A great story is life with the dull parts taken out
–Alfred Hitchcock
I had the opportunity to attend a day long seminar by James Scott Bell on writing and he started out with this quote. I loved it and thought it great to share. I’d also like to add just a few key points from his lecture.
The plot of a story can be best and most briefly defined as the record of how a character deals with death. There are three types of death that she/he may face:
- Physical – most common in thrillers, suspense, and horror
- Professional — most common in contemporaries, and literary
- Psychological — can cross all genres, but is the key to most comedy
How do you define the character’s approach to this in a way that keeps the reader reading? Mr. Bell promotes using the LOCK System (Lead, Objective, Confrontation, Knockout (ending)).
Lead
(Characters have to be interesting and 3 dimensional)
3 Types of Leads:
- Positive Lead (someone reader wants to root for)
- Negative Lead (attractive through power, eventually transforms to a less negative lead)
- Anti-Hero (has own moral code, and disinterested to the point of gruffness yet has quirky redeeming qualities, a loner that eventually either comes back to, or rejects society)
For leads, you must establish a reader bond. Do this using
- Sympathy
- Likability
- Vulnerability
Throw trouble at the character that evokes these emotions, trouble is your friend.
Objective
Character’s objective in the book needs to be clear and while not repeatedly spelled out through words, affected by actions and conversations. The objective is plainly defined as one of two goals:
- To Get something (killer, answer to a question, a loved, revenge)
- To Get away from something (same types)
Confrontation
Here’s where the oppositional character comes in.Who wants to keep the person from the objective and what’s their motivation? The oppositional character(s) need to be three dimensional, justified in their reasons, often powerful, usually charming and at least partially able to evoke sympathy with their motives.
Think of confrontation as:
A plot is two dogs and one bone
–Robert Newton Peck
The confrontation heightens interest, usually has a point of no return that the hero must get past in order to move on with life, and forever changes the person.
Knockout
Mr. Bell pointed out that
- Your first chapter sells your book
- Your last chapter sells your next book
Think of the ending as a final battled with both outside and inside influences.
Outside: Will the character defeat the opponent?Will the character have the courage to fight?
Inside: Will the character find the courage to fight? Will the character find the courage to sacrifice something to win their objective?
So…have I peaked your interest?
This is an almost sinfully brief description of several hours of discussion. In truth, there was a ton of detail in each area that helps develop the story plot at each point. I can’t share that here. Not to mention, it wouldn’t be fair to James Scott Bell. Suffice it to say, he has a wonderful series of lessons on developing your story plot. You really should attend one of his seminars if you get the opportunity.
Here’s a link to information on his website:
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