Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 11:06:13 EST From: A Rose is A FLOWER! Subject: EXERCISE: Plot #4: Rescue: 20 Master Plots [for those who may be interested, all exercises I do are available at http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/exercises/exercises.html ] Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B. Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8. (p. 86) The hero(ine) of the rescue plot must go out into the world, searching for someone or something, and often involving chases. It is usually a physical plot, depending heavily on action. But this is also a plot that relies heavily on three characters and the dynamic among them. The hero(ine), the antagonist, and the victim (oh my!) [note the variation that Tobias suggests--eschew the ordinary black-hearted villain and stark-white hero(ine). instead, make both antagonist and hero(ine) equally good, with solid reasons for taking different approaches, and see what kind of rescue plot you end up with...let that percolate while we look at the classic roles] Protagonist: has an attachment to the person who is sought (love, or sometimes something a bit less lofty--money will do in a pinch) and therefore sets out to find and rescue the victim. Almost always has to go somewhere that they are not familiar with, putting them at a disadvantage. [a grand old plot--newlyweds, and *crash* the bad guy(s) steal the wife! now the lone groom must go out into the world, confront whatever comes, and rescue her...you could always have someone steal the groom, if you wanted something a little different? and for something completely different, try a man with three buttocks.] Antagonist: (boo! hiss!) The evil magician who kidnaps the beauty...the more power, the better. Also, if at all possible, the schemer should be trying to make our protagonist fail, setting up traps and nooses, deadfalls, all kinds of little problems... Don't forget, though -- "The antagonist is a device whose purpose is to deprive the protagonist of what she believes rightfully belongs to her." Victim: The real conflict lies between the other two. As a result, the victim often is just a shadowy embodiment of what the hero(ine) seeks. There may not be much if any detail here. [one twist that is often fun--after the victim is rescued, a bit of byplay to show that the hero(ine) doesn't know what they just rescued.] Structure? Glad you asked. Act one: Separation. That antagonist separates the protagonist from the victim, thus motivating the action. Establish the relationship of the protagonist and the victim, then let the abduction begin! Act two: Pursuit. Which way did they go, which way did they go? I must follow them! Traps, tricks, diversions, red herrings, rotten cheese, no matter what stands in the way, I will follow! [Note: this is the chance to test and build the character into a real hero...] Act three: Confrontation! Often an action-packed clash, of cliche proportions. So be witty, wise, and surprising. Think about how you can finish without getting bogged down in syrup! One twist--the victim isn't a victim after all. (p. 92) "The rescue plot is perhaps more formulaic than most of the other plots. It has standard characters and situations. But don't underestimate its immense appeal. Like the revenge and temptation plots, it is one of the most satisfying emotionally. It confirms the moral order of the universe by overcoming evil; it restores order in a chaotic world; and it reaffirms the power of love." Checklist? 1. Do you have more action than development of character? 2. Do you have a hero, a villain, and a victim? Does the hero rescue the victim from the villain? 3. Do you have a moral argument? Is it black and white? (note: the norm is good vs. bad. feel free to vary if you like) 4. Is the focus of the story on the hero's pursuit of the villain? 5. Does the hero go out into the world to confront the villain? Does the confrontation take place on the villain's home turf? 6. Is your hero defined by her relationship to the villain? 7. Does the antagonist deprive the hero of what he believes is rightfully his? 8. Does the antagonist constantly interfere with the hero's progress? 9. Does your victim force the hero to confront the antagonist? Does the victim take too much of the story? 10. Do you have well-developed phases of separation, pursuit, and confrontation and reunion? Suppose we wanted to write such a story (if you can imagine that, for just a moment). Where to begin? How about... Pick a number from one to six? (you've played here before, haven't you? I thought I recognized the sparkle on your terminal screen...) 1. spouse (significant other? spice? you know...) 2. parent-child 3. mister (mistress? sexual involvement, anyway) 4. teacher-student 5. doctor-patient 6. friend (really, we're just friends) There you go. We have a relationship! So our protagonist and our victim are related. Spend a little time thinking about how long they've had their relationship, how deep the bonds are, how well (or poorly) they know the other person... [please don't feel too constrained by these. If you want your victim to be a nose or some other bodily organ--taking advantage of the urban legends of organ thefts and making a kind of literary statement about our separation from ourselves in the process--feel free to slice and dice. After all, most of us have some kind of relationship with our bodily parts. You might consider an animal, a pet car, that supercharged pure-bred rock, or some other thing to be rescued, too. The reunion scene can be a bit more complicated in these cases of course--having a surgeon connecting up nerves can be somewhat distracting.] Stop here and contemplate a blank pad. List five reasons an antagonist might have for making off with... [Whoops! Flip a coin and decide who is going to be the victim. Sorry about that, you can't just kidnap anyone that's wandering around, now can you? Although the mistaken kidnapping plot is always good for a chuckle or two...] So, list some reasons an antagonist might have for depriving our protagonist of their beloved. Then pick the one you are going to use, and embellish it. Decide where the antagonist met the victim, and why no one else will do (a what kind of sacrifice? at the full moon, on top of the Aztec pyramid Xzchalipecktoids? well, it's your story...) Now, take a moment and sketch out a scene that introduces us to the protagonist and the victim, and shows us the relationship that is going to pull the protagonist along, waterskiing the rapids of life behind the fleeing antagonist...feel free to have the antagonist break into the primordial splendor at the point that will cause the protagonist the utmost agony. Next? Pick a number... 1. quicksand 2. beartraps 3. a frame (for a crime) 4. deadfalls 5. a maze 6. burnt bridges Pad ready? Good! Write down the category of blockages that you have just selected, then think about at least five different kinds of traps or blocks that are related. I.e., quicksand, flypaper... you can put down characteristics of the category, if you like (sticky stuff, dirty, etc.) just make some notes about what this category (or thing) stirs up in your mind. Now go back over those notes and pick out or make up some of the tricks and problems that your antagonist is going to put in the way of your protagonist. You should probably list or sketch out at least five scenes, then pick the best two or three. Finally, do the confrontation and resolution. Where does it take place? What revelations, surprises, and other delights will we provide to send the reader off with a grin, looking for more writing by this author? Try this...a number from one to six? 1. ... Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? (Shakespeare, Macbeth) 2. ... A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life. John Milton. 3. ... The tree of liberty only grows when watered by the blood of tyrants. Bertrand Barere. 4. ... You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot.--Publius Syrus: Maxim 262. John Heywood 5. ... Who goeth a borrowing/... Goeth a sorrowing. Thomas Tusser 6. ... The falling out of lovers is the renewing of love.--Robert Burton: Anatomy of Melancholy, part iii. sec. 2. There's a quote, courtesy of the good people behind http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett/ Take that quote, and let it act as the crystal sinking into your final scene, focusing and refracting the white light into a veritable rainbow of understanding... Refine, pump up the backdrops and fill in the connections, make the sun shine down, don't forget the lashes of lightning and mutters of thunder, put a bit of music into it, and the next thing you know... You'll have a story! and we'll be here to read it... tink