{"id":2856,"date":"2015-06-14T05:16:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-14T05:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/In-the-story-of-resolution-we-get-the-plot-skeleton"},"modified":"2015-06-14T05:16:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-14T05:16:00","slug":"in-the-story-of-resolution-we-get-the-plot-skeleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/mikerm\/2015\/06\/14\/in-the-story-of-resolution-we-get-the-plot-skeleton\/","title":{"rendered":"In the story of resolution, we get the “plot skeleton”:"},"content":{"rendered":" \n

In the story of resolution<\/strong>, we get the “plot skeleton”: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A believable and sympathetic central character<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. has an urgent and difficult problem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. attempts to solve the problem, fails, and the situation becomes more desperate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. encounters a crisis, a final chance to win<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. through the character’s personal qualities of courage, perseverence, cleverness, etc., manages to win (or, in a tragedy, fails through his flaws).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, the full plot skeleton is seldom seen in short fiction. There’s no room for step 3, and step 5 is too predictable. Instead, we see a conflict, with the outcome in doubt, and we get: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The terms of the competition set out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The contest itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The outcome<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short fiction author will usually use this for misdirection, since otherwise it’s too predictable. The meaning turns out to be something other than the outcome of the contest. The conflict exposes character and keeps the reader interested until the revelation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of revelation<\/strong> replaces the resolution (one outcome of the contest or the other) with a third thing that is a revelation. Or else it achieves rising tension in another way, without conflict (e.g. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, where the choice gradually narrows down to one person), then springs the revelation (what’s going to happen to that person). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trick ending<\/strong> does a bait and switch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of decision<\/strong> needs to have a genuinely difficult choice that could go either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of explanation<\/strong> builds up the strangeness, then explains it at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of solution<\/strong> is a puzzle or mystery (puzzles are solved by the characters, mysteries by events). Don’t attempt puzzle stories unless you’re familiar with what’s been done already. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of illumination<\/strong> is not a plotted story. A sequence of events reveals the meaning of a character’s life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#shortfiction Damon Knight<\/p>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the story of resolution, we get the “plot skeleton”:
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