Date:         Fri, 1 Aug 1997 11:01:23 EDT
From: "tink, tink, tink the work is boring..." <mbarker@MIT.EDU>
Subject:      EXERCISE: Plot #11: Metamorphosis: 20 Master Plots

Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B.
Tobias.  ISBN 0-89879-595-8.

Master Plot #11: Metamorphosis

(p. 146)  "If any one plot is truly magical, metamorphosis is it.  Most
of the master plots are grounded in reality:  They deal with situations
and people whom we readily recognize because they're based in our
experience.  Even good science fiction and fantasy stories are
ultimately as real in their portrayal of people and events as anything
by Henry James or Jane Austen.  Science Fiction author Theodore Sturgeon
pointed out that a good science fiction story deals with a _human_
problem and a _human_ solution.  Fiction, whether it happens in Middle
Earth or in a galaxy far, far away, is always about _us._  Fiction
reveals truths that reality obscures."

    "...In the metamorphosis plot, the physical characteristics of the
protagonist actually change from one form to another. ..."  animal to
human, human to beast, etc. with change that is physical and emotional.
metaphor, allegory, and mixes...wolfman, vampire, beauty and the beast,
etc.

Often the metamorphosis is the result of a curse, wrongdoing, an offense
against nature.  Then, of course, the cure is love!

(p. 148) "The point of the plot is to show the process (or failure) of
transformation.  Since this is a character plot, we're more concerned
with the nature of the metamorph than with his actions.  The metamorph
represents mystery:  What sin has he committed to warrant this change?
What must he do to free himself from the curse?  The metamorph is an
innately sad person, burdened by his affliction."

Three Dramatic Phases (of the moon?  depends on your metamorph, or your
metaphor?)

Phase one: introduce the protagonist and the current state of his
condition.  Usually the curse has been in place for some time, and we
enter the story at the point of change.

Also, introduce the antagonist, the "catalyst that propels the metamorph
towards release."  While the antagonist is usually "the one" that the
metamorph has been waiting for, neither one necessarily recognizes the
antagonist as the agent of change.  May even be a victim or captive of
the metamorph, often with real repulsion, hatred, or disgust building a
wall between them.

Phase two - evolve the relationship between the two.  Usually, pity,
fear, or fairness start to change the initial dislike, and the antagonist
starts to exert control over the metamorph through "beauty, kindness or
knowledge."  I.e., the two start seeing the real person behind the
physical shells, and are attracted.

The main two complications in this phase revolve around escape attempts
by the antagonist and expressions of bestiality by the metamorph.

Phase three -- the release happens, often through some unusual and
unexpected twist, and the metamorph changes!  E.g., the frog is
transformed into a...well, a prince if you must.  The scientist changes
into a fly, trapped in a spider web.  Or maybe the werewolf becomes a
monk, praying for deliverance?

This is usually the point where the mystery of the curse and the secret
causes of such abnormal punishments are revealed.

(p. 151) "This plot combines the grotesque with the curative power of
love, and its appeal is as old as literature itself."

Checklist
1.  Is your metamorphosis the result of a curse?
2.  Is the cure for the curse love?
3.  Which form of love?  Love of parent for child, lovers,
teacher-student, love of God, etc.?
4.  Is your protagonist the metamorph?
5.  Does your plot show the process of transformation back to humanity?
6.  Does your story show us the nature of the metamorph, emphasizing the
character over the actions?
7.  Is your metamorph an innately sad character?
8.  Is your metamorph's life bound by rituals and prohibitions?
9.  Does your metamorph want to find a way out?
10.  Do you identify a way out of the predicament, a form of release?
11.  Does the antagonist carry out the terms of the release?
12.  Why is your protagonist barred from hurrying or explaining the
events or actions which the antagonist must perform to reverse the
curse?  (psssst...put your protagonist to sleep, don't let them talk, do
something to keep them quiet)
13.  Does your first phase show the metamorph in the midst of the curse?
14.  Is the beginning of the story a reasonable point leading to the
resolution of the curse?
15.  Does your antagonist act as the catalyst that forces the
protagonist toward release?
16.  Does your antagonist start as one of the intended victims and then
end as the 'chosen one'?
17.  Does your second phase concentrate and reveal the evolving
relationship of the two?
18.  Do your characters move towards each other emotionally?
19.  Does your third phase fulfill the terms of the release, freeing the
protagonist from the curse, either returning him to his original state
or killing him?
20.  Does the reader learn the reasons for the curse and the root
causes?

Enough from Tobias!  Let's consider how you might put together a
metamorphosis...

One of the first requisites is a good animal...suppose we start with a
number from one to six, and pick one of the following:

1.  dog or wolf (breed?  you pick the coat of your dreams...)
2.  cat (wild?  tame?  up to you...)
3.  seal!
4.  donkey, ass, horse, pick the beast of burden you prefer
5.  pigs can be fun?  or maybe some other barnyard pet?
6.  rat, rabbit, squirrel...you pick one of the little rascals

[sigh.  I skipped all the birds, reptiles, fish of any scale, the little
bugs that bite and sting, jellyfish and their spineless relatives, the
many worms of our lives, and other vegetation, mechanizations, and so
forth.  Well, if you really want an oddity, pick one, or just try doing
the never-ending tale of "A Mushroom by Night, only Human by Day, He's
Fungi Man!"]

Okay?  Got yourself a prime example of inhumanity in mind?  Make a
list of ten characteristics about the specific animal (or other
wonder) you are going to use as an "secret identity" for your
protagonist (antagonist?  sure, sure, play with the roles if you
want).

[Aside: You might think about whether the transformation is complete
or partial.  A pig's tail on a policeman, for example, might almost be
considered poetic justice?]

Now, beside each characteristic you've noted, put down how this relates
to the characteristics which the protagonist has as a human!  If he
sheds everywhere in his animal persona, is he messy as a human?  Or
particularly neat, tidying up even where it isn't really needed?  I.e.,
sketch out the similarities and points of difference between the animal
and the human.

So we have our jekyll and hide...ah, how about we pick a direction?
Flip a coin, or just pick odd or even, and:

        1.  start as human, change to animal
        2.  start as animal, change to human

If you insist, you may play with cyclical transforms (the moon!  the
tide?  solar flares and gamma rays?) and other variations, of course.

The major element left is to determine the action(s) needed to reverse
the transformation, to convert the curse into a blessing, or whatever.
Shall we require a kiss (or something more blatant and involving)?
Must we find the one and only authentic chalice of Moord, the Frog
Goddess, and drink the blood of an innocent from it...offered without
force?  Are there seven keys to the doom of the Ancients, each to be
found and the mysterious riddle turned to save the world from
ourselves?  Feel free to dream up your own narrow path of
possibilities for the characters to tread, hoping to escape...

If you like, pick a number from one to six to determine the main
thrust of your tale of change:

        1.  Love stops the transformation
        2.  Love reverses the transformation
        3.  Love does not change the transformation--but makes it wonderful!
        4.  Death stops the transformation
        5.  Death reverses the transformation (breaks the curse and
            restores the person)
        6.  Death does not stop the transformation, but it makes death
            bearable?

Now, with animal in one hand, human in the other, and method of
salvation in mind...think of the other main character.  Who is the
victim/antagonist/foil that can make your brooding beast someone we
want to reach out to, someone we want to take care of, someone we want
to save?

Sketch out the scenes.  What could happen to bring the two together?
Why do they stay together long enough to learn what lies behind the
mask of the beast, the rough pelt, the claws and anger that holds off
the world?  And what is the climactic event that changes these two
lives forever, leaving them (and us) gasping at the wonder of it all?

Then, of course, put it together.  Start at the beginning (what cursed
animal inhabits this foul pit?  it is a cyberspatial twink, and I must
release the bits!).  Go on to the middle (what?  a twink has feelings
too?  if you turn off the switch, doth it bleed?  nay, say it is not
so, for in that network many bits have passed.).  And, of course, when
you get to the part where they're peeling their hearts, you can always
close your eyes...sorry, when you get to the end, make us sigh, and
say goodbye.

Write it up!
tink