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Plot Recipes & Plot Considerations
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You’ve checked out our guide on the different plot structures (if you haven’t, you should check out our guide to plot structures!) but you’re still searching for a bit more concrete formulas and advice on giving your story stakes and conflict. You need something to launch off and start actually writing! Well, if that’s you, stick around.

Let’s start with some short story formulas!

250-Word Flash Fiction Recipe:

  • Length of story = ( (characters + scenery) x 750 x MICE ) / 1.5

This means that every time you add a character or a location, your story becomes longer. Hence, you have a limit of TWO characters and ONE location for one MICE bracket. You should try to keep it short.

1. OPENING - Meet the Characters and Make Promises. 3 Sentences (Bonus Points if you do it in 2) - SHORT sentences, to the point:

  • Who - Action / Reflection (Show POV, Attitude)
  • Where - Sensory detail.
  • Genre - Specific and Unique.

2. CONFLICT - Try/Fail Cycle (TFCs) 2 Sentences.

  • What your character is trying to do and why (SETUP to TFC).
  • What is stopping them? What is the barrier?
  • Tip: Imply several TFCs that happened beforehand.
  • 3.1. IDENTIFY the MICE. What is your character trying to achieve? Does he want to go somewhere (Milieu)? Does he have a question to answer (Inquiry)? Is he unhappy with himself (Character)? Are they trying to change the status quo of the world (Event)?
  • 3.2. TRY TO STOP THEM. Make them try new things (for each TFCs) to overcome their conflict.
  • Yes, But / No, And. 5 Sentences.

3. RESOLVE - Try/Success Cycle. Yes, And / No, But. 5 Sentences.

4. ENDING. Closing the MICE. Mirroring the first 3 sentences to show how things have changed. Make it satisfying.

Visit this website or watch this lecture for more information on Kowal’s formula!

Now, some love for our screenwriters!

  1. Opening Image [1]: An opening snapshot.
  2. Theme Stated [5]: We are introduced to the central theme or lesson of the story.
  3. Set Up [1-10]: The hero and the 'ordinary world' are introduced.
  4. Catalyst [12]: Something happens that sets the story in motion.
  5. Debate [12-25]: The hero is hesitant to take action.
  6. Break Into Two [25]: The hero takes up the challenge.
  7. B Story [30]: The subplot kicks in, introducing a character who helps the hero in their transformation.
  8. Fun and Games [30-55]: The hero in the throes of their challenge or journey.
  9. Midpoint [55]: The stakes are raised.
  10. Bad Guys Close In [55-75]: Things start going downhill for the hero.
  11. All is Lost [75]: Things go from bad to worse. The hero hits rock bottom.
  12. Dark Night of the Soul [75-85]: Faced with defeat, the hero must reckon with their loss and how they got there.
  13. Break Into Three [85]: The hero realizes a truth that’s been evading them all this time.
  14. Finale [85-110]: Putting their new awareness into action, the hero conquers the bad guys.
  15. Final Image [110]: A snapshot that mirrors or contrasts the opening image.

Okay, so now you have the formulas! But… what are you actually supposed to keep in mind when making these plots?

Internal vs. External

        One of the most important components of having a compelling plot is making sure that there’s a healthy balance between the external events your character(s) undergo and the internal conflicts they interact with. This might sound super broad, so let’s break everything down quickly!

  1. External plot points might be what you traditionally think of when brainstorming a plot. The dragon kidnaps the princess, the knight is sent on a quest to retrieve her, and the knight slays the dragon. These are all events that occur outside of the mind of the character and are the structure for which the story progresses. In other words, think of external plot points as the skeleton. They’re solid, physical acts that the reader can use to follow the progression of events.

  1. Internal plot points are just as important, if not even more! Your characters shouldn’t be stagnant blobs for the external events to reflect off of –– they should both cause and react to the world around them. Internal plot points are the flesh and blood of your story. Coming up with the internal counterpart of every plot point can completely transform the tone.

Still feeling a little unsure? Let’s take a cursory look at our storybook example from above. Watch how internal plot points serve as both causes and effects of the external!

Internal Cause

External

Internal Effect

The dragon is lonely in its mountaintop cave and just wants some company.

The princess is fed up with her micromanaged life in the castle.

The dragon kidnaps the princess.

The dragon is content but feels guilt, and contemplates returning the princess.

The princess likes her new life with the dragon much more, and fears that the dragon might return her.

The knight’s father has never thought much of him, and so the knight feels insecure and eager to prove himself, possibly hoping to earn his father’s love along the way.

The knight is sent on a quest to retrieve the princess.

The knight now feels even more anxious because should he fail this quest, his father will truly think him completely weak and incapable.

The knight’s desperation to prove himself blinds him to the pleas of the princess and the peaceful nature of the dragon. He feels he must slay it –– to return empty-handed is to relinquish his manhood.

The knight slays the dragon.

What would you put here?

Of course, this is an oversimplified example, and you would most likely come up with more intricate (and less generic!) storylines than this one! Regardless, I hope this helped illustrate the importance of having both internal and external plot points. And as with anything, balance is key! The reader doesn’t want to read a history textbook of event after event occurring, but they also don’t want to spend three chapters dissecting one character’s single emotion.

Stakes 

John, our main character, is a high school teacher. He has discovered that two students are bullies, but their parents are powerful, and if he intervenes, he very well might lose his job.

In this situation, the stakes might seem relatively low compared to something as drastic as life or death.

This is where you as the writer can take charge and make the reader believe what you believe: that even though it might not be life or death, your readers should care about what’s on the line.

To do this, maybe we add something like this:

  • Maybe these stakes still aren’t as high as someone who has a sword to their throat, but they’re evoking emotions that make the readers feel that if John “loses this battle,” he is going to lose something huge. This precariousness is what adds that page-turning fire to a story. If nothing is at stake, what is the reader sticking around for?

 

John’s entire life dream has been to be a high school teacher. He grew up with a learning disability and had teachers who were callous and refused to understand his struggles. As a high school teacher now, John’s delighted to be able to encourage and accommodate kids like him to help them realize their full potential. He wants to make school a safe space for all kids, not just neurotypical kids. But if these bullies’ parents intervene, they could blacklist him –– meaning he could never be allowed to teach kids again.

Sources:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/freytags-pyramid

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/seven-point-story-structure/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blehVIDyuXk

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/heros-journey/

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/save-the-cat-beat-sheet/