Plot

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Making Storytelling Mastery Available to All!

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Making Storytelling Mastery Available to All!

The web is filled with courses in storytelling and story-writing. Some are written by famous authors, others by experienced teachers. Many are useful; sadly, many others are not.

Even the most useful courses seem to cover similar ground, containing treatments of the most obvious aspects of stories: plot, conflict, theme, setting, characterization, etc. To be sure, those can be useful!

But the vast majority of essays and courses stop well short of the "nitty-gritty"—the actual options available to all storytellers and story writers for how to express each element of stories: plot, conflict, theme, etc.

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Why don't storytellers make better plots?

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Why don't storytellers make better plots?

Why don't storytellers (and even many story-writers) make better plots?

Here are a few "plot confusions" that might contribute to the problem:

  1. For many storytellers, plots don't always seem as interesting as characters, places, and points of view—so we aren't as motivated to understand their essence and ways to help them grow;

  2. Indeed, plots often seem abstract and mathematical (they aren't really), whereas most storytellers care more about emotions and experiences. So we don't enjoy good relationships with the world of plot; and

  3. We've been told to "assemble" plots (examples range from misunderstandings of Aristotle to the Hero's Journey, Freytag's pyramid—and many more "plot formulas"!)—so plots don't seem as "artistic" as the other elements of story.

In truth, plot is intimately interwoven with characters, the physical world, and character emotions.

So why do we believe those misleading falsehoods and half-truths?

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Plot? Who Likes Plot?

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Plot? Who Likes Plot?

I spent many years ignoring plot.

Why?

Well, plot always seemed a bit like my second-cousin-in-law, Abner (name changed to protect the guilty: me).

Sure, Cousin Abner (who was considerably older than me) came to every party, invited or not. His cigars fouled the air and his butt-in comments fouled our conversations. We greeted him as warmly as we could, but not nearly as warmly as when we watched him go out the door. [cartoon of cigar-smoking man?]

In short: like a bad story's plot, Cousin Abner felt like a necessity to be endured—but never a pleasure.

Cousin Plot?

Over decades of professional storytelling, I have long told (and created) stories—which meant that I had to come to terms with their plots. I had to tweak their plots, revamp their plots, and sometimes borrow some of one story's plot to use in another.

But I saw plot in the same light as Cousin Abner: as something unavoidable—but that I never enjoyed dealing with.

Does your Non-Fiction Need a Plot?

We don't usually think of non-fiction as having a plot! After all, you might say, "Non-fiction should earn its keep through meaning and relevance—not through something as artsy as a 'plot.'"

But what is a plot? Dictionaries might claim that plot is the sequence of inter-related events in a play, movie, or novel.

That's what plot is. But, as story crafters, we need to know what a plot does.

For me, a plot must do three key things…

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Why "Eternal" Plots Are Always Temporary!

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Why "Eternal" Plots Are Always Temporary!

Many story experts maintain that there are “eternal plot structures” that have always existed and always will. There is ample evidence from history that those experts are wrong.

But there are other reasons that also contradict the “eternal plot form” hypothesis, including the endless co-evolution of audience expectations and the dynamics of how storytellers both shape and follow listener expectations…

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A Cuban Immigrant, the "CH Monster," and a Lesson about Plot

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Tersi Bendiburg came to the U.S. from her Cuban birthplace when she was ten. She struggled to pronounce certain sounds in U.S. English. In particular, she struggled for years to produce the sound of "ch" (as in "church").

"They made me try to say ‘ch’ over and over, imitating my speech teacher. But II never learned.”

I said, "That should not have happened to you!"

She said, “Why not?”…

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Can We Talk About Plot?

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Plot is an essential dimension of stories, so we need to describe it clearly.

Unfortunately, the word “plot” is used in several mutually exclusive ways. This confusion interferes with our ability to tell (or write) compelling stories!

Fortunately, there’s at least one elegant way to overcome this problem…

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“Beginning, Middle, End.” Huh?

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“Beginning, Middle, End.” Huh?

Many of us take for granted the idea of “Beginning,” “Middle” and “End” with regard to story structure. But what do those words actually mean? Is there a more helpful way to look at plot? How does all this relate to eating a sandwich?

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A Story Experiment: Conflict or Connection?

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A Story Experiment: Conflict or Connection?

Recently, I wrote an article, “Is Conflict Necessary in Every Story?” Several of you disagreed with my argument that conflict is not essential to every story.

I don’t expect win you over with more theory. But please let me tell you about an experiment I conducted, using a personal memory that I had never shaped into a story. 

First, I looked at this memory through the lens of conflict. Second, I viewed the same memory through the lens of connection. I was startled by the different results!

My "Debby Link” Memory

One day, when I was in first grade, I discovered that one of my classmates…

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Is Conflict Necessary in Every Story?

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Is Conflict Necessary in Every Story?

So many experts tell us that every story must center around a conflict. Is that “sage advice,” or just bad advice from would-be sages?

If it’s not true, what else could a story center around? Isn’t conflict essential to life—and therefore to stories? Are there really other centers for a compelling story?

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Plot Confusion?

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Plot Confusion?

As a long-time professional storyteller, I had never been able to make sense of “plot.” The various theories always seemed too vague (“beginning, middle, end”) or too specific (the stages of the “hero’s journey) to be useful with a wide variety of stories.

So what’s a better way? What if plot is not a series of “stages” but a set of processes that you can apply in your own way?