In The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker, the author insists that all literature can be broken down to seven plots (with an additional two that the author doesn’t like). The plots are as follows:
- Overcoming the Monster – the MC journeys to kill a beast (Hero’s journey)
- Rags to Riches (with two variations) poor MC becomes rich/powerful (variation 1: failure, variation 2: hollow victory – both involve character flaws)
- Quest – the MC goes on a journey to recover a prize
- Voyage and Return – the MC travels to a wonderful place that turns bad, and must fight to get home again
- Comedy (Shakespearean definition) – the MC wins the prize
- Tragedy (as above) – the MC loses the prize, possibly dies
- Rebirth – the MC is trapped in a living death, until rescued by another character
And two more that Booker doesn’t like – Mystery, and Rebellion Against the One. For Mystery, think Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and the like. Booker doesn’t like it because the MC is not directly involved in the plot. In Rebellion against the One, the MC fights against an all-powerful entity until forced to submit. Booker doesn’t like this one because the MC is essentially helpless.
Jessica Brody of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel also insists that there are generally only 10 basic plots. Most of those plots are re-hashes of Booker’s seven, with romance and rom-com added in. Granted, there are some cute variations like: Superhero, Dude with a Problem, and Fool Triumphant, but these are taken largely from movie scripts. No surprise, really – Ms. Brody started her career writing screenplays. And don’t get me wrong, her systems work – so do Mr. Booker’s. And it’s true, a huge amount of literature does fall into broad general categories – but I seriously doubt that all of it does. Both ignore science fiction, for instance.
I’m going to try not to drop into the ridiculous and start insisting on cut-and-dried genre definitions. I mean, if your story features magic as a major element (even with spaceships and robots), then it’s fantasy. If your story turns on some piece of high-tech hardware or a scientific principle (even if you have giants and unicorns running around) it’s probably science fiction. But I see all of these ‘plot types’ as simply hints or signposts. If you’re really stuck in your story, have a look at the general plot definitions and see if your story fits one of them. If it does, see if the plot type can give you any clues for going forward. If doesn’t fit any of them, congratulations – and I feel really sorry for you.
The reason for the above is: humans aren’t all that inventive. These general plot formats have been around for a long time – thousands of years – and not too many new ones have been added over time. The likelihood that you will come up with something startlingly original is tiny by comparison with the possibility that what you’re writing is simply pointless and confused. So, when you feel lost in your story, by all means refer to the tried and true. And don’t worry about originality – if you tell your story in your own voice, you will by definition be original. However, what if you have an idea for a story that you don’t see in any plot synopsis?
Here’s where things get interesting. Chances are still pretty good that you’ll be following a previously established plot form, but don’t worry about that. Your primary concern has to be your characters – especially the Main Character (Hero) and the Opposition Character (Villain). These two characters must be developed in depth: with a past, a goal (two, max), and a subtext. Every other metric of the character (likes/dislikes, powers, romantic entanglements, etc) are nice to have, but they’re basically just added spice unless they directly affect the outcome. Your best choice for goals is to have the hero and the villain want the same thing – each for their own reasons. This will create the maximum amount of conflict. To have a villain want to foil the hero’s plans (or vice versa) just because they don’t like the guy is a weak conflict – discard it.
The subtext is where your twists come in. This is the unspoken, often unconscious, need or driver for the character. The subtext will often work in opposition to, or at right angles with, the character’s stated goals. It’s the thing that will get your character to do something that looks out of character, but it’s really not. For the hero, this subtext – if the hero learns the lesson it teaches – will be the reason that they win. The villain will ignore their better nature or subtext, which is why they lose.
If you look at it closely, you will see that this description of character is what creates plot – not the other way around. Ray Bradbury said: “Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” Full-blooded characters with goals and unspoken drives will automatically come in conflict with each other and they will do whatever it takes to win. Isn’t that what storytelling is really about? “I know this guy – you won’t believe the mess he got into…” This is the basis of all great stories – we invite the audience in to witness someone else’s life and how it turned out. If you can do that, why would you want to do anything else?
Writing novels or plays comes down to this – show us a character we can relate to and then mess up his life. All description and plotting and word choice boils down to mere set dressing after that. Those things are nice to have, as are things like symbolism, rhythm and sexual tension – but don’t focus on them. That’s for the edit. Get your characters solid, and you won’t worry about plot anymore.
Be well.
bcd