Glory to the Empire and to this videoâs
sponsor, Skillshare! There are many ways to start constructing
a plot for a story. There are also a lot of ways to structure
a plot from Freytagâs Pyramid to the three act structure. Some of those structures, such as the heroâs
template... Whoops! I meant to say Heroâs Journey will likely
be the subject of their own video one day. But first, I would like cover some of the
common ways to âimproveâ the storyâs plot⌠I mean other than keeping our focus solely
on Mary Sue which, you know, a writer should be doing by default. So ready your inciting incident as we cross
the threshold into how to plot a story. One of the first things a new author should
consider is what kind of writer they are. Are you a writer who designs their plot carefully,
designing the story with careful planning and precision like a skilled architect. Or are you a writer who creates stories by
the seat of their pants, sowing ideas and character moments and letting them grow organically
without a ridged outline? Finding out whether you are a planner AKA
architect writer of if you are a pantster AKA gardener AKA discovery writer can be very
useful in terms of knowing how to approach a plot. Normally, finding out where a writer falls
on this scale can be useful, but the best kind of writer is the third type; the Ego
Tripper AKA the writer who never needs to revise their plot no matter how mangled the
first draft is. Architects need not worry about their ridged
outline strangling the characters. Why must the heroes seek the legendary Lore
Stones? Because it says right here in the outline! Is there a character motive to seek the Lore
Stones? No time to think about that! Got to have the robotic drone like characters
move onto the next set piece in our check list. Characterization must yield to the almighty
outline for its power is absolute! Hmm. Thatâs kind of strange. I wonder why the story feels stale? Adhering religiously to the outline might
have caused a case of Slideshow Syndrome. Good. I was worried I might have had a real problem
for a second. Slideshow Syndrome is what I call a story
that has a rigid plot that consists of a series of events that are only loosely connected
together if at all and that lacks smooth transitions between scenes. Here we are crossing the threshold. Here we are at the symbolic death and rebirth. Oh. Here is were we found a great elixir. See. Like a slide show. Also like a slide show, they require little
to no effort to make and I am all about that. Now another potential problem with an outline
is that a writer might have to take the effort to actually plan something. Sometimes there isnât time to layout the
plot in an organized fashion when in the throes of creativity. Writers on this end of the scale simply discover
the story as they write. Being a discovery writer can be thrilling
as they explore the story without knowing what lies ahead, kind of like driving off
a cliff. This can produce excellent characterization
even if discovery writers have a bad habit where they keep writing. And writing... And writing⌠Huh. This is getting kind of bogged down and I
canât seem to find the climax. Should I take a moment and regroup to get
a better sense of direction? Where does the story end? I donât know. Ask the characters. They are a the ones driving the plot and they
refuse to stop and ask for directions no matter how lost the plot gets. See! Itâs not my fault my characters have taken
on a life of their own. That will be a great comeback to a one star
review. âThe voices in my head told me to write
that!â Oh. No wait. The heroes are not allowed to drive the plot. Only the villains are allowed to do that. The protagonists should never take initiative. They should be stuck endlessly reacting for
the entire story even if they end up looking like chumps and the reader starts to share
their frustration. Endlessly hitting the reader with new elements
out of left field is a great way to advance the plot and will be as fun as for the audience
as stumbling through a dark room full of Lego blocks barefoot. Whether the writer is blazing away discovery
style or carefully planning their story, both methods shouldnât worry about silly things
like structure or their scenes not really having a point. I mean, why is this scene here? Does it add to the world building? Is there character development or characterization? Do the events portrayed in the scene advance
the plot in any way at all? If this scene were cut from the story, would
the story be any worse? A writer shouldnât worry about any of these. The scene need only to be cool in order to
merit inclusion within the story. Canât murder that precious darling. But how does an author even construct a scene? Why thatâs easy. Just have a bunch of characters stand around
talking to one another and nothing else. No actions to punctuate the dialog, no characters
actually doing anything other than blab on and on, probably dispensing expository dialog. No sense of progression, no central conflict
to even drive the dialog. Nope. Just a bunch of characters standing around
and talking about the plot rather than moving it along, at least until the writer suddenly
springs an action scene upon them with a transition as smooth as sandpaper in a gravel pit. Then have an action scene followed up by another
scene where all of the characters stand around and talk about what just happened even though
the reader literally just read it a few moments ago because obviously we need a space filling
recap to explain everything. All this meandering could lead to another
story condition I call saggy middle syndrome. This is when plot in the middle of a story
stalls out. There are a lot of tools for kicking the plot
back into gear; springing new information on the characters that change the context
of their core conflict, add a new obstacle or complication, create a new interesting
minor character, shorten the middle to bring the climax closer, dig into major characterâs
backstory. Or we can add a subplot that goes nowhere! Adding a subplot to a story that is a natural
outgrowth from the main plot and merges seamlessly into the storyâs final climax can work,
but by this point Iâm sick of looking at the main plot. I think Iâll become enamored with my subplot
and have it take over the story. Kind of like kudzu. Keep building up this subplot at the expense
of the main one until the our primary plot is but a shadowy memory. Then get bored and abandon the subplot and
leave that thread just dangling with no satisfying conclusion. Fans of the main plot wonât be angry and
neither will fans of the sub plot because they will be too busy fighting each other
to focus on the author. Oh. Hey! With our subplot awkwardly discarded, its
time to starting thinking about the finale. But before that, we need to reveal our stunning
plot twist! Did I foreshadow this plot twist? Ha! No. That would ruin the surprise. Why would a writer want to build up their
narrative with subtle clues and foreshadowing that reward the reader for paying attention
to the storyâs fine details when we can instead smack the audience in the face with
it from nowhere. The best plot twist is the plot twist introduced
for the sake of having a plot twist. Does the plot twist recontextualized the central
conflict? Does the twist pull together all of the loose
plot threads and neatly tie them together? Does it offer new insight into one or more
of the major characters and give them a new perspective. No, but it makes me feel really clever and
that should be enough. With the twist revealed, all the cards are
on the table now. Itâs time for the storyâs climax! Did I introduce villain? I guess I should get around to that now. Better shove the Dark Lord in there the last
minute and awkwardly spill his backstory to everyone. Am I forgetting anything else? Oh right. I forget to establish the stakes. Um. The fate of the world hangs in the balance! Huh. Probably should have uped those stakes as
the plot progressed along instead of saving that for the last minute, but oh well. No one will notice. They will be too distracted by the cool final
confrontation. I hope this doesnât feel too rushed. Got to save just enough room for a sequel
hook. And there you have it! Just fill any remaining plot holes with weak
excuses and itâs done! Trust me. No one will notice that the plot is so awful
that they canât even look away because it resembles a train wreck that collided with
a bus full of screaming clowns, and the clowns are on fire. Hut hut hut hut hut
Hut! Glory to the Empire! Congratulations imperial conscript⌠I mean mandatory volunteer. You have been chosen to take part in the empireâs
magnificent military machine. Together with our glorious emperor, long live
his name please donât execute me for not showing sufficient reverence, none shall stand
in our path as we march to VICTORY! To help every recruit ease into service with
the imperial space forces, this video will cover all of the standard issue military gear
of our invincible empire. All imperial conscripts⌠I mean mandatory volunteers is issued with
an imperial Magnetic Energy Malicious Eradicator rifle type 4, the Lateral Endo Enthermic Teldum
helmet with face concealing shield for maximum intimidation and dehumanization, a picture
of our wondrous emperor who is so awesome that he uh⌠is like really cool and always
wins when he plays Fortnight! And like⌠doesnât look a day past⌠27? Please donât kill me for offering insufficient
praise! And of course, every imperial soldier from
trooper to high commander should check out this videoâs sponsor, Skillshare! Skillshare is one of the largest databases
of imperial knowledge this side of the galaxy with over 20,000 classes in writing, design,
business and technology. Every officer should sign up for premium membership
that gives unlimited access to high quality classes. Why this propaganda officer found the Official
DIY guide to Voice Acting by Donald Fittsgill Fitsgil Jr to be extremely useful. Yes. This propaganda officer is like very valuable. Yes. Very valuable. He should most definitely not be killed in
order to reach imperial execution quotas. The emperor commands that you check out skil.sh/twa5
or that you check out the link in the description below to get 2 months of unlimited access
for free. Join today! You might just be an expendable drone, but
you owe it to yourself to be the best expendable drones the empire has to offer. With the power of Skillshare, we march to
VICTORY or at least better employment!
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I love that channel