We discussed PLOT in a previous post and it wasn’t easy. Some of the writers who went before us put together structure maps for getting our stories in order. I discussed the Five ACT Structure, which is the 10,000ft view of your story. How do we take the next step and make our plot points interesting?
For this we have some tools available to thicken our stories. Specifically we have backstory, the training sequence, and knowing our ending. Let’s start with backstory!
Backstory.
BACKSTORY can get complicated just like any other aspect of storytelling. John Truby doesn’t like the term BACKSTORY because it’s too broad. He prefers the term, GHOST. He says, “The ghost is an open wound that is often the source of the hero’s psychological and moral weakness.”
Let’s take a look at STAR WARS again to see how the backstory, or the ghost, is used.
STAR WARS begins with an intense space battle which we know nothing about. We get snippets here and there before launching into space in an escape pod headed to a planet we know even less about.
Then we meet LUKE SKYWALKER. We learn that Luke lives with his Aunt and Uncle, not his parents. He desires to get off Tatooine someday to be a pilot; however, Luke’s uncle doesn’t want him engaging in conversations about the galaxy or anything outside the moisture farm.
When Luke meets Obi-Wan, we learn that Luke’s father was a warrior called a JEDI Knight. There is something Luke’s uncle is protecting him from. A horrible secret maybe? This is an enticing morsel we can’t resist. We, the audience, are now hooked!!
Luke’s lack of knowledge about his father provides the PLOT with opportunities to inform the audience about the world in which Luke lives in. It also informs us about the conflict he might be in for. We learn about the Jedi, the Force, the battle between the Empire and the Rebellion.
This all helps move the plot forward. Keep in mind though, that the writer doesn’t dump all the information in our lap at once. It’s given to us in breadcrumbs. A complete backstory is rarely successful.
The training sequence.
Constructing your PLOT can be a daunting and tedious task. Backstory is one device which can help us, another is the TRAINING SEQUENCE. This is often placed in ACT II where it is used to show the protagonist’s progress in learning their new skills.
ACT II isn’t always the best place for training though. BATMAN BEGINS, for example, has the TRAINING SEQUENCE in ACT I in order to show us Bruce Wayne’s character and provide context for his future development into BATMAN.
Many movies abuse the TRAINING SEQUENCE by shoving it into a montage with a culturally relevant and motivational rock song. This is cheesy and kind of lazy.
A TRAINING SEQUENCE is a tool to show how intense and prepared the protagonist is, as well as develop them. It can be made more relevant and integral to the plot when the ANTAGONIST’s plan can only be destroyed by someone with the specific training the protagonist is getting.
Let’s look at the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and BATMAN BEGINS.
Luke’s training in Empire.
In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Luke goes through some intense training and receives wise words from YODA. But none of this would really mean anything for the PLOT if Darth Vader wasn’t constructing a devious plan to capture Luke, turn him to the dark side and rule the galaxy with him.
The PLOT becomes interesting because the final battle, though a lightsaber duel, is more a battle of minds than anything else. It’s Vader and Luke mentally sparring to the death. When the mental jabs begin, all the wisdom Luke got from Yoda comes frothing to the top. It makes the story rich with meaning.
The key take away with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is that the action of the training sequences were kind of a ruse. The real meat which came to the forefront in the final battle was the dialogue.
Bruce’s and Batman’s training in Batman Begins.
In BATMAN BEGINS, there are several training sequences.
The initial sequence in ACT I, where BRUCE is trained by HENRI DUCARD, is used to show us Bruce’s character, what motivates him and what he stands for. He wants to fight, but he refuses to kill innocent people for the creation of a better society.
It’s also a morsel from the writer telling us that the fighting style Bruce is learning is only learned by a select few. This is important for the final battle.
We then move into ACT II where Bruce develops into BATMAN and his BAT-training begins. We are shown what Bruce is capable of and how he integrates the training from Ducard into his new persona.
Meanwhile, the enemy is growing and a couple of devious opponents develop which Batman responds to as he learns and adapts his new skills. Batman’s skills are unique and no one seems to have the ability to counter them.
In ACT III, Batman comes face-to-face with the hidden enemy and it is Ducard. We suddenly learn that Ducard’s plan was given to us in the very beginning and now that he is trying to execute it, the only person who can stop him is his former student, Bruce Wayne as the Batman.
The two fight using the same style and for this reason, the final battle is stupendous.
Know your ending.
The last tool I’ll mention here is one that’s more related to figuring our protagonists out but can help drive the plot if we get it right. I’ve heard it said several times in many of my courses, in Youtube videos, and in books: “Begin with the end.”
What this means is to come up with an answer to the question the protagonist is trying to solve before we determine the question. I wouldn’t say this is a slam dunk method, but it certainly helps sometimes.
The idea is to tie it to the LIE the PROTAGONIST is telling himself/herself.
In STAR WARS, LUKE’s lie is that he’ll never get off the farm to be a star fighter. Luke eventually does leave the farm and becomes a star fighter, but he also becomes a Jedi AND saves the galaxy.
So, if we want Luke to save the Galaxy and become a Jedi in our climax scene; what beginning can we come up with to contrast that? What’s that you say? The opposite of a big galaxy is a small farm in the middle of nowhere. A naïve young kid with big dreams is the opposite of a great warrior? Well done!
In LOGAN, the lie which Logan is telling himself is that everyone who he loves or becomes friends with dies. By the end of the movie, Logan learns to care for Laura. And he eventually finds PEACE by sacrificing himself so she can live and carry on the legacy of THE WOLVERINE!!
So, if we want Logan to learn that he is loved and to find peace by sacrificing himself, then the contrast to that is Logan starting agitated, hopeless, afraid to love, and suicidal!
Final thoughts.
We can use tools such as backstory, the training sequence, and finding the beginning, in the end, to aid us in getting our PLOT down.
Parsing out the PLOT to our story can be difficult, but with these tools in our back pocket we can now move out and write good things. Good Luck!