Shh! Plot weaving

One of my favourite episodes of one of my favourite shows.

Watch:

Shh!

Before watching

1. What is "suspense" in a story? Which TV shows etc have fantastic suspense?

2. How does suspense happen?

3. What's the connection between humour and suspense?

4. What about other things that make a story entertaining - what shows, novels, film etc have....

Surprises and twists?

Neat story ideas?

Funny digressions from the main story?

Examples:

5. How do you think writers go about creating great stories?

6. Out of twists, ideas, digressions and suspense, which is the most important?

7. Discuss the story map below - how could this help a writer develop a story?

Task

Watch the episode of Adventure Time, Shhh!, referring to this story pyramid.








Discuss the exposition

1. What is the idea?

2. What is the inciting incident? Who are the main characters, what are their flaws?














Pause and discuss


3. What is the complicating factor (the conflict) - how will it help drive the story?

4. What is the secondary plot line? What does it bring into the story?












Pause and discuss


5. There is a sequence that deviates from the main story, what does it add?

6. Predict how the secondary plot line and main plot line will converge in the climax.

Pause and discuss

6. What actually happens during the climax of the story - how do the show's makers get the most from this moment?

7. What happens in at the reversal stage?

8. What is the resolution?

1. But, So


Compare these two sequences

Cinderella was a kind, beautiful and happy girl. Her mum died and her father was lonely. He remarried. Cinderella got a cruel stepmother and two ugly sisters. They were mean to her and she tried to be nice and they were still mean. Her dad died and they were even meaner and made her do all the cleaning. Cinderella's life was hell. One day a letter came from the palace and they were all invited to the ball and they all dressed up and Cinderella was sad because she had no dress and couldn't go. They all went without her and she sat down and wept....













Cinderella was a kind, beautiful and happy girl. But then her mum died and her father was lonely. So he remarried. But Cinderella's stepmother was cruel and her stepsisters were also cruel and mean to poor Cinderella. But Cinderella still tried to be nice, but this just made them even meaner. So when Cinderella's dad died, the stepmother and stepsisters became even crueler and made poor Cinderella do all the housework. So Cinderella's life was hell. But one day a letter came from the palace inviting them all to a ball. So they all excitedly dressed up. Cinderella wanted to go to the ball too, but could not because she had nothing to wear and so she couldn't go. So off the others went. But Cinderella was left behind. So she sat down and wept.

If you want to give the events in a story power you need to constantly show these connections not simply through sequence, but through differentiation. 

Stories are basically kept alive by contrast (buts) and consequence (sos).


With "so"s and "but"s, character intentions and actions in a story are continuously interrupted or transformed in a way that builds... suspense. The audience invests their interest or hopes in lines of action or character intentions that are almost guaranteed to be messed with, and consequently they become increasingly involved in the story.


















2. Meanwhile

The word not to forget when planning a story is "meanwhile". This is called "plot weaving". Instead of thinking of a story as one single line of causation, think about it as a bunch of streams flowing down from the mountains. They start in different places but slowly they all meet up and converge into one river.  When this happens you might say there's a climax.

Many writers know exactly what this main climax is before they start writing. They know what the big moment, or the big twist, in the story is gong to be. The art of telling a story is to make the process of reaching and coming down from that climax worthwhile for the audience.

Many writers spend longer planning a story than executing it.

Work out one scenario to a point where people are going to want to know what's going to happen next. Then stop right there. Start another another scenario, the less obviously related the better. In the Cinderella example above, we could perhaps have stopped before the letter of invitation arrived and gone over, meanwhile, to the palace to learn more about why they have decided to organise the ball. When Cinderella finally meets the Prince and dances with him, it's like two streams meeting and forming a river.

'Meanwhile-ing' is one of the most fun parts of storytelling and you don't need to be a good writer - you just need good ideas and an ability to plan. The audiences likes it when you drop a plot line, because they're looking forward to its return later.



3. Grammar

When telling stories we often rely on the continuous aspect to draw out a scene in detail.

The Hobbits were running up the rocky slope, as fast as they could, but the Orcs were closing in on them. The footsteps of the orcs were growing louder and louder. Suddenly they saw a cave. They hesitated for an instant, wondering whether to enter. But there was no other escape. A moment later they were all scampering in the dark over the rocks.

Notice how this tense puts us in the moment, rather than giving us a summary of the events. 


We use the perfect aspect to move away from the strictly causative or chronological chain of events.

As she left the station, she realised that she had left her handbag on the train.