BLOCKBUSTER PLOTS: 7 Ways to Create an Irresistible Story that Readers Will Love

1) Create a multi-faceted protagonist

2) Know who she is at the climax to determine how she’ll portray herself in the beginning – do this for any character you want to change and transform

3) Commit to the primary plot of your story – character driven/action driven/meaning driven/romance driven & use all of them for depth and meaning

4) Make her story goal important to others as well as to her

5) Pre-plot the 4 Energetic Markers as early as possible

6) Use antagonists capable of arousing emotion, tension and conflict on the page

7) Determine your story’s intention, the deeper meaning, what your story says about life
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For more: Read my Plot Whisperer and Blockbuster Plots books for writers.

How to Develop a High Concept in Novels, Memoirs, Screenplays

We had a plot consultation a couple of years ago. At the time, I worried her story wasn't High Concept -- you know, that something special, exotic, unexpected. Without a high concept, a story may never find an agent, publisher, audience.

Prior to our recent consultation, I read her current synopsis and worry I've lost my ability to remember writers' stories. I do not recognize any of the character, action or thematic elements. The writing and content in her synopsis give me goosebumps. Intrigue, mystery, romance, secrets and lies, wrongful arrest and sentencing, provocative themes = high concept elements, for sure.

She starts the consultation by saying she's never stopped thinking about our original consultation and never stopped digging deeper. As we discuss her story, I continue to struggle to remember her story only to find that during the time since we last spoke and while laid up with a broken ankle, she stumbled across a compelling news story she subsequently integrated into her original ideas.

With this new layer and major plot line the story comes alive.

With this new layer and major plot line the writer's excitement and energy and enthusiasm also come alive.

She successfully integrated the new plot line which involves a second POV into the beginning and middle of her original story and then stalled out when coming up with a crisis and climax for each POV.

I'll share that process later. For now, I just want to revel in the thrill of seeing what can come with an open mind and a willingness to move out of one's comfort zone to the razor's edge of not knowing...

For an in-depth resource to all the questions to ask about conflict when writing a novel, memoir, screeplay, refer to  The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories.

*****SPECIALS*******

1) Track Your Plot at the Scene Level Webinar
Learn to Maximize the 7 essential plot elements in every scene (one of 7 essential plot elements in every scene is CONFLICT) from the comfort of your own home.

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Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts inThe Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

Today, I write.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:

1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Writer Hates Questions of Theme

The writer sends very little about theme in the pre-plot consultation material. The first time we talk about theme during the actual consultation I feel her shutdown and a bit of her blazing passion about her story fade. She doesn't give up. She keeps trying. Each success renews the fire.

Even so, during our last session, she cries out in response to yet another thematic question.

"I hate those questions!" she exclaims.

She prefers questions about the fascinating world she has researched and created. She loves explaining more about all the plot points that spin the energy of the story ever higher.

Her resistance and frustration about theme is not uncommon. We all want our stories to resonate with meaning and emotion and lasting connection with the reader and our audience. We just want that connective impact to happen by magic, all on its own through our writing without having to consider something as abstract as theme.

I persist. She continues to try. Whether or not she comes up with the exact right thematic significance statement doesn't matter. Knowing what questions to ask does. She knows those questions now. She'll continue to find the answers in the deeper meaning of her stories.

For an in-depth resource to all the questions to ask about theme when writing a novel, memoir, screeplay, refer to  The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories.

AND

Visit our Thematic Significance How-tos, a series of 4 videos, at How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay?

*****

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts inThe Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

Today, I write.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:

1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Theme and Plot

I just finished reading The Geography of Bliss; One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner. Yes, it's a non-fiction book but because it borders on a memoir thus makes an interesting study for a compulsive plot consultant such as myself.

Selected as One of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post Book World, The Geography of Bliss is called a travelogue by the Atlantic Journal-Constitution, travel tales by Publishers Weekly (in a starred review). 

However, most of the other reviews label the book as an odyssey ("...a very funny odyssey" by New York Newsday), a journey, a quest -- all of  which sound suspiciously like the hero's journey to me. Only Kirkus Reviews got it right in my mind: "part travelogue, part personal-discovery memoir".

Yes, the book is a humorous read and, for one who rarely travels, a wonderful way to learn about other countries of the world, but what drove me deeper and deeper into the story was the main character -- Eric himself. No surprise there. That's what pulls us deeper and deeper into every great story --the character. 

As in every great story, the character opens up about himself superficially in the Beginning (1/4). 

On page 93 (the Universal Story form 1/4 mark -- the End of the Beginning), he writes that a "crack forms in [my] armor. A crack large enough, if you're lucky, to let in a few shafts of light." We know at that point that something inside him has shifted. He has left the old world behind and has truly entered the exotic, unusual world of the Middle. 

By the middle of the Middle we understand him more deeply and in that understanding truly care about him and his journey toward "personal-discovery."

The book is all about happiness -- what it is, where it is found, who is happiest, etc...

Thematically, the path is clear. Character Emotional Development-wise, we understand the inherent conflict in this story = the main character, the author, is a self-described mope looking for happiness. Perfect!

The theme of most memoirs and fiction and screenplays is not as clear-cut. However, the theme often comes from the author him or herself. Which makes exploring our own themes a worthy endeavor. Look for exercises to help you get closer to the themes you live your life by in my next post. 

The Middle

I recently worked with a writer who, when she hit the Middle, lost the passion for her story.

When the allure of the Beginning is over, the story starts getting messy. Characters act out. Everything she writes seems boring to her. All her fears about the unworthiness of her project interfere with her ability to create new scenes. She wants me to give her the scenes or at least give her ideas for the scenes.

My advice for this writer is to list the themes she's interested in exploring in her piece. I am NOT referring to the Thematic Significance Statement here. She isn't ready for that yet -- she hasn't even finished the first draft of her project and thus has no idea what her piece will end up meaning in the long run. But for now, she is aware of many of the themes that thread through her story thus far:

Life in this country as an immigrant
Her love and respect for older people and her ease in relating to older people rather than people her own age
Loss of older friends
Hurt that comes with loss
Women empowerment
Live life with a sense of humor
The guts and resourcefulness and resilience of a strong woman

This is just a sampling of the themes that have popped up in her story. By listing them, she hones the focus of the scenes she writes now for this added dimension = meaning. By exploring what she wants to convey, the scenes are no longer quite so episodic or boring to her.

The coherence that came with the sequential order of her story can now be deepened into coherence through theme.

What are the themes that most inform your writing?

Tells the Story -- What or Who?

Have you ever been told your characters read like cardboard figures? Agents complain about not being able to get close enough to the main character? That they couldn't stay interested? It happens to all writers, whether action-driven or character-driven.

Writer's Test:

You're in an elevator with the exact right agent for your book. You have three floors to attract the agent's interest, get her to ask, "what happens next?" and, at the third floor, give you her card to send the first 50 pages.

Do you:

1. Start by saying something about the character: It's a story about a beautiful Swedish girl who comes to America looking for love. She gets a job in the kitchen of a society family in New York City. The family's silver and gold go missing. The man who interrogates her is tall and handsome. She has to defend herself with only the English she learned in school.

2) Start by giving an overview of the dramatic action: "It's a story about a land deal in New York City between the Elks Club and the mob. Money and silver go missing from the Elk leader's home. The next day he is found dead.

3) Start with a brief idea of the theme: It's a story about corruption and greed, the wealthy and poor, loyalty and love.

I have ideas about each of these, but lately am fascinated by #2. I'll post some tips and tricks in the coming weeks. Be patient.

Take the Plot Test based on Theme

You've written some stuff. You feel good about your characters, you've got some action, but what drives your energy for showing up is exploring the deeper meaning of life.

Start with an unusual setting and some "different" characters.

Set the time.

Figure out your obsession.
Say it's with finding out who you really are, your own unique identity (insert your obsession). Generate scenes with that in mind ~~ the character's interaction with others, trying to figure out her place in the world ~~ that's better ~~ a universal theme for kids and all of us...

As you write, look for clues to finish the theme to make it thematically significant: how DOES one figure out his place in the world? Through trial and error? Okay. And so what, really, does that mean overall? Finding one's place in the world takes trial and error, but in the end....

The anwer to the ...above must be worthy enough for you to give up hours of your life to write, worthwhile to the character to go through the struggle of a journey, worthwhile for the reader to give up hours of her time to read your story?
Hmmmmmmmmm

Picture books, because they push away subplots, make the concept of plot is easier to grasp.

Take, for instance, Where the Wild Things Are by Sendax.

What is it? 34 pages? Many of which are drawings. I can't remember and I'm not going to get up and check, but lets say there are 17 pages of written language.

Beginning: 1/4 of entire project introduces characters while showing where and when the story takes place, and demonstrating a major character flawy that will help drive the action of the story (go to:
http://www.blockbusterplots.com/character-development.html for the character Plot profile info.).

In the Beginning of Where the Wild Things Are we meet Max, the cat and the mom. Max shows his wild side and drives everyone crazy.

End of Beginning: a scene signifying no turning back, entering the heart of the journey toward transformation
At the end of the Beginning of Where the Wild Things Are, Max is sent to his room with no dinner and there he watches his room turn into a forest or is it a jungle?

The Middle: 1/2 of the page count showing trials and errors, antagonists. Whateve keeps the conflict, tension, suspense or curiosity of the audience high.
Where the Wild Things Are ~~ journey to Wild Things, conquering wild things

Middle of the Middle: Showing an unsual world
Where the Wild Things Are ~~ shows 4 or more pages of covered with pictures demonstrating wildness

Crisis: Middle builds toward the 3/4 mark and the biggest scene of all
Crisis is a scene forcing the character to a new awareness.
Anything energetically higher than anything that has come before
Where the Wild Things Are ~~Max has everything, but he is lonely for love.

The End: Lots of significance toward the Climax.
Where the Wild Things Are ~~ journey home.

Cimax: The character "showing" the transformation
Where the Wild Things Are ~~ settles down to eat his dinner

One page of Resolution ~ his new life from then on
Where the Wild Things Are ~~ and his dinner is hot.

Of course for a novel, or screenplay, or historical you'd have lots of sub-plots that follow their own template as described above, but at a sub-level ~~ they are sub-plots, afterall.

How Personal Themes Affect Your Writing

Mary Cronk Farrell posted a question on the last entry I made:

Thank you for sharing your wisdom on theme and giving a story depth. I have just finished the first draft of my mystery novel and am beginning to revise using your plot planner scene tracker. I have no idea what my theme is. Can you give me some ideas about how to tease it out? The characters are working out some conflicts besides the mystery, so I know there is some kind of theme about relationships. But what?
Thank you!
Mary
www.MaryCronkFarrell.com

Rather than answer her within the comments, I thought I'd cut and paste here what I wrote in the most recent Blockbuster Plots eZine. (If you would like to sign up for the free monthly plot tips eZine, go to: http://www.blockbusterplots.com/contact.html).

I hope the exercise helps, Mary! And thanks for your comments.

On the final class of a recent University of California Santa Cruz extension plot workshop series, I asked writers to complete an exercise meant to reveal themes of their lives. Once again, as in every case, at the end of the exercise, the themes emerging in each of their stories dramatically reflect each writer's personal themes.

Following is the exercise adapted from Philip Gerard's book, Writing a Book That Makes a Difference:

Look into your own personal back story ~~ all of life's experiences and history that has made you who you are today. Which scene has stayed with you in detail and emotion since the moment of the experience? The really big stuff, either traumatic or ecstatic, follows life's paradox: that which is big actually means very little. That which is small can mean everything.

Look for the small cause that created a lasting effect. For example: You wanted something with all of your might and you got it. Or, you wanted something with all of your might and you did not get it. Two similar dreams, two thematically opposite outcomes and lasting effects.

We as writers are conduits of creation. Inspiration flows through us to the page, having been touched by our body of experiences and residue emotional development based on those experiences.

Giving a Story Depth

Most writers have a preference for one plot line over another. Some are Character-driven writers. Others are Action-driven writers. Some have strengths in both. Not many are Thematic-driven.

The deeper meaning of a story comes up out of the story itself over time. Thus, the Thematic Significance plot line is generally saved for the last or is either ignored or overlooked all together.

The more aware a writer is about their own personal themes, the more attuned the writer will be in the search for deeper meaning.

For an exercise to determine your own personal themes, go to:
http://www.blockbusterplots.com/tips.html

Recent testimonial from Florida:
"It is amazing how each session the plot, theme and content gets clearer and clearer as you direct me. The scenes I had the most resistant to reveal the most... I feel myself getting closer to a story line....and it is my story and it is not. because what I lived is not who I am....for the first time I am coming out of the closet..."