Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. ~Flannery O'Connor
Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. ~Francis Bacon
Writing the next plot-driven best seller shouldn’t be our goal. As writers, we are collectors and interpreters of events.
Plots come easy, but that doesn’t mean they should drive the story. A plot-driven story is just a series of meaning less, though possibly clever, events happening in places a reader doesn’t care about to people a reader doesn’t care about.
When I was young, I wrote in plots. I had a million fantastic plot ideas, but my books were over in 30 pages or less because, once the plot took place, the story was over. (My personal favorite plot idea was about a tom-boy who was transferred to a prep school where she tried to get the girly-girls to play powder puff football for homecoming. It was called Preps Go Long.) Writing from one event to the next gave me a small word count and lifeless characters.
Yet, a writer cannot discount the importance of plot, and the elements of plot (though you may be aware of them) are worth the time to review.
Ø Exposition
o In the beginning, the exposition sets the scene and gives the reader any background information needed to move into the story.
o Some stories can start in medias res, or in the middle of things. These stories may feel as though they don’t have a well-formed exposition, or it may feel as though the background information is sprinkled throughout the story instead of placed at the start.
o No matter how you begin, never underestimate the power of the first line of your writing.
Ø Foreshadowing
o Sometimes a writer gives clues to what is to come in the plot.
Ø Conflict
o Mike Judge explains, “In order to have a plot, you have to have a conflict, something bad has to happen.”
o Laura Bokesch says conflict is “the essence of fiction. It creates plot.”
o She breaks conflicts into Man versus Man, Man versus Nature, Man versus Society, and Man versus Self.
o A relatable conflict will connect the reader to the characters.
Ø Inciting Force
o A conflict has a starting point: an event or person.
Ø Rising Action
o This is “a series of events that builds from the conflict. It begins with the inciting force and ends with the climax” (Bokesch).
Ø Crisis or Turning Point
o “At this point the opposing forces in the story meet, and the conflict becomes most intense. The crisis occurs before or at the same time as the climax” (Bokesch).
Ø Climax
o Generally, the climax is considered the most intense moment. Bokesch explains that the climax is what occurs because of the crisis; often a reader can predict what the outcome of the conflict will be based on the climax.
Ø Falling Action
o These are the events after the climax that lead towards the end of the story.
Ø Resolution
o The end of the action and events is the resolution.
Ø Catharsis
o Some stories have this “silver lining.” If the story is especially sad, readers often appreciate at least some level of catharsis. It might just be a lesson learned.
Of course, not every story has every one of these elements. One of my favorite short stories, “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, is mostly just the conversation between two people. The reader sees little background information, and the final line creates debate by readers on what the resolution is; the conflict is not clearly resolved. In fact, the story is centered mostly on conflict with little action. Great writers use these elements of plot as needed to produce great writing.
image from http://turtola.edublogs.org/2010-11-classes/creative-writing/language-and-literature/hills-like-white-elephants/
Possible Writing Challenges
1) Which kind of conflict do you find yourself most interested in reading (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Society, or Man vs. Nature)?
2) Think of your favorite books and movies, and identify some of the elements of plot.
3) Write up a brief sketch of an event that happened to you. Try to include many of the elements of plot.
Bacon, Francis. “Writing.” n.d. Quotegarden.com. 10 February 2011
<http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html>.
Bokesch, Laura. “Literary Elements.” n.d. Orange Unified School District. 6 September
2008 <http://www.orange usd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm>.
Judge, Mike. “Plot.” n.d. Brainyquotes.com. 10 February 2011
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/plot_2.html>.
O’Connor, Flannery. “Writing.” n.d. Quotegarden.com. 10 February 2011
<http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html>.
10 “Conflicting” Stories You Should Read
1) “Hills like White Elephants” short story by Ernest Hemingway
2) The Year of Secret Assignments young adult novel by Jaclyn Moriarty
3) The Giver young adult novel by Lois Lowry
4) “Revelation” short story by Flannery O’Connor
5) Hamlet play by William Shakespeare
6) The Pearl novella by John Steinbeck
7) The Awakening novella by Kate Chopin
8) “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” poems by Robert Browning
9) “Why I Live at the P.O.” short story by Eudora Welty
10) “A & P” short story by John Updike
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