20 MP Lesson 7: Master Plot #1--The Quest
Jul 8, 2021 11:25:08 GMT -6
Post by ScienceGirl on Jul 8, 2021 11:25:08 GMT -6
Tobias defines the quest plot as:
Think the Holy Grail, Valhalla, Atlantis, the Middle Kingdom. He says this plot is the most enduring, with a great historical range. In other words, it's been done again, and again, and again, and again, effectively many times over. But first, note what the quest plot is NOT.
Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are not quest plots. Yes, they have a central idea of searching for an artifact. However, the lost Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail are merely MacGuffins, or objects placed in the story that hold importance to the characters but not to the story itself.
In a true quest plot, there must be a fundamental change of character related to the search. Indiana Jones successfully maneuvers through the actions, but he is the same old Indiana at the end of the story. Yes, the Ark is a constant goal for him, but it does nothing to deepen him as a character.
Structure of the Quest Plot
Act One:
1) Point of Origination
The hero often begins at home. Some inciting force moves him to leave this home and take action, either by necessity or desire. Tobias cites several examples:
Jason and the Golden Fleece (Jason's uncle has stolen his crown, so he leaves home to reclaim his throne)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (He's busy building the wall, and the gods send clay warriors from Hell to stop him)
Don Quixote (He reads too many books and starts fancying himself a knight, so he goes off to become one)
The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy wants to run away from the farm and the evil Miss Gulch, so she dreams herself away from it)
All four have an inciting force, some kind of a desire or need. And, all four go on a long journey to achieve it. A lot of times, as Tobias points out, the quest will also end at home. And, they are all driven by a deeper objective for the quest--wisdom!
For a well-written quest, the progagonist (and the other characters as well) should learn something about how the world works and something about themselves. Maybe they return as heroes, or maybe they return disillusioned and sick, but in each case, they've learned a lesson that shapes them. And, as Tobias insists, the main character must be psychologically ready to receive this wisdom, which requires episodic steps of character development.
2) A transitional phase to the first major event
There's a decision to act that leads directly to a major event that takes place away from home. This motivating incident has to be compelling enough to cause the hero to abandon the safety and comfort of his home base and not tuck tail and run straight back to it. This phase serves as the transition between acts 1 and 2.
Tobias makes a few observations about this journey. First, characters regularly travel alone. They go on the buddy system, which makes it easier for them to justify the path into danger and trial. And second, they rarely travel empty-handed, even if they don't prepare extensively for the journey.
It's important to establish the buddy characters and the items that will accompany your hero on the journey in the first act, otherwise it will be too contrivial when they appear out of nowhere.
Act Two
Act one basically says, "will such-and-such happen, or better for a quest plot, will so-n-so find such-and-such?" And Act Three often says, "Yes." There you go. End of story. While the shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, it's a terribly boring path to follow in a story.
Tobias calls Act Two the flavoring, or spice of the quest. In it, you can give your readers an up-and-down ride like a roller coaster where you push them closer and then pull them farther away from finding whatever it is they're seeking.
However, he cautions, you don't want to add scenes that feel extraneous to the plot. Every task should be designed to grow your character and help them become stronger and more psychologically able to handle the quest.
Pantsers, the quest may not be the Plot for you. To pull off a good quest, you should carefully plan obstacles that teach the character a skill or provide them an item for their toolbox that they'll need in the final scene.
Watch also, he says, that you don't get caught up in merely physical obstacles. If your character is climbing a mountain, there will be definite physical obstacles to overcome. However, the most important part of the scene is how these obstacles AFFECT the character. Does he get discouraged? Does he take a desperate chance? According to Tobias,
Act Three
Act Three of the quest takes all the dots you've connected along the way and leads to a great reveal. This is the point where the character either obtains or is denied whatever it is they're searching for.
Many writers will throw in plot twists here. The object isn't what the hero expected to find, so he's let down. What he thinks is the object is a fake and he has to keep looking. Even within Act Three, going straight from point A to point B does not make for the most interesting writing.
So then, there's generally one or two more major events that solidify the protagonist in his role as a hero. (Or her role!!!) Consider at the end of The Wizard of Oz how the wizard more or less gives everyone what they want (Note that each side character in this story has their own quests, and they learn at the end that they already had what they want all along).
Well, except Dorothy, of course. She wants home. And this comes in her actualization of maturity and realizing that home is what she makes it and she can find happiness in her own backyard.
In Act Three, the protagonist will either accept or reject the lessons they've learned, so that even if they end up the same as they started, they know this isn't the best path for them to follow. At the least, they've learned that they're settling to be less than what they should be.
Plot Checklist
To effectively use the quest plot, Tobias suggest keeping the following in mind:
The protagonist's search for a person, place, or thing, tangible or intangible, in a way that fundamentally changes him.
Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are not quest plots. Yes, they have a central idea of searching for an artifact. However, the lost Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail are merely MacGuffins, or objects placed in the story that hold importance to the characters but not to the story itself.
In a true quest plot, there must be a fundamental change of character related to the search. Indiana Jones successfully maneuvers through the actions, but he is the same old Indiana at the end of the story. Yes, the Ark is a constant goal for him, but it does nothing to deepen him as a character.
Structure of the Quest Plot
Act One:
1) Point of Origination
The hero often begins at home. Some inciting force moves him to leave this home and take action, either by necessity or desire. Tobias cites several examples:
Jason and the Golden Fleece (Jason's uncle has stolen his crown, so he leaves home to reclaim his throne)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (He's busy building the wall, and the gods send clay warriors from Hell to stop him)
Don Quixote (He reads too many books and starts fancying himself a knight, so he goes off to become one)
The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy wants to run away from the farm and the evil Miss Gulch, so she dreams herself away from it)
All four have an inciting force, some kind of a desire or need. And, all four go on a long journey to achieve it. A lot of times, as Tobias points out, the quest will also end at home. And, they are all driven by a deeper objective for the quest--wisdom!
For a well-written quest, the progagonist (and the other characters as well) should learn something about how the world works and something about themselves. Maybe they return as heroes, or maybe they return disillusioned and sick, but in each case, they've learned a lesson that shapes them. And, as Tobias insists, the main character must be psychologically ready to receive this wisdom, which requires episodic steps of character development.
2) A transitional phase to the first major event
There's a decision to act that leads directly to a major event that takes place away from home. This motivating incident has to be compelling enough to cause the hero to abandon the safety and comfort of his home base and not tuck tail and run straight back to it. This phase serves as the transition between acts 1 and 2.
Tobias makes a few observations about this journey. First, characters regularly travel alone. They go on the buddy system, which makes it easier for them to justify the path into danger and trial. And second, they rarely travel empty-handed, even if they don't prepare extensively for the journey.
It's important to establish the buddy characters and the items that will accompany your hero on the journey in the first act, otherwise it will be too contrivial when they appear out of nowhere.
Act Two
Act One asks the question. Act Three gives the answer. All Act Two does is make the story interesting.
Tobias calls Act Two the flavoring, or spice of the quest. In it, you can give your readers an up-and-down ride like a roller coaster where you push them closer and then pull them farther away from finding whatever it is they're seeking.
However, he cautions, you don't want to add scenes that feel extraneous to the plot. Every task should be designed to grow your character and help them become stronger and more psychologically able to handle the quest.
Pantsers, the quest may not be the Plot for you. To pull off a good quest, you should carefully plan obstacles that teach the character a skill or provide them an item for their toolbox that they'll need in the final scene.
Watch also, he says, that you don't get caught up in merely physical obstacles. If your character is climbing a mountain, there will be definite physical obstacles to overcome. However, the most important part of the scene is how these obstacles AFFECT the character. Does he get discouraged? Does he take a desperate chance? According to Tobias,
The true relationship between character and event depends on your ability to bring the two of them together.
Act Three of the quest takes all the dots you've connected along the way and leads to a great reveal. This is the point where the character either obtains or is denied whatever it is they're searching for.
Many writers will throw in plot twists here. The object isn't what the hero expected to find, so he's let down. What he thinks is the object is a fake and he has to keep looking. Even within Act Three, going straight from point A to point B does not make for the most interesting writing.
So then, there's generally one or two more major events that solidify the protagonist in his role as a hero. (Or her role!!!) Consider at the end of The Wizard of Oz how the wizard more or less gives everyone what they want (Note that each side character in this story has their own quests, and they learn at the end that they already had what they want all along).
Well, except Dorothy, of course. She wants home. And this comes in her actualization of maturity and realizing that home is what she makes it and she can find happiness in her own backyard.
In Act Three, the protagonist will either accept or reject the lessons they've learned, so that even if they end up the same as they started, they know this isn't the best path for them to follow. At the least, they've learned that they're settling to be less than what they should be.
Plot Checklist
To effectively use the quest plot, Tobias suggest keeping the following in mind:
1. Is the quest plot about the search for a person, place, or thing while maintaining a close parallel between their intent/motivation and the object he/she is trying to find.
2. Does the setting change a lot, with movement orchestrated by cause and effect?
3. Does the plot come full circle geographically? Is there a "returning home" from this quest?
4. Is your character substantially different at the end of the story than from the beginning?
5. Is the overarching objective of the jouney for your protagonist to gain wisdom or to mature?
6. Does your first act include a motivating incident?
7. Does your hero have at least one traveling companion and a "bag of meaningful items" to use along the journey?
8. Is there a helpful character that your protagonist meets along the way? Someone to steer them back in the right direction if you've led them too far astray?
9. Does the last act include some kind of revelation to the character when they conclude their search?
10. Does your character discover something insightfully different than the item he/she sought?
2. Does the setting change a lot, with movement orchestrated by cause and effect?
3. Does the plot come full circle geographically? Is there a "returning home" from this quest?
4. Is your character substantially different at the end of the story than from the beginning?
5. Is the overarching objective of the jouney for your protagonist to gain wisdom or to mature?
6. Does your first act include a motivating incident?
7. Does your hero have at least one traveling companion and a "bag of meaningful items" to use along the journey?
8. Is there a helpful character that your protagonist meets along the way? Someone to steer them back in the right direction if you've led them too far astray?
9. Does the last act include some kind of revelation to the character when they conclude their search?
10. Does your character discover something insightfully different than the item he/she sought?
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