The Righteous Hero

  MANY MYTHS AND FABLES involve a righteous hero who seeks to correct any wrong he or she encounters. This character is attractive, physically fit, and morally incorruptible. They represent an ideal of human character. Their constancy and reliability are comforting, even if their lack of fla
ws make them hard to identify with.

  The Unskilled Hero

  A MORE RELATABLE HERO is one who seems ill-suited to the task at hand. They are neither good-looking nor prime physical specimens. They may not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, and may have a loose grip on their moral compass. They are, in essence, more like us. They may go on the adventure of Act II kicking and screaming. The benefits of such a hero are their sympathetic and relatable qualities.

  The Rogue

  SOME HERO’S HAVE LESS than honorable motivations. They are in it for themselves. Though greed and self-centeredness are negative qualities, everyone can recognize them. Perhaps there are valid reasons for this hero’s darker qualities. They often carry the emotional baggage of a troubled past. The emotional reward of such a character is seeing them grow beyond their lone-wolf status to embrace a larger sense of self-worth and community involvement.

  The Tormented Hero

  SOME FOLKS CAN NEVER catch a break. They are trapped in an apparently endless cycle of misery. They are orphans, unloved, cast out, and downtrodden. The rest of the tribe makes fun of them, burdens them with the toughest jobs, or ignores their misery completely. Such heroes may have given up on themselves. They may believe their fate is beyond their control. The entertainment value of such a hero is their own dawning realization of their true worth.