The Magnificent Seven Plot Designs

Plot is the skeleton of your story.  Without it, you have a big gooey pile of flesh and skin and eyeballs.  Not so attractive.  But insert some good bones into that baby and what a magnificent bone structure.  Obviously, your story has to go somewhere or it's just a stranded hobo.  Who wants to read about a stranded hobo?  Now, if the stranded hobo hitches a ride with a group of nuns on a road trip to Las Vegas, however, I'm in.  But how do you come up with a plot that isn't completely regurgitated?  

Think about it: how many books have been published in history?  Think they are all completely original and have no resemblance whatsoever to any other books?

Think again.

There are really only seven different types of original plot lines that I've found floating around in the world of fiction, and they have each been used over and over and over again.  The way you twist them, the characters involved, and the settings you put them in are what make a story unique. 

 Just remember that there isn't really a secret formula for a good plot.  The famous authors of the world don't convene in dimly lit caves draped in robes of awesomeness and cackle deviously about being the select few with the secret recipe.  (Actually, this may happen.  As I am not anything close to a famous author, I have not been trusted with this kind of information)  It's all in the telling, as they say.  

Here are the seven different forms of plot I have come across.  Feel free to twist them as you see fit.  If you know of another that I haven't included, by all means share it here.

Seven Examples of Plot Design

1. Rags to Riches

Think Cinderella.  A character begins at the bottom of the totem pole.  Throughout many trials and tribulations that show off their strength of character, they rise to the top.  This type of plot design works well because everyone can relate to it.  I think it's safe to say that we all dream of climbing to the top, whether it be in a social circle, workplace, or society in general.  

  

2. Boy Meets Girl (or the other way around)

The classic love story.  Two people meet.  They want to be together, and we want it for them.  Crazy things happen that pull them apart, but hopefully they end up together.  Even if it isn't a fairy tale happy ending, the love needs to be believable and there needs to be tension.  I have read many a novel lately that adopted the "InstaLove" mentality and it felt completely unrealistic.  A reader should feel their need to be together and their despair when they're apart.

3. Coming of Age

This is a very popular concept among fiction, because it is something we all go through.  Coming of age can be in the literal sense, as a child grows into an adult, or in more of an emotional sense, as a character transforms through hardship, loss, or even success.  The Harry Potter series is a prime example of both.  

 4. Fall of the Corrupt

I really like this one.  There is something very rewarding to me about a bad person being brought to justice.  I can't be the only one, either.  Look how popular books like The Hunger Games are.

 

5. The Making of a Hero 

You take a hoagie.  Add some salami, turkey, ham, cheese, lettuce, whatever floats your boat.  Just kidding.  But really, this example is another of my favorites, because I find myself rooting for the reluctant hero all the time.  The protagonist may start out hesitant and powerless, but by the end of the story they find themselves saving the day.  I know I already used this example, but Harry Potter is a shining model of the reluctant hero.

 

6. There's No Place Like Home

The protagonist wants nothing more than to leave their small town behind in a cloud of dust and dive head-first into the big bright world.  But situations arise that cause the big epiphany and they wind up missing what they started out with.  The Wizard of Oz exemplifies this to a "T".

7. Salvation

Someone works to open the heart of a closed off old hermit.  Ok, it doesn't have to be a hermit, but you get the idea.  There is a damaged heart, or several damaged hearts, and someone tries to save them.  I especially like the example of Chocolat, which shows that it could be a whole community of people being saved, instead of just one person.

Happy plotting.

To Outline or Not To Outline... Is It Really a Question?

The old debate of outlining vs. not outlining has been carrying on since the dawn of the novel.  (At least it seems that way.  I wasn't really around then, so I'm not positive.)  There are those who claim outlining is a necessity for any well-written novel.  It provides the structure needed to achieve the key elements of plot.  Without it, a writer is lost in an endless sea of dead-ends and over-explored sub-plots.  On the other side, there are the free-thinkers.  I must admit, I have always believed myself to be a member of this camp.  The ones that believe an outline feels kind of like being straight-jacketed and trapped inside a very small box.  Claustrophobic feelings arise and keep the writer from experiencing the creative environment they need to write.

With my latest project, however, I found myself craving the unthinkable: STRUCTURE.  Rules; something to give me a good swift kick when I started rambling off-course or shine a beacon of light when I got lost and couldn't see a way out.  Another bonus I discovered along the outlining trail: I was no longer restrained by the shackles of chronology.  Since I vaguely knew where my story was going, I could write whatever scene I felt like writing on a particular day.  It was strangely liberating.

The fact is, a novel needs structure.  Otherwise, what you have is a hot literary mess.  But the actual process of outlining can be incredibly intimidating.  It was for me, anyway.  I discovered a way to tone down the intimidation and I would like to share it with you.

You will need: a pack of 3x5 index cards or some other small scraps of paper

First, and most importantly, brew a heaping pot of strong coffee or tea.  It is essential to the creative process.  (Not really, but just go with it.)

In the early, brainstorming and listening for ideas stage of your storytelling, write down one specific note or idea about the story on each note card or scrap of paper.  Your ideas could be actions, a specific detail about a character or setting, a phrase one of your characters says, or a broader direction the story is going in.  Write down all the ideas you have.  Anything and everything.  Don't think it will be relevant or help your outline at all?  Stop analyzing and just write it down!

Once you have all your ideas written down, you can start arranging the note cards into a timeline of events.  Note that this will be a continuing process and you will most likely be adding many more cards to the timeline along the way.  It is also important to note that I started doing this on my bed, only to have the entire thing crash in on itself when I got up.  Learn from my mistake and start on a hard, flat surface like the kitchen table or the floor.  If you find yourself overwhelmed with a huge stack of cards, try sorting them into the three acts of your story: at or near the beginning, at or near the middle, and at or near the end.  That way you can sort each separate pile into a more manageable timeline of its own.

If you are having trouble making decisions on when certain events should be taking place, just make your best guess.  That is the beauty of this type of outlining: nothing is permanent.  If you change your mind, you can just rearrange the cards.  It's like the commitment-phobes' guide to outlining.

Now read through your timeline and mull it over.  Does it sound like a structured story?  Then the writing can begin, my friend.  Does it lack continuity and sound more like bits and pieces of several different stories?  Maybe you need to spend more time listening to your ideas and brainstorming where to go with them.  If you are thinking of writing your story out of chronological order, you can rearrange the cards based on the order of events you have in your head.

This less intimidating style of outlining really helped me, a self-proclaimed organic writer, structure my story into something that resembled a plot line.  If you are still one of those radicals that can't handle the confinement of any type of outline, so be it.  Live free and write organically.  For the rest of you, just give it a shot.  What have you got to lose?  (besides a messy storyline or none at all)

By the way, check out this awesome example of why outlining is kind of essential to a novel by Larry Brooks.  It may blow your organic writing mind.