Plot 26 Leerling
Plots 26 Leerling 3
Plot 26 Leerling Inloggen

Continuing the series on plot: Plot templates are helpful in telling an author the possible events for different sections of the story.

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world. Een leerling: Praktisch-theologische opstellen (Kampen. (26) ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication. Whereas the Arrhenius plots for other substrates. More Mini Plots. The character keeps pushing forward, experiencing more setbacks and the occasional small victory as they go. The tension rises and rises as they move closer to the object of their overall quest. The middle ends at a moment of disaster. This is the most intense point of the entire plot, when the hero has seemingly.

I like to consult these when I’m first thinking of a idea for a novel and when I start a revision. I want to know what is typical for the type story I’m telling and knowing that, I can create variations that will hold a reader’s interest.

Plot Templates

Here are some of the most helpful.

The most simplistic plot template

Adventure comes to you. A Stranger comes to town.
You go to Adventure. You leave town.

29 Plot Points introduces the idea of how to structure your novel with plot templates. Make it specific and practical with this book as your guide. For more depth, more examples and explanations, read this book, Start Your Novel: Six Winning Steps Toward a Compelling Opening Line, Scene and Chapter. READ IT NOW.

Quest. Character oriented story, the protagonist searches for something and winds up changing him/herself.
Adventure. Plot oriented, this features a goal-oriented series of events.
Pursuit. This is the typical Chase Plot. Definitely action-oriented.
Rescue. Another easy to recognize action-oriented plot.
Escape. A variation on the Rescue is when the protagonist escapes on his/her own.
Revenge. Ah, character comes back in with this one. Someone is wronged and vows to take revenge.
The Riddle. Love a good mystery? This is the plot for you.
Rivalry. Character oriented, this story follows two main characters, one on a downward track and one on an upward track and their interactions.
Underdog. Everyone is the US roots for the Underdog. This is the plot where the under-privileged (handicapped, poor, etc) triumphs despite overwhelming odds.
Temptation. Pandora’s Box extended to novel form.
Metamorphosis. This is a physical transformation of some kind. If you recently watched the movie, “District 9”, you’ll recognize this plot form. It’s Dracula, Beauty and the Beast, or the one I remember best is The Fly.
Transformation. Similar to the previous, this plot features an inner change, instead of changing the outer form.
Maturation.Bildungsroman, rite of passage, coming-of-age–these terms all refer to someone growing up morally, spiritually or emotionally. Often, it’s just a hint of growth, or a tiny change that hints at larger changes.
Love. The classic Boy-meets-Girl plot.
Forbidden Love. Oh, hasn’t Stephenie Meyer milked this one in her Twilight series? Brilliant use of the forces that keep her characters apart, while still attracting.
Sacrifice. From the Biblical tale of Jesus to the story of parents sacrificing for their children, this is a staple of literature.
Discovery. You know those secrets you’ve buried deep in your past? This story digs around, exposes secrets and watches them affect the characters.
Wretched Excess. When a character is in a downward spiral from alcohol, drugs, greed, etc. this is the plot form.
Ascension or Descension. A rise or fall from power puts a character into this plot form.

Hero’s Journey: Adapted from Joseph Campbell’s Mythic Hero

Christopher Vogler’s explanation of the Hero’s Journey is excellent. The basic stages, along with the corresponding character arc are these:
- Ordinary World – Limited awareness of problem
- Call to Adventure – increased awareness
- Refusal of Call – reluctance to change
- Meeting the Mentor – overcoming reluctance
- Crossing the First Threshold – committing to change
- Tests, Allies, Enemies – experimenting with 1st change
- Approach to the Inmost Cave- preparing for big change
- Supreme Ordeal – attempting big change
- Reward – consequences of the attempt
- The Road Back – rededication to change
- Resurrection – final attempt at big change
- Return with Elixir – final mastery of the problem
You write comedy or humor and want a plot for a novel?
John Vorhaus, in The Comic Toolbox adapts the hero’s journey into a Comic Throughline.

Two Characters Interact.

Similar to the Hero’s Journey is Peter Dunne’s adaptation to a story in which two main characters influence each other, or one character drastically changes a second. The Emotional Structure details how the characters interact. This could be a sort of Rivalry story from above, a Love story, a Forbidden Love story, or even one of Pursuit, Rescue, or Escape. The main thing here is that two characters act upon each other.

Card’s MICE quotient

Taking a completely different tack, Orson Scott Card in his book, Characters and Viewpoint, asks what aspect of the story are you most interested in? One strength of this approach is that it tells you where to start and end your story.
Milieu. When the setting is in the forefront, as it is in many sff stories, you have a milieu story. The setting, culture, world created is the focus of the story. This explains why Tolkein didn’t stop The Lord of the Rings when the battle against Mordor was won; instead, because the focus is on the milieu, he continues on, following the hobbits home, the leaving of the elves and so on, until the Age of Men is established.
Idea. A question is posed and answered. The classic mystery plot.
Character. This story begins and ends with pure character.
Event. Here, Card says that something in the universe is out of balance and the protagonist must right-the-wrong, restore-the-rightful-king, restore justice, defeat evil, etc. If The Lord of the Rings had been this type story, it would have indeed ended when the evil was defeated.

Are there more plot templates? Probably. From these, though, you can see perhaps the usefulness and limitations of using a template. You don’t want a cookie-cutter plot; however, you need to meet the expectations of readers in a certain genre. Templates are the starting point for exploration of the events in a story.

Clichéd story plots weaken an otherwise good story, a story where characters and settings are vivid. To tell a story that feels original and inventive, it’s key to learn plot clichés to avoid. Yet many original stories do use common tropes. The key is to make famous story types and scenarios your own:

1: Know common plot clichés within your genre

In story plots, clichés are frustrating because they’ve been hollowed out of their dramatic impact through overuse. Dragons that go on rampages overpopulate fantasy worlds. Women in distress who need men to save them overpopulate romance novels.

Here are a few more common plot clichés:

The chosen one: A character has been selected for a task but there’s no backstory or explanation why only this person in particular is capable
It was all a dream: Strange things happen but turn out to be dreams (often solving plot complications a little too conveniently for the author)
Representative of another culture gives clueless protagonist profound wisdom: Another example of a common plot cliché, especially in books from earlier times that either romanticized indigenous people or portrayed

Plots 26 Leerling