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Ren's Class: PLOT.

Whether it's a fanfic or an original story, a one shot or a 34 book series plot is an important aspect of writing (duh.)

Sadly, it can also be the most boring part. We like characters and imagery, powerful dialogue and romance, and often we as writers decide to just start writing and hope that he plot will fall into place as we write. This can lead to long, pointless rambling action that never leads anywhere.

Think about all the books you love more than all the others. They had an amazing plot, didn't there? Rising and Falling action? Totally.




Here is a basic Plot Triangle. All stories, more or less, follow this format. [Examples come from Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett.]

I. Exposition
You start out with exposition: Where you are, when you are, who you are.
[ Polly is a young girl living in a Borogovia while at War. She wants to sneak into the army as a boy to bring her brother home]

II. Rising Action

Now, notice all the little peaks. These "mini-climaxes" (Yes, giggle now) are essentially your chapters. Something IMPORTANT and exciting should happen EVERY chapter.

[Polly joins the army. Polly has a run in with another solider. Polly's fellow solider who is a reformed Vampire runs out of coffee and starts to go crazy. Polly's group runs into a band of enemy spies]

III. Climax

Finally you reach the BIG climax, the most intense part of the whole story. s**t is going down. Stuff is bad. Things are exciting.
[Polly and her friends are in the enemy castle and use their wits to not only escape but take the castle back from the enemy]

IV. Falling Action

And lastly there is the Falling action. This takes all the loose ends and adrenaline from the climax and wraps them up nice and neat. People go home, restart their lives, medals are given, etc.

[Polly finds her brother and goes home]

Now, some authors like to add an extra little bump at the end of their story, the main character going off to start another adventure of something, leaving things open for a sequel or fanfiction. This is totally optional

[Polly goes back to the army to join another war]




!!!!CAUTION!!!!!

Avoid the Deus Ex Machina climax resolution.

A Deus Ex Machina is an outside force that solves a seemingly unsolvable problem in an extremely unlikely (and, usually, anticlimactic) way. If the secret documents are in Russian, one of the spies suddenly reveals that they learned the language. If the writers have just lost funding, a millionaire suddenly arrives, announces an interest in their movie, and offers all the finances they need to make it. If The Hero is dangling at the edge of a cliff with a villain stepping on his fingers, a flying robot suddenly appears to save him.

The term is Latin for god out of the machine, and has its origins in Greek theater. It refers to situations in which a crane (machine) was used to lower actors or statues playing a god or gods (deus) onto the stage to set things right. It has since come to be used as a general term for any event in which a seemingly fatal plot twist is resolved by an event never foreshadowed or set up.

DO NOT DO THIS. Ever.

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Writing Prompt:
Plan out a story. Don't panic, you dont have to write the whole thing. But write up an outline.
Give the basic plot.

Over all plot:
Several Rising Action steps (3 to 5 is fine):
The Climax:
The Falling Action:

It can be as mundane or as awesome as you like.



Bonus writing prompt: Write out the plot steps for your favorite book so you can see how your favorite author did it. Every chapter should have a rising action step.