20 MP Lesson 10 Plot #4: Rescue
Jul 9, 2021 13:00:04 GMT -6
Post by ScienceGirl on Jul 9, 2021 13:00:04 GMT -6
As we start adding new plots, it makes sense to compare them, which Tobias does.
The rescue plot is different from the other examples because it relies more heavily on the antagonist than any other character. If there's no bad guy, then no one would need rescuing. And within the rescue plot is a carefully constructed triangle. The protagonist hero, the victim, and the antagonist villain.
There is a moral implication to this plot: "the antagonist is wrong, and the hero is right." It's far more one-sided than the plot of pursuit.
A rescue plot might take the following form. An estranged parent (the antagonist) having been denied custody of the child, kidnaps the child and disappears. Though the child (victim) is present throughout the story, the primary conflict would be between the estranged parent and the actual parent.
Tobias agrees with Tolstoy that the best stories don't come from good vs. bad, but rather from good vs. good. So throw in a condition where both parents have an equally moral claim for the child, or the kidnapping parent is trying to save the child from danger of which the other is unaware, and then you have a good vs. good plot. We're all between a rock and a hard place.
Consider also the definition of rescue:
Notice also that this plot does not always allow for the deepest character development, so it's important to focus on planting those extra details within the action so the characters do not appear too flat.
The Protagonist
In the rescue plot, the protagonist gets most of the action. They do all the searching. They have the most compelling reason or motivation to act. So, it's important to understand as we are writing what that motivation is. Tobias cites love as the strongest reason, but love does not always fit (An FBI agent may not love the person he's charged to rescue, even if he falls in love with them at the end). Money, fame, or even just a sense of justice can work. Regardless, the protagonist should have a strong moral desire to right a wrong.
The protagonist by type is selfless (although a selfish rescuer could be an interesting anti-type twist). This means they are willing to go to the end of the world to find what they're looking for. They will travel somewhere completely foreign to them or battle enemies they have no idea how to face. The hero will be at a disadvantage, and overcoming that disadvantage will affect the rescue.
A lot of times, the protagonist comes off as emotionless, because they are so highly focused. Other characters becoming irritated with this can make for good side conflict. A husband and wife lose their intimacy because the wife becomes obsessed with finding the child, etc.
The Antagonist
A lot of times, a rescue will relate to a kidnapping. As Tobias says, this model hasn't changed much in the last 5000 years. The evil magician wants the princess for themselves. The old woman wants the power of the young sorceress to preserve her youth. So the antagonist has a motivation to act as well, but it's not as strong as the protagonists. So the antagonist will always take a backseat to the hero.
This is a tricky balance. It's important to have an opponent who is powerful enough to consistently interfere with the hero's rescue attempts, but not so strong they cannot be defeated.
Tobias says,
A good antagonist is deviously clever, able to outwit the hero consistently until we reach the third act.
The Victim
As straightforward as it may sound, readers need to care enough about the victim that they WANT them to be rescued. In some ways, as in the Princess Bride, the victim is more like a Macguffin. She's pure and beautiful, and that's all we really need to know about her. She becomes almost more object than human at times. Wesley and Prince Humperdink often talk about her like she's an object and not a person. Rapunzel is the same. Beautiful and locked in a tower. That's all we really get of her story (Now I will say that modern versions of some of these old stories take things a bit deeper. I love in Tangled how we see her learn to cook and paint and such).
The victim is essential to the rescue in that without them the hero has no motivation to act. However, they're not important to the story itself. The hero and villain need not even interact with the victim that much to pull off an action-filled moving plot.
The Structure
According to Tobias, in Act One, there's separation. A motivating incident where the antagonist snatches the hero from the victim. The writer spends the first act establishing a believable relationship between the protagonist and victim so we believe them and understand why they shouldn't be denied each other's company. Act One usually ends with the abduction.
Act Two is pursuit. The actions of the antagonist generally define this pursuit, because the antagonist is the one being chased. Keep act two full of traps, tricks, diversions, and red herrings. Just as with the other plots, don't take readers straight from point A to point B.
Different from the adventure and quest plots, there's not generally a meaningful disability. In other words, the protagonist doesn't become too sick to travel and have to give up the chase. Remember that in The Princess Bride that Wesley is even able to cheat being "mostly dead" to defeat Humperdink.
Act Three is what Tobias calls "the inevitable act of confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist in an action-packed clash between the forces of good and evil."
Even in this clash, it's important to think about how you can keep it unique. Also, be very careful if you decide to have the hero fail. Readers generally HATE those kinds of stories.
Checklist
Like the adventure plot, the hero of the rescue plot must go forth into the world. Like the quest plot, he/she searches for someone or something. And like the pursuit plot, the hero ordinarily chases the antagonist. Like the others, the rescue plot is a physical plot: it depends on action more than it depends on the psychological subtleties of the character. But the similarities end there.
There is a moral implication to this plot: "the antagonist is wrong, and the hero is right." It's far more one-sided than the plot of pursuit.
A rescue plot might take the following form. An estranged parent (the antagonist) having been denied custody of the child, kidnaps the child and disappears. Though the child (victim) is present throughout the story, the primary conflict would be between the estranged parent and the actual parent.
Tobias agrees with Tolstoy that the best stories don't come from good vs. bad, but rather from good vs. good. So throw in a condition where both parents have an equally moral claim for the child, or the kidnapping parent is trying to save the child from danger of which the other is unaware, and then you have a good vs. good plot. We're all between a rock and a hard place.
Consider also the definition of rescue:
Delivering from confinement, danger, violence, or evil.
The Protagonist
In the rescue plot, the protagonist gets most of the action. They do all the searching. They have the most compelling reason or motivation to act. So, it's important to understand as we are writing what that motivation is. Tobias cites love as the strongest reason, but love does not always fit (An FBI agent may not love the person he's charged to rescue, even if he falls in love with them at the end). Money, fame, or even just a sense of justice can work. Regardless, the protagonist should have a strong moral desire to right a wrong.
The protagonist by type is selfless (although a selfish rescuer could be an interesting anti-type twist). This means they are willing to go to the end of the world to find what they're looking for. They will travel somewhere completely foreign to them or battle enemies they have no idea how to face. The hero will be at a disadvantage, and overcoming that disadvantage will affect the rescue.
A lot of times, the protagonist comes off as emotionless, because they are so highly focused. Other characters becoming irritated with this can make for good side conflict. A husband and wife lose their intimacy because the wife becomes obsessed with finding the child, etc.
The Antagonist
A lot of times, a rescue will relate to a kidnapping. As Tobias says, this model hasn't changed much in the last 5000 years. The evil magician wants the princess for themselves. The old woman wants the power of the young sorceress to preserve her youth. So the antagonist has a motivation to act as well, but it's not as strong as the protagonists. So the antagonist will always take a backseat to the hero.
This is a tricky balance. It's important to have an opponent who is powerful enough to consistently interfere with the hero's rescue attempts, but not so strong they cannot be defeated.
Tobias says,
The antagonist is a device whose purpose is to deprive the protagonist of what she believes rightfully belongs to her.
A good antagonist is deviously clever, able to outwit the hero consistently until we reach the third act.
The Victim
As straightforward as it may sound, readers need to care enough about the victim that they WANT them to be rescued. In some ways, as in the Princess Bride, the victim is more like a Macguffin. She's pure and beautiful, and that's all we really need to know about her. She becomes almost more object than human at times. Wesley and Prince Humperdink often talk about her like she's an object and not a person. Rapunzel is the same. Beautiful and locked in a tower. That's all we really get of her story (Now I will say that modern versions of some of these old stories take things a bit deeper. I love in Tangled how we see her learn to cook and paint and such).
The victim is essential to the rescue in that without them the hero has no motivation to act. However, they're not important to the story itself. The hero and villain need not even interact with the victim that much to pull off an action-filled moving plot.
The Structure
According to Tobias, in Act One, there's separation. A motivating incident where the antagonist snatches the hero from the victim. The writer spends the first act establishing a believable relationship between the protagonist and victim so we believe them and understand why they shouldn't be denied each other's company. Act One usually ends with the abduction.
Act Two is pursuit. The actions of the antagonist generally define this pursuit, because the antagonist is the one being chased. Keep act two full of traps, tricks, diversions, and red herrings. Just as with the other plots, don't take readers straight from point A to point B.
Different from the adventure and quest plots, there's not generally a meaningful disability. In other words, the protagonist doesn't become too sick to travel and have to give up the chase. Remember that in The Princess Bride that Wesley is even able to cheat being "mostly dead" to defeat Humperdink.
Act Three is what Tobias calls "the inevitable act of confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist in an action-packed clash between the forces of good and evil."
Even in this clash, it's important to think about how you can keep it unique. Also, be very careful if you decide to have the hero fail. Readers generally HATE those kinds of stories.
Checklist
1. Does your plot rely more on action than characterization, especially that of the victim?
2. Do you have a character triangle consisting of hero, villain, and victim?
3. Is there a moral argument that appears to be black and white. Definite good vs. evil?
4. Is the focus of your story the hero's pursuit of the victim?
5. Does the hero leave the comfort of his world to pursue the villain (usually on the villain's turf?)
6. Is the hero defined by their relationship to the victim?
7. Is your antagonist a device whose purpose is to deprive the hero of waht he believes is rightfully his?
8. Does the antagonist constantly interfere with the hero's progress?
9. Is the victim the weakest of the three characters, and mainly a mechanism to force the hero to confront the antagonist?
10. Does your plot include the three dramatic phases of separation, pursuit, and confrontation/reunion?
2. Do you have a character triangle consisting of hero, villain, and victim?
3. Is there a moral argument that appears to be black and white. Definite good vs. evil?
4. Is the focus of your story the hero's pursuit of the victim?
5. Does the hero leave the comfort of his world to pursue the villain (usually on the villain's turf?)
6. Is the hero defined by their relationship to the victim?
7. Is your antagonist a device whose purpose is to deprive the hero of waht he believes is rightfully his?
8. Does the antagonist constantly interfere with the hero's progress?
9. Is the victim the weakest of the three characters, and mainly a mechanism to force the hero to confront the antagonist?
10. Does your plot include the three dramatic phases of separation, pursuit, and confrontation/reunion?
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