20 Master Plots Lesson 1.4 Beginning, Middle and End
Jul 3, 2021 9:58:41 GMT -6
Post by ScienceGirl on Jul 3, 2021 9:58:41 GMT -6
We'll wrap up Chapter 1 with a discussion of the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
The Beginning
According to Tobias, the beginning of a story includes the setup, which is "the initial action of the situation, presented to us as a problem that must be solved." He says it's where we define our characters and their desires, and that we've begun our journey of plot when we can answer that question: What does my main character want?
Wanting brings about motivation, which answers that question about why the character does what they do.
The Middle
Again, Tobias quotes Aristotle, who called the middle of story the "rising action." It's where the character begins the pursuit of the goal. These are the actual steps where she starts actively working on a way to get what she wants. In "The Choking Doberman," it's when the woman takes the dog to the vet. In "The Whale Husband" it's when the fisherman goes to Killer Whale's house with Shark. In "The English Gentleman," it's when Geoffrey makes his offer to buy the letter.
It's the time of cause, then effect.
Of course, we all know that having the character follow a series of direct steps to get what they want makes for a terrible story. There must be challenges to keep the character from successfully fulfilling their intent. Aristotle named these reversals, but we might call them conflict or obstacles today. These are the barriers that create effective tension and keep readers turning the pages. We can see these barriers in "The Choking Doberman" and "The English Gentleman." The woman gets the phone call from the vet, and Clive offers to buy back the letter. But as Tobias points out, "The Whale Husband" has no reversal, and that's one of the reasons it fails so terribly as a plot.
Following the reversal comes some kind of change. The woman flees her house. The two men fight over the letter. In other words, it doesn't work to have a reversal unless there's some reactionary response by the characters. Aristotle calls this recognition.
Some members of this forum may not have picked up on Raveneye's brilliance on her profile with the phrase Deux ex Machina, which means "God of the Machine." Tobias references this phrase, showing us how in old dramas the playwright just popped a god into the story to take care of whatever problem existed. An angle drops out of the sky. A magician waves a magic wand. The antagonist falls to his death. (Goodbye, Gaston!--that ending to Beauty and the Beast has always bugged me! Gaston is gone, and suddenly all his followers will stop hating the beast. What kind of resolution is that?) We call these kinds of endings contrived.
Mark Twain hated contrived endings as much as anyone. Tobias quotes him as saying:
In other words, DON'T TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT!!!
The End
The ending of your story should contan your climax, falling action, and denouement, which is the piece that ties up all your loose ends. It's what Tobias calls "the logical outcome of all the events in the final two phases of your story." He says that all should be "exposed and clarified." This is resolution. He ends the chapter by saying:
Don't you hate it when you get to watching a series on TV and it's suddenly cancelled? You have no way of ever knowing the end? Well, books don't have to work that way! Obviously, you might want to leave a hook for your readers if you're planning a series, but still, you need to wrap up the plot of every book in the series with no loose ties. Readers don't necessarily need to understand ALL the minute details, but at the very least, they need to understand the why of it all.
And folks, that's "The End" of Chapter 1! In summary: Wanting, motivation, rising action, reversals, recognition, and resolution are the elements that marry story to plot and help you pen one of those timeless novels that your readers will never want to put down.
The Beginning
According to Tobias, the beginning of a story includes the setup, which is "the initial action of the situation, presented to us as a problem that must be solved." He says it's where we define our characters and their desires, and that we've begun our journey of plot when we can answer that question: What does my main character want?
Wanting brings about motivation, which answers that question about why the character does what they do.
The Middle
Again, Tobias quotes Aristotle, who called the middle of story the "rising action." It's where the character begins the pursuit of the goal. These are the actual steps where she starts actively working on a way to get what she wants. In "The Choking Doberman," it's when the woman takes the dog to the vet. In "The Whale Husband" it's when the fisherman goes to Killer Whale's house with Shark. In "The English Gentleman," it's when Geoffrey makes his offer to buy the letter.
It's the time of cause, then effect.
Of course, we all know that having the character follow a series of direct steps to get what they want makes for a terrible story. There must be challenges to keep the character from successfully fulfilling their intent. Aristotle named these reversals, but we might call them conflict or obstacles today. These are the barriers that create effective tension and keep readers turning the pages. We can see these barriers in "The Choking Doberman" and "The English Gentleman." The woman gets the phone call from the vet, and Clive offers to buy back the letter. But as Tobias points out, "The Whale Husband" has no reversal, and that's one of the reasons it fails so terribly as a plot.
Following the reversal comes some kind of change. The woman flees her house. The two men fight over the letter. In other words, it doesn't work to have a reversal unless there's some reactionary response by the characters. Aristotle calls this recognition.
Some members of this forum may not have picked up on Raveneye's brilliance on her profile with the phrase Deux ex Machina, which means "God of the Machine." Tobias references this phrase, showing us how in old dramas the playwright just popped a god into the story to take care of whatever problem existed. An angle drops out of the sky. A magician waves a magic wand. The antagonist falls to his death. (Goodbye, Gaston!--that ending to Beauty and the Beast has always bugged me! Gaston is gone, and suddenly all his followers will stop hating the beast. What kind of resolution is that?) We call these kinds of endings contrived.
Mark Twain hated contrived endings as much as anyone. Tobias quotes him as saying:
The personages of a tale shall confine themselves to possibility and let miracles alone.
The End
The ending of your story should contan your climax, falling action, and denouement, which is the piece that ties up all your loose ends. It's what Tobias calls "the logical outcome of all the events in the final two phases of your story." He says that all should be "exposed and clarified." This is resolution. He ends the chapter by saying:
Everything--who, what, and where--is explained, and everything makes sense.
And folks, that's "The End" of Chapter 1! In summary: Wanting, motivation, rising action, reversals, recognition, and resolution are the elements that marry story to plot and help you pen one of those timeless novels that your readers will never want to put down.
You add them to your profile as you do them around the forum.
