South Flatland Fiction

Authors of books on writing have opinions about plot that range from disparagement to praise. Some writers belittle plot as a formula forced on a story because they equate it with the story requirements of genre fiction. For them, character is king when it comes to storytelling. But both plot and character are necessary, and a story without plot is a story going nowhere. An examination of what plot is may help you in structuring your next novel.

1. A plot moves chronologically and has a causal chain of events. A plot outline is in chronological order. A story outline is different because events in the story do not have to be in chronological order.

2. To be effective, each event in the causal chain must be greater in intensity than the previous one. However, quiet or light moments need to be interspersed with exciting ones.

3. Digressions from the causal chain should be made sparingly and only to enhance characterization, tone, or attitude.

4. The ending should not be ambiguous, and it should follow logically from the events that came before. While the reader should not be able to guess the ending, once he or she reads it, the ending should seem to be the only thing that could have happened.

1. The action plot--often Adventure, Science Fiction, and Mystery--focuses on what happens next. Characters such as James Bond, Luke Skywalker, or Indiana Jones are involved in action plots.

2. The character plot--focuses on human nature and relationships. The characters are searching for meaning in their lives. Examples are Madame Bovary, The Great Gatsby, or movies such as Driving Miss Daisy or Fried Green Tomatoes.

1. The reader has to identify with and/or care about the protagonist.

2. The protagonist's problem must be a significant one.

3. The protagonist should have an unbreakable bond with the antagonist: a reason he or she cannot simply walk away from the situation.

4. In a plot, the protagonist makes a series of choices that both reveal character and move the plot. Every choice intensifies the action.

5. Three major characters will allow for variety of interaction and plot development. More than three and the reader may have trouble keeping track of the relationships.

The main plot of a novel consists of the main character and his or her goal. The goal must be important and believable. The character must have something important to gain (money, power, love, and so on) or something to lose that would be disastrous. There must be a worthy motive for the main character's goal, such as duty, honor, or justice. The character must have great opposition to the goal.

A subplot is a secondary story line that is not equal in strength and intensity to the main plot. It must be relevant to the main plot.

Subplots may:

• create the feeling of more life-like main characters.
• reflect and enhance the action of the main plot.
• influence the direction of the main plot.
• provide comic relief.

Examples of subplots:

1. In the main plot of a romance, one or both of the main characters may resist commitment. Another couple in the story, perhaps friends, confidantes, or coworkers of the main characters, are also falling in love but having problems that show aspects of the love relationship the primary story line does not. The main characters, through their involvement with the other couple, may learn from what they see and come to realize their own love for each other should not be denied.

2. In a story of conflict between a parent and a child, subplots involving a neighbor or friend's child may give some perspective on the main plot. Another subplot might be a visit from a grandparent that casts the parent back into the child role, an experience that helps that parent recall what his own childhood was like and results in a better understanding of his own child's behavior.

Example of a story line with main and subplots:

Main Plot: Single parent, John Doe, desperately needs a promotion so that he can care for his four children, ages 10-14 and send them to college someday.

Main character's subplot 1: His children are getting less attention than they need because John is spending so much time and attention on getting the promotion.

Main character's subplot 2: He has a romantic interest with a coworker, something company policy prohibits.

Main character 2: Jane Smith is also being considered for the promotion John is working toward. She believes she is better qualified but is afraid John will get the promotion because he is a man. She looks for a way to tip the decision in her favor.

Main character 3: Mary Doe, John's fourteen-year-old daughter, is skipping school and acting out. She wants her father's attention now.

How are all these plot lines introduced in the story? See the abbreviations and plot summary below.

Scene 1 - MC1-MP: John Doe is presenting a proposal to his boss and other top management officials, and Jane Smith, who has her own proposal to present. The proposal he thinks is excellent generates a lot of questions about costs, particularly from Jane Smith. It looks as though his great idea is not as well received as he hoped it would be. Does this mean he won't get his promotion?

Scene 2 - MC1-sub1: John leaves the meeting depressed only to find a message to call home. The babysitter has had an emergency and won't be able to care for John's children for two weeks. After a discussion with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Mary Doe, John decides to let her care for the children after school for the rest of the week. Then his mother can come and care for them.

Scene 3 - MC1-MP: John arrives at work the next morning and is told his boss wants to see him. He learns management is interested in his proposal, but they need more information. Gathering the material and presenting it means he will have to work late instead of going right home as he had planned. When he leaves the boss's office, he runs into Diana, the secretary with whom he is romantically involved. There is a brief exchange of furtive flirting as both are aware of the policy against coworkers dating.

Scene 4 - MC2-sub: Jane Smith, a coworker who thinks she should receive the promotion John is working toward, sees the flirtatious moment between John and Diana. She could be wrong, but she knows what it looks like to her. She decides to see if she can find something substantive to report to management.

Scene 5 - MC3-sub: Her siblings are more than Mary Doe can handle. She calls her father for help.

Parallel Plots: Plots in which each main character has a separate but related story line that merges in the end.

Examples:

• Murderer and Detective
• Two family members with opposite goals or methods
• Rivals for a job
• Old enemies

In the plot outline, main character 1 has the first section. The story then moves to main character 2 and alternates between the two characters until they come together in the end. Each main character and his or her plot receive equal time. Their sections are indicated by the series of parallel lines on the timelines below. Each segment of the story moves the plot forward in time. An occasional scene may overlap in time, but the general movement should be forward.

In the parallel plot, the characters might start out together and separate to follow their own paths. Or they may not connect until the end. Their story lines are related and the climax occurs when the two come together at the end.

Parallel plots may have more than two main characters. Just remember that each character's story gets equal time and to keep the plot moving forward. Once each main character is introduced, return to the first character and repeat the cycle. Examples: School reunions, earthquakes and other natural disasters, terrorist attacks

These are plots that are held together by a character or other common thread instead of by a causal chain. Episodic plots follow a character through a series of adventures that are complete in themselves and are often used to show various facets of society. Books with episodic plots include The Odyssey, Don Quixote, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Plot helps give shape and meaning to fiction. If you are interested in learning more about plot, you might try your hand at the exercises that follow or consult one or more of the books in the reading list. Many of them may be available at your local library.

Now that you have seen how this works, use a disaster to start building a plot outline. Select a type of plot, either parallel or main plot with subplots, and decide on two or three main characters and their goals. Give a brief description of the first five or six scenes you would use to get the story started.

Choose two or three novels in your favorite genre. For each book, decide the type of plot used: parallel plot or main plot with subplots. Examine the scenes by jotting down each scene's viewpoint character and goal. Look at when and how subplots and other viewpoint characters are introduced.