PLOT STRUCTURE
Many of the ideas about plot can be traced back to Aristotle in the guidelines he set out in his Poetics, written in 350 BC. Aristotle used the term mythos to denote plot and wrote that it is “the arrangement of incidents.” From Aristotle, Freytag’s pyramid was developed in 1863, which divided a story into five actions: exposition, complication, crisis, anticlimax, and resolution. Modern novels use a similar plot structure by adding two actions, creating a seven-step progression of action that flows through the novel. These are ground state, conflict/incitement, complications/rising action, crisis, climax, falling action, and denouement.
1. Ground State
As the story begins, the characters in their world are in a stable situation.
2. Conflict and Incitement
The stability of the characters’ world is upset as a result of a conflict that confronts the protagonist. In modern young adult fiction this must happen immediately, with one or more conflicts arising or implied in the first few pages.
One of these conflicts faced by the protagonist is considered the incitement or the event that actually sets the chain of events of the plot in motion. Some authors, especially in mysteries, may deliberately set out false conflicts. In Alfred Hitchcock’s movies these false conflicts often took the form of McGuffins—ideas or objects around which the plot revolves. While the characters may care deeply about what the McGuffin is, viewers typically care more about the characters and how they react to it. Although the McGuffin set the plot in motion, its exact nature—a government secret (The 39 Steps), a possible murder (Rear Window), $40,000 (Psycho)—was more or less interchangeable and unimportant.
3. Complications and Rising Action
Until the resolution of the story’s central problem, the protagonist’s situation should steadily get worse. A protagonist who finds many natural or unexplained obstacles in his path is “unlucky.” On the other hand, a protagonist who is dealing with obstacles generated by other characters is being “thwarted.” The difficulties should increase primarily as a result of action by the protagonist, not just from outside forces. Every attempt at a solution should create a new and more tenacious problem as a result of that action. The objective is to create a steadily increasing suspenseful atmosphere in order to pull the reader into the story and to keep him reading to find what happens to the characters.
4. Crisis
In young adult stories this is the point of maximum tension and suspense just before the climax. Every event and plot twist has logically led to this point following the actions of the characters reacting to the cause of events. The final crisis is the result of bringing together all of the known information with some final crucial element that brings the entire story into focus in the mind of the reader.
At no time in the crisis scene should the author attempt to summarize the plot or give the reader hints as to the outcome. Trust the reader. If the story is clearly written with a strong, well-organized plot, he’ll get it.
5. Climax
When a problem is resolved or an obstacle overcome, there is a climactic point of tension and drama in the story. The situation is such that the conflict must be resolved one way or the other when a character takes decisive action to end it. However, not all climactic points are created equal, and they should not have equal weight in the story. At the beginning of the story the plot should allow the protagonist small successes. As the story progresses, the challenges should increase in difficulty and the resulting climax should become more significant, leading up to the final central climax of the story. This is the high point of interest or suspense. The reader experiences the greatest emotional response to a character’s problem at this point.
In retrospect the climax should not be a complete surprise. Immediately after the reader says, “Yeah, I got it,” he should say, “Of course! I should’ve seen it.” The story has been building to this one scene, and the reader should be familiar with all of the plot elements but would not have put them together in that particular form.
The final climax must be shown in a fully developed scene; none of the details of this final scene can be described out of the sight of the reader. At the climax circumstances change and the world of the protagonist becomes stable again.
6. Falling Action
Directly following the climax, the author should tie up all the loose ends of the story and briefly examine the consequences of the climax and changed world of the characters. If a problem or question has arisen, the author should deal with it before the end of the story. This can be as simple as a few lines describing the resolution or an acknowledgment that the problem isn’t going to be solved within the space of this story. At the end of a story, a reader shouldn’t be asking, “What about…?”
7. Denouement (Ending)
This is a French term meaning “unraveling.” Most young adult authors prefer to leave most, if not all, of the meanings of the plot for the reader to figure out. That is, they will use indirection and suggestion rather than telling the reader right out. This gives the reader the opportunity to create his own interpretation of the story, which may be different from the author’s. It also provides the opportunity to tempt the reader with further adventures of the same characters in the next book. There are a number of common endings for a plot.
• Resolution: This is the end of the conflict by the victory of one side or the other. One of the most common endings in young adult fiction, it does not always mean that the victory is entirely complete or satisfying to the characters. Resolutions with a small but noticeable element of failure, sacrifice, or loss add emotional depth and force the reader into a variety of interpretations of the ending and how the protagonist handles failure.
• Revelation: This is the exposure of something previously hidden in the plot. An example of a revelation ending is the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The lottery process occupies the entire story, and only in the last few paragraphs does the reader understand the purpose of the lottery.
• Decision: This ending comes when the protagonist makes up his mind about the conflict. The decision should be important, difficult, and require that the character give something up to gain much more.
• Explanation: This ending provides the solution for a mystery or a puzzle-type plot to the reader. An explanation ending works when the mystery or puzzle is sufficiently hidden that the reader will not usually be able to figure it out.
• Trick: This is a surprise and may be a jarring departure from the expected ending. William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) wrote hundreds of stories with trick endings. Trick endings are sometimes used in young adult fiction, but the danger is that readers may think the ending is too simple and may be disappointed. A trick ending works when the protagonist must make a difficult decision and the author keeps the reader from knowing what the protagonist will do.
An author must write his ending on that fine line between a clichéd plot where everything falls into place and the reader saw it coming three chapters ago, and a plot that mimics life too closely and just ends in the middle of nowhere.
SUBPLOTS
The author may choose to tell several stories at the same time—stories within a story. Along with the major plot there may be one or more subplots about other characters or about the protagonist. Subplots are used to add layers of obstacles, mystery, and suspense to the story. A subplot can also add past information, usually something the main character wasn’t previously aware of. There are two types of subplots.
• Parallel: In a parallel subplot the author moves from the main plot to a subplot, using each to dramatize the other, bring in details from another time or place that affect the main plot, or compare and contrast different issues.
• Hinged: A subplot that dramatically joins and becomes part of the main plot at some point is called a hinged plot.
Generally, although there are exceptions, a subplot should not be introduced at the beginning of a novel. Subplots should support the pro
tagonist. His actions should be introduced first and the subplots after.
Subplots can add layers of complexity to your novel and help add color to your story and your characters. But be careful how you use them. Remember they’re subplots—subservient to your main plot. Your main plot should always come first.
CHAPTER 5
BUILDING YOUR PLOT
Given knowledge of the structure of a plot, how does an author develop a plot upon which to build a story that will take a reader on a satisfying fictional journey?
GENERAL GUIDELINES
The following suggestions will give you some ideas on how typical YA plots unfold.
Start the Story Early
The action of the story should begin as close to the beginning of the novel as possible. Long expositions and backstory will quickly lose the interest of young adult readers. An author who adds a prologue to his novel is kidding himself if he thinks the reader won’t recognize it for what it is: backstory. The characters should have a short period of stability, reach the incitement point, establish the conflict, and take off running toward the climax as soon as possible. Backstory and exposition should be added a little at a time as the story progresses at points where it is required to move the plot forward.
Let the Characters Influence the Plot
A character in a particular situation will react in a wide variety of ways based on his personality and the relationships he may have to other characters and the setting. If the entire plot is worked out in advance and the author simply peoples it with characters to carry out the action, the characters will seem stiff and unreal because they are being forced away from who they are and how they would naturally react.
Don’t Have Too Much Plot
Characters do not have to have a crisis or deal with threats every few pages. Too many characters, story lines, subplots, and too much action will quickly lose younger readers. Breaks in the action are important for the characters to reflect on what has happened, consider the current situation, and plan their next move. This will help sustain the suspense and ramp up the anticipation of watching the character move into the next action scene. The author should focus on the protagonist and his reactions to advance the story.
Let Readers Wait
Be sure the reader has all the information he needs to understand the plot and the action, but not so much that he knows the resolution of the conflict before the climax is reached. Anticipation creates empathy with the characters and keeps the reader involved in the story to find out what happens.
Pace the Plot
Imagine the plot as a wave flowing through the story with distinct patterns of up-and-down motions. The character begins in calm water as he considers the situation. As tension builds, he is on the upward slope of the wave, and at the crest a climax occurs and he drops back down into calm water. Each climax crest becomes larger and larger until the final, highest crest at the story climax. The increasingly larger waves sustain the tension until the end.
Let the Characters Grow
This is a requirement for quality young adult fiction. In most YA novels the characters are young. Psychologically, physiologically, and emotionally, these characters are not adults and do not have adult maturity. Dealing with the conflict and the climax will add a layer of experience to their personalities that must be reflected in their behavior at the end of the novel. It’s essential that the author make the young reader a part of the story so that he can live vicariously through the protagonist and have the same experiences. In the end, the question with young adult fiction is, What did the reader carry away from the story? How is he different?
You’ve had a chance to think through how to start the story and have even thought about your characters and how they will factor into the plot. Now you’ll begin working on how to build your plot. Let’s take a look at the process of storyboarding.
STORYBOARDING
Storyboarding is a tool that can be used to arrange a story into a plot. The method is to take a stack of index cards and write a major scene from the story on each. If possible, include the opening scene and the climax or ending scene. In this way the story can be bracketed between the beginning and the end and not wander away. Next, lay the cards out in the sequence you’ve envisioned for the story. Then stand back and examine the story in terms of the seven steps of plot action and how they relate to the story line. Where does the story and the conflict begin? Where is the crisis and climax? Can the cause and effect of the characters’ motivations be seen, and are they in the correct order? By moving the cards around and adding cards as needed, the story line can be manipulated to closely connect to the plot.
A storyboard will clearly illustrate the movement of the plot from the stable ground situation to conflict and then to climax. Some commonly used patterns of movement found in stories include movement from:
• problem to solution
• mystery to solution
• conflict to peace
• danger to safety
• confusion to order
• dilemma to decision
• ignorance to knowledge
• questions to answers
- THE THIRTY-SIX DRAMATIC SITUATIONS -
These situations were compiled by Georges Polti in the 1800s and were based on earlier work of Carlo Gozzi. Dramatic situations are not plots. They are categories of sources of conflict in a story that can be included in a plot. Most plots combine several of these situations to create the conflict that drives the story. Since Polti created his original list, it has been modified and massaged by many writers, but the essential list remains intact although perhaps renamed. Recently a thirty-seventh situation has been added to the list, which is listed at the end. Listed on the following pages are the dramatic situations with the character types that would normally be associated with the situation.
• Supplication: Someone who needs help, usually due to the antagonist
• Deliverance: Someone who needs help and someone to rescue that person
• Vengeance of a crime: Someone is the avenger and someone else is the criminal
• Vengeance taken for kin upon kin: Someone is the avenging kinsman, the guilty kinsman, someone to remember the victim, and a relative
• Pursuit: Someone is the fugitive and the pursuer
• Disaster, vanquished: Characters include the vanquished power, the victorious enemy, and the messenger
• Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune: Characters are the unfortunate and the master
• Revolt: Someone is the tyrant and the conspirator
• Daring enterprise: Someone is the bold leader and the adversary
• Abduction: Someone is the abductor, the guardian, and the victim
• The enigma: Someone is the seeker, the interrogator
• Obtaining: Characters include the solicitor, the adversary, opposing parties, and the arbitrator
• Enmity of kin: Someone is the malevolent kinsman or the hated or hating kinsman
• Rivalry of kin: Characters are the preferred kinsman and the rejected kinsman
• Murderous adultery: Someone is the adulterers and the betrayed spouse
• Madness: Someone is the mad person or the victim
• Fatal imprudence: Characters include the imprudent and the victim
• Involuntary crimes of love: Someone is the lover, the beloved, and the revealer
• Slaying of kin unrecognized: Someone is the slayer or the unrecognized victim
• Self-sacrifice for an ideal: Characters include the hero and the person sacrificed
• Self-sacrifice for kin: Someone is the hero, the kinsman, or the person sacrificed
• All sacrificed for passion: Someone is the lover, the beloved, or the person sacrificed
• Necessity of sacrificing loved ones: Someone is the hero or the beloved victim
• Rivalry of superior versus inferior: Characters include the superior rival and the inferior rival
• Adu
ltery: Characters include the deceived spouse and the adulterers
• Crimes of love: Someone is the lover, the beloved, and the victim
• Discovery of the dishonor of a loved one: Characters include the dishonorer and the guilty one
• Obstacles to love: Someone is lovers and people who stand in their way
• An enemy loved: Characters include the beloved enemy, the lover, and the hater
• Ambition: Someone is the ambitious person, the adversary
• Conflict with a god: Someone is the immortal, the mortal
• Mistaken jealousy: Someone is the jealous, the object of jealousy, the supposed accomplice, and the author of the mistake
• Erroneous judgment: Someone is the mistaken one, the victim of the error, the author of the error, the guilty person
• Remorse: Characters include the culprit, the victim, the interrogator
• Recovery of a lost one: Someone is the seeker, the one found
• Loss of loved ones: Someone is the kinsman slain, the kinsman spectator, the executioner
• Mistaken identity: Characters include the mistaken one, the victim of the mistake, and the author of the mistake
Combining several of these situations will assist an author to develop a plot that will sustain a novel. These dramatic situations can be used to create plot twists, give the reader insight into a character, create a dilemma for the protagonist, create a subplot, form the basis of a scene, or form any other cause-and-effect situation to move the plot toward the climax.
CRITICAL POINTS OF PLOTTING A STORY
When designing a plot, there are a number of critical factors that will directly affect how well the plot works to support the story. If an author has a plot designed, the following ten points will serve as a guide to assess how well the plot may work.
Writing Great Books for Young Adults Page 5
