When does a series of events become plot?

redsoxboy123 · Jan 28, 2012

Hello everybody. I have a very basic outline of the 1st few chapters of my novel.

Two young American boys (James and Scott) move to Mexico City.

James get bored and the 2 brothers decide to ditch their lame ass parents and wander the city at nightfall.

They unknowingly jaywalk across Paseo de la Reforma (the city's main boulevard).

Along comes Mr. Bad Cop, he tries to stop them, then he chases them...

Then out of nowhere another boy (Pedro) comes and rescues them by beating up the cop/ Mr Cop is knocked out.

All 3 boys head to a quiet place and they introduce themselves.

Pedro accidently acknowledges that's he's the leader of a rebellious group, but he and James become friends anyway. James thanks Pedro for saving him.

Pedro shows James how to get around the language barriers at school and after school they go exploring in the massive, sprawling city (the metropolitan area has nearly 26 million)...

The next morning Pedro is sad because one of his teammates got killed (by a rouge cop) and he asks James to take his place...but James declines at first.

But after James hears stories of how the police and the drug cartel have been terrorizing his new neighborhood, he decides to join Pedro's anti-society group...Pedro shows him a couple things (like how to hold a gun and a few good karate moves)...

So I want to hear your opinions on when this becomes plot, not just a series of random events?

Iustefan · Jan 28, 2012

Those aren't random events.. that's a series of events which very much could be plotted out into a story. What you need to do is write it. As you do think about what the characters are feeling, try to find their conflict, internal and external, and figure out the dynamics of the boys relationships. I suggest you do that as you write.

The most important thing is writing it, otherwise you will never know if its a story worth writing or not.

Celia Cyanide · Jan 28, 2012

I would recommend you watch the video in this thread:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224394&highlight=south+park

Becky Black · Jan 29, 2012

Usually when coming to write an outline for my plot I've got two things:

A bunch of scenes, some of which belong in obvious places in the story, but some of which are more flexible about where they might go.
An arc of the characters' emotional journey through the story.

I have to put the two together by arranging the scenes so that they best illustrate where the character is on that journey and helps them move on the next step in the journey.

So what you can start with is figuring out your character's journey. What's he going to learn by the end that he didn't know at the start? How is he going to change? How are his relationships with other people going to change? What are his goals and priorities in the story? Once you know this you'll have a much better idea of how to make the scenes fit together in a sequence rather than just being random events happening to your character.

Terie · Jan 29, 2012

What's the old cannard? (googles) Ah, yes, here we go:

E.M.Forster said:
The king died and then the queen died is a story. The king died and the queen died of grief is a plot.

SomethingOrOther · Jan 29, 2012

Causality.

E.M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, as an example of a story (in this context, a series of events) used "The king died and the queen died." It became plot with a minor alteration: "The king died and the queen died of grief."

The events you've listed make up a plot. Things happen because of other things. Your lead character's actions influence the course of events.

Brutal Mustang · Jan 29, 2012

Plot is character. It's what any given character will do in a situation. Or else it's still going to feel like a series of events--coerced events, at that.

Orchestra · Jan 29, 2012

Forster's theory is incredibly old and not very comprehensive. But luckily you don't have to know any literary theory in order to plot a story.

Story is everything that happens to the characters in a piece of fiction. Plotting is simply taking those events and arranging them so that they make sense, are easy enough to follow, provide tension and reveal meaning. That's it.

Coco82 · Jan 29, 2012

I think that could very well be plotted into a story. I could see a lot of places that could go. Good luck.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 29, 2012

How do you unknowingly jaywalk?

I think you could turn your list of events into a story, but as they stand there is no story, and it's story you want, not just plot. A list of events is never a plot, never a story.

And, really, nothing that happens seems to happen for a reason. Nor does any of it seem very realistic. Why is the cop bad? Because he tries to stop them from jaywalking? A boy comes along and beats up the cop? Why? Even better, how? A boy beats up a Mexico City cop at night night? Somehow, I don't think you've spent much time in Mexico City at night, or understand how the police force works there.

These kids wouldn't last five minutes.

Anyway, what's the story? What is the protagonist's goal? Is it a coming of age story? What?

Putting an interesting character into an interesting situation and having him work himself out of it can make a fine story, but right from the start, there must be a story, a reason behind the events, the beginning of an arc that starts on page one and has a resolution on page last.

As is, this sounds more like the kind of idle daydream many have, but not a story.

Al Stevens · Jan 29, 2012

There's no conflict or stake after "All 3 boys"

What happened to Scott?

"rouge cop?"

rugcat · Jan 29, 2012

Events become a plot when what happens in one scene leads logically to what happens the next scene.

Or when seemingly random events turn out to be connected in ways that show they're not random at all, but in reality are inextricably linked.

Question · Jan 30, 2012

A plot is the series of causal events that occur during the course of a story. 'Causal' is the key there -- one thing must believably lead to the next. But JAR is right, you need more than just plot to make a story. Think about what you're trying to achieve with this story, and how you can make it emotionally satisfying. If it isn't, it's highly unlikely that your readers will enjoy it as much as I'm sure you want them to.

The Seanchai · Jan 30, 2012

I didn't even post this question and I got some great pieces of advise out of the responses!

Brickcommajason · Jan 30, 2012

I would say that a series of scenes almost never becomes a plot. The plot is the underlying conflict, character development, premise that runs through the scenes.

redsoxboy123 · Feb 8, 2012

Thanks

@ Brutal Mustang:
I agree with that. Think of the brotherly relationship between James (age 14) and Scott (age 10). Then think of the following situation:
SCOTT WAS KIDNAPPED.
Now James can either...
A. Forget his brother ever existed. Or
B. Find where he is and rescue him, which leads to the main plot of fighting the drug cartels.
I would pick B because it would get the story moving and lead James to stand up to corruption.

And to the others:
I've never given much thought to "conflict, both physical and emotional" How does that work? I'm thinking of an example from the Naruto manga...that kids got a powerful demon stuck inside him that is full of hate. Early on, his classmates mocked him and avoided him. He was lonely and he couldn't understand why they hated him. Later on, he learned to work thru the pain and use the monster to his advantage. Let's stay on topic...that example shows us that ANYONE can find how to make good out of past experiences no matter how traumatic it was. Right?

Good night.

RemusShepherd · Feb 8, 2012

redsoxboy123 said:
When does a series of events become plot?

When they're connected and they're building up to something. A plot has rising and falling sections, generally rising in tension and danger until it hits a climax.

Sounds as if you're doing just fine.

cara · Feb 9, 2012

I'm currently trying to make a plot. I've found that making a timeline of events is helpful, then you can fill in around the major plot points with relationship/emotional/political/whatever. The thing is, the time line doesn't make it linear, you can jump around, but this way you'll know what you've done and what causes it.

zornhau · Feb 9, 2012

What it lacks is a sense that the characters have goals to begin with.

I think a unit of plot is:

Goal vs Barrier > Complication

Libbie · Feb 9, 2012

redsoxboy123 said:
Hello everybody. I have a very basic outline of the 1st few chapters of my novel.

Two young American boys (James and Scott) move to Mexico City.

James get bored and the 2 brothers decide to ditch their lame ass parents and wander the city at nightfall.

They unknowingly jaywalk across Paseo de la Reforma (the city's main boulevard).

Along comes Mr. Bad Cop, he tries to stop them, then he chases them...

Then out of nowhere another boy (Pedro) comes and rescues them by beating up the cop/ Mr Cop is knocked out.

All 3 boys head to a quiet place and they introduce themselves.

Pedro accidently acknowledges that's he's the leader of a rebellious group, but he and James become friends anyway. James thanks Pedro for saving him.

Pedro shows James how to get around the language barriers at school and after school they go exploring in the massive, sprawling city (the metropolitan area has nearly 26 million)...

The next morning Pedro is sad because one of his teammates got killed (by a rouge cop) and he asks James to take his place...but James declines at first.

But after James hears stories of how the police and the drug cartel have been terrorizing his new neighborhood, he decides to join Pedro's anti-society group...Pedro shows him a couple things (like how to hold a gun and a few good karate moves)...

So I want to hear your opinions on when this becomes plot, not just a series of random events?

Sounds like you have a plot right here. These are related events. Actions and decisions are causal. And you have conflict, too, which stories require: James must decide whether to join the gang.

You're on the right track! Keep going!

Libbie · Feb 9, 2012

redsoxboy123 said:
And to the others:
:/ I've never given much thought to "conflict, both physical and emotional" How does that work?

Examples of physical conflict:
Man vs. Environment (The survivor of a shipwreck must make shelter and find food on the island where he's washed up, or he'll die. A lost hiker must find shelter, food, and summon rescuers or she'll die.)

Man vs. Man (In The Hunger Games, a large part of the conflict is physical. Katniss has to compete in life-and-death "games" with other kids to not only survive, but to earn food and safety for her District. In The X Files, Mulder and Scully are often in conflict against their unseen but still external and human opponents -- the government agents who want to keep mysteries and conspiracies under wraps.)

Examples of emotional conflict:

A woman struggles to overcome her alcoholism and to mend the broken relationship with her daughter.

A man living in a fundamentalist community struggles with his religious doubt and what a lack of faith will mean for him socially.

James must decide whether to stand up against police brutality by joining Pedro's gang, even though it may be physically and socially risky for him.

LLW · Feb 9, 2012

Howdy. Yes, I agree with comments about characters needing goals. When I start writing, I only have a loose outline of the plot, but I know what the character wants and needs (they usually aren't the same).

Example from one of my stories: Character 1 wanted to go back to his father's house, but what he really needed to do was stay at his foster mom's. But, he sets off for Dad's anyway and conflict ensues.

I think developing characters' needs vs. wants can be really helpful when thinking about plot.

raniannabanana · Feb 9, 2012

The Seanchai said:
I didn't even post this question and I got some great pieces of advise out of the responses!

Ha, exactly what I was thinking when I read this.

redsoxboy123 · Feb 14, 2012

Thanks Libbie

Sometimes I get ideas for new events within the example I gave above. Granted they may be small, they could have disasterous consequences later on.

Or

As my main character tries to work himself out of one situation, another one comes along and he tries to get out of both...

See you later

buz · Feb 15, 2012

Oooh...I just went through a period of discovery that ended with my realization (and when I say realization, I mean other, smarter people beat it into my brains) that my series of events wasn't a plot. (Or maybe it was, but a crappy unreadable one.)

A brilliant critter/beta came up with a metaphor that finally drove the point into my head (because I wasn't understanding, cause I'm es el oh dubya): A series of events is like a video game. The MC has to fight some baddies to get to the castle to the rescue the princess, but the princess isn't there, so they fight some more and go through the water level with all the crocodiles to get to a big bad boss and finally rescue the princess, or whatever.

A plot changes the situation along the way and raises the stakes. If the Luigi decides he can no longer agree with Mario's mission and turns on him, if the Mario does something horrible that could have drastic consequences if he's found out, if Mario becomes deranged and suddenly thinks he's in Halo and finds a gun and blasts Yoshi away...and if that event is caused by some earlier event, etc (what the others said about causality).

But yeah, to add to the other smart things people have said: change in stakes. It seems like you have some of that, but there might be places where it could go flat if dragged on for too long, so just be aware

When does a series of events become plot?

Training in a Taekwondo studio

slow going but enjoying it

Joker Groupie

Writing my way off the B Ark

Writer is as Writer does

-

Loves interplanetary chaos.

practical experience, GTFO

Lost in the Fog

Soon I will be invincible

Training in a Taekwondo studio

Swordsman

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

Training in a Taekwondo studio

can't stop hemorrhaging emojis