The Secondary Principles of Plot: Progress, Setbacks, Costs, Turning Points
Plot is more than âstuff happening.â At the most basic level, a plot should have these elements: goal, antagonist, conflict, and consequences. In this article, we will go over the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.
But first, letâs briefly review the primary principles. Without these things, the storyline will always feel weak or even âbroken.â
The protagonist has a want (which may be abstract) that manifests in a goal or even goals (which should be concrete and measurableâin that the audience knows what reaching the goal looks like). Not all protagonists start the story with a clear goal, but nearly all protagonists should have one by the end of Act I. Furthermore, not all protagonists have the same type of goalâfor example, some goals may be aspirational, others goals may be simply to stop the antagonist, others may be to return balance to a previous lifestyle. Itâs possible the goal may change, and in such cases, it may be helpful to view the story as having act-level goals, rather than one, grand overarching goal from beginning to end.
Something antagonistic is in the way of that goal. The antagonistic force is a form of oppositionâit is something in the way of the goal, not just something annoying or heckling the protagonist. In some cases, it may be more helpful to think of the antagonistic force as the resistance or obstacle in the way of the goal, and there will probably be more than one. Not every antagonistic force that appears in a story will be the âmain bad guyâ (or what have you), particularly in scenes and sequences. Nonetheless, if it is something obstructing the way, it is an antagonistic force.
The protagonist and antagonist want conflicting things. There isnât an easy, foreseeable way for them each to have their desires. This leads to conflict. The protagonist needs to somehow outsmart or overcome the antagonist. The more the protagonist wants the goal, and the tougher the antagonist, the bigger the struggle. This helps create meaningful conflict, not conflict that is cleverly disguised filler.
Conflict only really matters in that it affects what happens next, or in other words, it has consequences. This is where cause and effect come in. A strong plot follows a sense of cause and effect. In most stories, the effect will be both internal and external, but itâs possible to be only one (internal emphasizes character more, external emphasizes plot more). When we project the cause and effect trajectory forward, we create stakes (what is at risk in the story). Stakes = potential consequences. Ramifications = actual consequences.
Next, we will dive into the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.
Why Are the Secondary Principles âProgress, Setbacks, Costs, and Turning Pointsâ?Â
The primary principles are required to create the most basic level of plot. You canât have a solid plot without goal, antagonist, conflict, or consequences. You may think you can, but it will probably always feel flimsy or âlesser."Â
The secondary principles build directly off the primary principles, strengthening and reinforcing the plot, making it more stable and satisfying. Here is how this works:
Progress relates to goal.
The goal is something the protagonist wants and is therefore taking action to get. Progress is used to measure how close the protagonist is to getting the goal. Itâs seen as something positive.
Setbacks relate to antagonist.
Setbacks happen when an antagonistic force opposes the protagonist and the goal. The antagonistic force gets in the way and sometimes even "winsâ the conflict within a scene, sequence, or act. These create setbacks, which are the opposite of progress. They are seen as something negative.
Costs relate to conflict.
When the protagonist moves forward and comes into conflict, there is often some form of cost. The conflict may cost the protagonist their physical or mental well-being, time, money, or any other sort of resource.
Turning points relate to consequences.
Turning points shift the cause-and-effect trajectory the story is on, which means they change the consequences in some meaningful way.
Since both the primary and secondary principles are merely principles, there are always rare exceptions of likable stories that donât adhere to them exactly. But in order to have a strong plotâas opposed to a story that focuses more exclusively on character arc or themeâthis is often what is necessary.
Still, even that argument can be a little iffyâafter all, a strong plot can breed a strong character arc and theme. Nonetheless, some types of stories emphasize one or two elements over the other(s).
Show Progress Toward the Goal
In a lecture series on Youtube, #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson talks about how a sense of progress is key to a good plot. Progress keeps the audience invested, particularly through the middle of the story. If there is no progress, then the reader feels as if the plot isnât going anywhere.Â
But we canât even begin to have progress until the protagonist has a goalâbecause we canât measure what progress is without knowing where we are going. So this again shows why a goal is so important. Yet, a goal with no progress feels stagnant. And a sense of progress will naturally reinforce the presence and importance of a goal.
Sometimes in the writing community, we are told to keep our protagonist failing until the end, but this is really a half-truth. If we adhered to this literally, the story would be annoying because there would never be any progress. What people actually mean is, donât fully resolve the primary plotline until the end (there may be some exceptions, but this is the general principle).
In some stories, the protagonist appears to be making progress, but in an ironic twist, it turns out they were heading the wrong direction. These stories still work, because there is perceived progressâthere is still a sense of progress.Â
Similarly, in some stories, the protagonist may obtain the goal halfway or three-quarters of the way through, only to realize itâs not what they actually need, or to have it taken away, or to recognize there is actually a greater goal beyond it (this is why sometimes itâs more useful to think of the plot as having act-level goals).
Nonetheless, the feeling of progress still existsâthe audience feels as if the protagonist is getting somewhere.Â
Recall that we talked about how larger goals are usually made up of smaller goals. The big goal to be a lead singer requires smaller goals to accomplish. The protagonist must make goals to take singing lessons, nail auditions, and perhaps perform in lesser roles to gain renown. Each time the protagonist succeeds in a lesser goal, it creates a sense of progress by bringing him or her closer to the larger goal.
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