There’s no question that creating and optimizing the plot of a story can involve lots of head-scratching.
Some of that searching and puzzlement is intrinsic to the nature of plot, which needs to
Engage our listeners (or readers), then
Keep them interested until the end—and, finally,
Leave them feeling satisfied and rewarded at the story’s end.
Those are three demanding tasks!
But much of that puzzlement is not created by the nature of plot itself, but by some unhelpful ways of teaching, explaining, and creating plot.
For example, many writers and teachers:
a) treat plot as a structure that you impose on your stories—and
b) insist that certain "eternal plot structures" are built into our nervous systems and—by implication—do not change across time or across cultures.
Those approaches muddy the waters, distracting us from the actual puzzles of plot—and, thereby, make the plotting process more difficult and perplexing than it needs to be.
But there are bright spots…
That said, there are people writing about plot who do an excellent job of resisting the trend toward teaching rigid plot structures. (So far, I've found two: Angus Fletcher and Ronald Tobias. I”m enjoying the process of integrating their work into my own understandings of plot!)
If a Plot Seems "Eternal"—Watch Out!
One premise of an organic approach to plots is that plots need to live and grow: if a plot seems to be "eternal," then it's very likely about to die.
For example, of the "forty plots" heralded as essential in the 1800s, twenty of them are no longer used at all!
So, we need to be skeptical of advice about the eternal nature of certain plot structures!
We are growers of plots—and more
What we want is not the plots, but the plotting! We want to be able to grow plots that fit our purposes (not just superimpose plots onto our stories).
For a while, I focused primarily on the growth processes necessary for mature plots. That was mostly helpful, but it left out something crucial:
The experience of hearing or reading a wonderfully plotted story—and the experience of creating a good plot—are both joyful!
Yes, there will be times of struggle and exhaustion. Of course!
But it's the joy that matters in the end, including your joy as a creator or performer.
At its best, it's also your joy in the experience of your audience, as they participate in joyful engagement with your stories.
The Simple Question…
The key to great plots, then, is not:
attempting to fit your story into some supposedly "universal plot."
It's also not
using the parts of the Hero's Journey, or
trying to conform to any particular abstract outline (as useful as all these can sometimes be).
Instead, it's how we can answer a simple question:
Does your plot (and, more generally, your story) create joy?
In particular, does joy inhabit what you've written or told? Does it give you joy when you create (or perform it)?
This doesn't mean, of course, that I think your stories need to be "happy." No.
But plot is magical in a way: out of nothing comes a story that's wry—or moving, humorous, alarming, or even transformative.
And any of those outcomes is satisfying and even joyful.
Long live the joy you will get from learning, experimenting, revising—and just plain living—with the dynamic adventure of plot!