Story 2: Plot

In ‘Story 1: Drama + Scenes’, we discussed some of the aspects that can comprise the concept of Story. Or at least we tried. Story is such a gigantic concept that it seems impossible to objectively and exhaustively break it down. That being said, there are certain concepts that seem more commonplace and fundamental to what most people would consider Story. One of those concepts is Plot.

In the previous article, we established that plot is the protagonist’s pursuit of their goal, and includes all the steps toward and away from that goal. Many people would argue that a plot is necessary for a story (to be a story). I’m not so sure about that, but I do think there’s a readily identifiable plot at the core of almost every story we watch, read, or hear. 

It’s important to note that there are a lot of people that think that plot is synonymous with story, and that every piece of the story should exist only to advance the plot. I couldn’t disagree more with this idea. On the topic of scenes, I believe that each scene should advance plot, character, and/or theme. We’ll go over the power and significance of character and theme in those respective articles, but it’s my personal belief that these aspects of story truly are as powerful and important to a great story as plot.

That being said, plot is usually the foundation or backbone upon which our characters are established, and around which the themes take shape, especially in longer narratives like feature-length films.

Plot Weaving

How do we make plot work? This is a big question, but one way to approach it is to treat plot like a cause-effect system. Each scene should be affected (set-up) by the scene that preceded it. What happens in this scene sets up what happens in the next scene, and so on. 

Not only does the cause-effect system work well to drive the plot from one scene to the next, it also helps to make your story feel cohesive.

From a comedic perspective, jokes work in much of the same way. Most punchlines don’t carry the same weight without a proper setup, if they’re even funny at all. Think of your protagonist’s goal as the punchline, and the plot to get us there as the setup. 

Trials and Errors

Note that each scene doesn’t have to bring our protagonist closer to their goal. In fact, stories are better with setbacks. Life is full of trial and error. The best way to learn, arguably, is to learn from your mistakes. The same goes for our characters. Errors and mistakes are temporary setbacks to achieving their goal, but if they learn from them, then they’ll be better off. Or, just maybe, the characters don’t learn from their mistakes, and fail again as a result.

Sometimes, We Fail.

While it’s not terribly commonplace in movies these days, characters sometimes DON’T achieve their ultimate goal, and that’s okay if yours doesn’t. It might have huge consequences to the character and their reality, but at the end of the day stories are stories, and they don’t all have to have a happy ending. 

In many ways, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back ends with a series of failures by the good guys, but those failures set up the third film of the trilogy, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, in a way that makes for a satisfying triumph over the Empire, as well as an emotional moment of redemption for Anakin Skywalker.

Other times, characters will fail at achieving their goal, only to realize what’s really important was there all along (family, love, support, the potential for happiness, etc.).

So, take a moment to consider what would happen if your character were to fail, and whether or not this would make for a better story and/or better support your themes. 

Be Careful What You Wish For

The most common kind of plot, by far, is one in which the protagonist ultimately achieves their goal. As we just mentioned, some stories feature a protagonist that fails, for whatever reason. There’s another type of plot, though, that starts with the protagonist wanting something, and they get it almost immediately. What then? Be careful what you wish for.

The protagonist has to deal with the consequences or the fallout of getting what they thought they wanted. Ironically, their goal then becomes either to reverse the act of getting what they wanted, or at least to return to some state of normalcy.

This kind of plot was used frequently in episodes of The Twilight Zone, and is more currently a frequent plot structure of shows like Rick and Morty. Dan Harmon, one of the co-creators of Rick and Morty, breaks down his episodic template over at Channel 101.

INT. VS. EXT.

When people refer to plot, they’re usually only referring to half of the story’s plot, if not less. The goal of most protagonists will be an EXTERNAL plot, meaning it’s something they hope to achieve in the material, physical world. Protagonists are almost always aware of their external goal, and it’s sometimes called the conscious goal. An external plot might also be known as the action plot.

Most narratives also feature some sort of INTERNAL plot, where the protagonist grows or changes in some way inside, usually relating to emotions and/or maturity. The internal plot is not usually known to the protagonist, as it’s usually related to a character flaw or void, and the internal plot is sometimes referred to as the unconscious or subconscious goal. The internal plot might also be known as the emotion plot. 

The external and internal plots seem to be separate from one another, and in some stories they stay separate, but it’s highly satisfying when they converge. This usually takes the form of a protagonist that needs to come to some sort of internal realization to achieve their external goal. 

We’ll talk much more about this in the article on character, but it’s important to note that the change or development of the protagonist internally could also be referred to as plot.

Subplotting

While your protagonist’s external goal drives the primary plot of your narrative, it’s important to give your other characters some attention, too. In many films and series, characters besides the protagonist will have their own priorities, goals, motivations, etc. When a secondary character has their own goal, it’s known as a subplot. This is especially commonplace in ensemble shows and movies. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia usually features a primary plot with one or a few characters involved, but at least one subplot with the other characters that usually converges with the primary plot at the end of the episode. Shows like this don’t have a defined, singular protagonist, but rather a set of characters that take turns in the ‘spotlight’ from episode to episode, and sometimes from scene to scene.

Another kind of subplot is when your protagonist has a smaller goal to achieve within a certain scene or act. These might be ancillary to the main goal (indirectly working toward the goal), or totally unrelated. Why might our protagonist take on a goal that’s unrelated to the primary goal? Maybe it reveals something about their character, or speaks to the overall themes of the piece. 

If you’re a gamer, you might think of a subplot like a side quest. A side quest isn’t necessary for finishing the game, but they can drastically enrich your understanding of your characters and the world. One of my favorite video game franchises is The Legend of Zelda, in which every installment features numerous side quests that reveal lore about the world, character backstories, and occasionally reward you with tools, weapons, or skills that will make later challenges easier.

A subplot is really any sort of plot that exists in parallel to your primary plot. Sometimes it’s just a way to get your secondary characters some much-needed screen time. Like internal plots, though, it’s most satisfying when the subplots converge with the primary plot.

Populating a Plot

You can’t have a plot without a goal, usually a need; and to have a need, you need characters. In the next Story installment, we’ll focus on the creation of characters for story, much of which directly complements the topic of plot.