There is one and only one plot which exists in all of story.
Not ten. Not twenty-one. ONE. Pick any play, any novel, any movie and they all
follow this same master plot.
“But what is
this magic mystery plot upon thy devil’s tongue of which you speak?”
Glad you asked.
A Hero Goes On A
Journey, or, A Stranger Comes To Town.
“Wait a
cotton-pickin’ minute!” you say. “That’s two! You just lied, and now I hate
your face!”
“Nay!” I say.
“Two hearts that beat as one.”
You see, A Hero
Goes On A Journey and A Stranger Comes To Town are the same plot simply told from
different points of view.
I wish I could
take credit for this writer’s nugget of knowledge, but one must give credit
where credit is due. I chanced across some writerly advice penned by one James
Hudnall many years ago, in which he explained the singular plot theory which
changed my writing life forever.
So how do you
know which of these two master plots that are really one in the same fits your
protagonist’s bill?
Drumroll,
please…
…the Inciting
Incident.
I’ll go more
in-depth into what an Inciting Incident actually is in a future post. But for
now let’s just assume you already know what it is, that it takes place as soon
as possible after setting up the protagonist’s Ordinary World, and that it
introduces your protagonist to the main story conflict to come.
Oh stop your
whining.
Fine.
Here’s the
gist: the Inciting Incident (or
“exciting incident” as some prefer to call it) is the event or decision that
begins a story’s problem. Everything up to and until that moment is
Backstory; everything after is “the
story.”
Peter Parker,
meet radioactive spider. Aaannnd… bite!
Hey, Italian
Stallion! How would you like a shot at the world heavy-weight champion Apollo
Creed?
Oh poor, lonely,
computer hacker Neo, everything will be okay. Just follow the white rabbit.
Frodo, meet
ring.
Now back to the
point before it disappears. A Hero Goes On A Journey, and A Stranger Comes To
Town. If your “Hero” needs embark on a Journey to solve the main story
conflict, then they are obviously a Hero going on a Journey. But wait for it…
because if you switch that protagonist point of view to someone outside that
journey, and make your new protagonist someone whose town said Hero passes
through, then guess what? Now your Hero on a Journey becomes a Stranger coming
to Town.
Does the
Inciting Incident which disrupts your protagonist’s Ordinary World originate
via circumstances External from their Ordinary World? Then it’s A Stranger
Comes To Town, otherwise they would simply continue living their normal life
uninterrupted. Maybe boxing promoter George Jergens offers your protagonist
bum-boxer a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the world heavy-weight title. Though the
“stranger” doesn’t have to be a literal person. It could be a mysterious
package, or an email issuing grave news, or a letter of inheritance from an
unknown relative passing, and so on.
Does the
Inciting Incident which disrupts your protagonist’s Ordinary World originate
via circumstances Internal to their Ordinary World? Then it’s A Hero Goes On A
Journey, for if they could solve their new problem without ever leaving their
Ordinary World then it’s not really a problem and that makes a short, boring
story. Maybe a close relative has been harboring a secret finally revealed and
now your protagonist Frodo must take their evil magic ring to the Council of
Elrond in Rivendell.
Dwight V. Swain,
author of the fantastic and highly recommend book Techniques of the Selling
Writer, explains that all protagonists seek one of three things as their main
story goal:
1. Possession of
something.
2. Relief from
something.
3. Revenge for
something.
And I concur.
There is nothing
new when it comes to Plot, only the interesting twist you apply to the
protagonist’s point of view.
Is your
protagonist a hero who embarks on a journey? Or does a stranger come to their
town and change their life forever?
Choose wisely, or just flip a coin. Either way, your Hero will always be a Stranger to someone somewhere.