You may have heard of the concept of seven basic plots that ALL myths, sagas, fiction etc are based on.
The meta-plot to them all begins with the anticipation stage, in which the hero is called to the adventure to come. This is followed by a dream stage, in which the adventure begins, the hero has some success, and has an illusion of invincibility. However, this is then followed by a frustration stage, in which the hero has his first confrontation with the enemy, and the illusion of invincibility is lost. This worsens in the nightmare stage, which is the climax of the plot, where hope is apparently lost. Finally, in the resolution, the hero overcomes his burden against the odds.
All fiction that is written is a variation or combination of the following seven recipes.
any characters may appear in a story, its real concern is with just one: its hero. It is the one whose fate we identify with, as we see them gradually developing towards that state of self-realization which marks the end of the story. Ultimately it is in relation to this central figure that all other characters in a story take on their significance. What each of the other characters represents is really only some aspect of the inner state of the hero himself.
I break that rule all the time, but I think a good story definitely has an ensembale central cast. if I am reading Star Trek, I care about Kirk, Spock, Scotty etc, not just Kirk.
The seven plots are:
Overcoming the monster
Definition: The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force (often evil) that threatens the protagonist and/or protagonist's homeland.
Maybe the monster is a metaphor for a bully or your mother in law.
Rags to riches
Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person as a result.
Maybe in erotic fiction, the son turns the tables on the mom and gets to take charge.
The quest
Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way.
Voyage and return
Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, returns with experience.
Comedy
Definition: Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion. Booker stresses that comedy is more than humor. It refers to a pattern where the conflict becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event. The majority of romance films fall into this category.
Tragedy
Definition: The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw or great mistake which is ultimately their undoing. The protagonist's unfortunate end evokes pity at their folly and the fall of a fundamentally good character.
I tend to have comedy in my tragedy stories, so I am probably going to hell for that. Which, I am sure I will find amusing because all of the people that told me I would end up there will be there with me.
Rebirth
Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better individual.
Story like "Resetting my Bitch Button" would be a good example. She is unhappy with how she is, and the catalyst for that change is hitting rock bottom and deciding that discipline is going to provide a better outcome than status quo. She realizes it has to be a fairly dramatic change or she'll waste her time and revert to her old habits.
https://storiesonline.net/s/22921/resetting-my-bitch-button
I also read today The Rule of Three.The third event in a series of events becomes "the final trigger for something important to happen." This pattern appears in childhood stories, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood.
I am not sure if my stories have that concept, but I like it.
Would you agree with any of that? I feel like a lot of stories are often more like diaries of what occurs, filled with melodramatic interactions much like a soap opera. They do not have to go "anywhere" - Luke and Laura's wedding on General Hospital took most of my early childhood watching it on TV and it never seemed to have any real plot at all. I watched it on my grandparent's tv with my grandmother. It bored me shitless.
When I think about story "Tropes" versus the central core of the story - there are bully stories, hot neighbor stories, turn the tables, burn the bitch stories etc. There are stories with different settings ranging from space wars to modern times to victorian era and alternative universes where the rules of reality are different.
Yet, I tend to think that the seven basic plots provide some food for thought to what I should write next after I finish with Call Me Misty.
I have several unfinished stories that are sitting on my hard drive unedited and unpublished to work on next, but I think I'd like to push myself in a different direction for the next story.
ideas?