20 MP Lesson 4 Deep Structure

Now that we've established which of the two fundamental plots we want to explore, Tobias takes us into a more advanced line of thinking. Just as a writer can deepen the point of view of their characters, they also can deepen the structure of their plot. 

The central concept of deep structure, Tobias claims, is morality. He says,

Bad writing, he points out, happens when the author is sloppy or lazy and doesn't understand or develop the moral system. He says in bad writing we don't take the moral systems seriously, but in good writing we become concerned with the implications of the moral system and depend on it as food for thought.

Tobias illustrates this idea with a brief discussion of the book and film Shane. The main character, Shane, is something of a frontier Jesus-like figure. Critics have even likened him to Apollo or Hercules. He comes from nowhere and returns to nowhere, but when he's present, his strong moral code helps the homesteaders defeat their enemies. Shane is tempted with a homesteader's wife and resists, unwavering from his moral system. The message is clear. Crime doesn't pay. Good wins over evil.

Even if you chose to write from the opposite angle and let evil triumph over good, it requires a moral system. Developing this moral system is what gives your protagonist the ability to either perform certain actions or to maintain the internal reflection to support your mental or active plot. 

^Two-Timing

The world, Tobias says, is not simple. No surprise there. Humanity wants it to be black and white, but most of life is in the gray. But we still insist on defining things as "good or bad, ugly or beautiful, light or dark, up or down, rich or poor, weak or strong, happy or sad, protagonist or antagonist. He says we do this to simplify. Instead of having infinite ways to interpret the world, we pretend there are only two.

To achieve the deepest structure of plot, we must eliminate our two-sided thinking. Don't make it too clear-cut and easy. Give your villain merits and your hero flaws. Let your protagonist perform mostly good actions, but have them stumble. And make your antagonist do something altruistic. 

I love the relationship between Gru and the minions in Despicable Me. Here's a guy who causes some poor kid's ice cream to land on the sidewalk and kicks dogs just because he feels like it. But, he has a soft spot for the child-like and rather needy yellow creatures. There's a deep loyalty between them, which gives us hope that he can have a positive character arc. What great depth of character we see in him, even making it believable that he would adopt and fall in love with his three daughters.

Great books are full of those unlikely partnerships. A villain and hero work together to save the town from being blown to bits by a volcano. 

Tobias advises,

When the author doesn't live in these gray areas, Tobias calls it propaganda. It's that intentioned writing that is trying to subconsciously lead your readers to make better decisions or to devalue some bad habit or concept in society. He actually spends quite a bit of time on this section, but I'll summarize it in seven words: Get off your soapbox, and write ficton! There are plenty of nonfiction opportunities out there to address your soapboxes.

He talks again about adding opposition like we've discussed in the past chapters, and to sometimes let the apparent wrong choice be the right one and vice versa. We should present both sides of an argument in a logical fashion and placing the character dead in the middle. Consider the phrase, "Damned if you don't; damned if you do," and keep their action choices from being straightforward. After all, if the end justifies the means, don't most of us choose to abandon our moral compass and bend the rules at times? 

An added benefit to writing in this way is that your story will naturally have more tension and the stakes will be higher for your characters. That, folks, is how you keep readers glued to your books.