"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.” - Steve Prefontaine
The basics of constructing an intriguing and entertaining plot is at the core of good storytelling. Any discussion of plot must at some point refer back to the master, Aristotle. For over 2,300 years the format he laid down still serves us. Every story has a beginning, middle and end. Duh... and every section has a specific function. Setup the situation in act one, escalate the confrontation with the antagonist in act two and provide the reader/viewer with a satisfying resolution in act three. Okay, but how does one go about constructing a plot?
In this entry I'll discuss stage one: the beginning or setup.
Let's take a look at plot construction's first component (the beginning). The basic premise of any story is simply: something happens to someone. In the first thirty pages of your screenplay (give or take) your story must accomplish several things. Okay, define who your hero is. This should be easy. It's usually the character that under goes the most change. The audience will experience your story through this person's perspective.
Empathy toward your main character will keep your audience engaged. It's crucial. No one will sit through a movie for an hour and a half if they don't feel a connection to your main character. I've found three helpful techniques that help with this process.
- Make your main character either very good at what he or she does (a decorated army officer who leads new recruits through the difficulties of becoming an officer, a compassionate teacher that sacrifices advancements in her own career to help her students, etc.) or
- Make your main character hilariously funny (a hateful, biggot like Archie Bunker in All in the Family or a bumbling, drunken playboy like Arthur the multi-millionaire lush in the film of the same name played by Dudley Moore) we can forgive all types of bad behavior in a main character when he or she is funny. In fact, we'll cheer them on! or lastly,
- Make your character the victim of some unfortunate event beyond their control (a victim of a car accident, a person left devastated by a hurricane, an abused child, etc.). Our hearts go out to people like this. It's natural. Exploit it!
These are three easy ways to build audience empathy with your main character. Empathy is what will keep them rooting for your hero and caring about your story's final resolution.
The challenge of Act one is that it needs to accomplish a few important things as it thrusts us into the action. Many beginning writers linger on lengthy explanations and setups that slow a story down. In contrast, look at the mega successful James Bond franchise. Those films are famous for beginning with an elaborate action sequence. It throws the audience into the adventure at the very first moment.
Be sure to start your story at the height of something important that's happening in the lives of the characters you've created - not their Thursday afternoon trip to the market (unless of course that's where something happens - like a robbery, an alien attack, an act of terrorism, etc.) A good rule of thumb I've heard is to start every scene at the last possible moment. For instance, you want to write a scene about a husband and wife getting into an argument. Well -- start in the heat of an argument! Insults are slung about over a badly cooked dinner, tears are shed - slaps across the face are exchanged - you get the idea. Don't start at the moment when a tired husband is just arriving home from work. You've got to get a lot of things done in the first thirty pages. You just don't have time for this.
Once you've accomplished setting up the environment, tone and main character give your hero a burning desire. This will be the gasoline that keeps the story moving forward.
Consider these personal character motives: A woman intent on getting her less than average child into an exclusive school, a boxer trying to make a comeback when he's well past his prime, a detective with twenty hours to find a kidnapped heiress -- these are all examples of a burning desire - a overwhelming need that you can then exploit for dramatic or comedic purpose in stage two - the middle. One clever writing book I read recently said that beginning is all about rushing to get to the middle!
Setup the "who what and where" of your story in Act one and you're well on your way to having a great first act. Give your audience the chance to discover who the people of your story are - make them care - and then be sure to get across what the stakes are in your story.
Like many writers, I have a fondness for stories of far off, exotic locales and wondrous new cultures. Asne Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul
is penetrating and moving account of one journalist's extended stay in Afghanistan. It's rich with detail and emotionally engaging. I highly recommend it.This week's suggested website: The Library of Congress - (http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html) This U.S. government site offers access to an online library of books, letters, manuscripts, photos and other printed materials.
This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time. Review your main's character biography. Make sure you've included a burning desire in his/her makeup that will drive him/her through the rest of your story. Have a great writing week.
