Novel Writing Made Less Impossible -- Working the Master Plot, Part 6

Welcome to the pre-Thanksgiving episode of the blog. In this episode, we wrap up the look at the Lester Dent Master Plot. If you just joined me, Mr. Dent created and wrote all but ten of the 181 Doc Savage pulps. He also wrote a number of stories for the old pulp magazines and the "slicks." He did this using a framework for his stories which he claimed to sell each and every story written with this formula in mind. So let's cover the last of his Master Plot, as he called it. I reiterate that Mr. Dent intended for this Master Plot to be used within the confines of a 6,000-word story. I use the Plot in my own work and believe me, it works for longer pieces and for considerably shorter ones too. My comments will be in Bold. They are not intended to show that I know more than Mr. Dent about writing. Just the opposite, probably.

So let's begin.

FOURTH 1500 WORDS 1--Shovel the difficulties more thickly upon the hero.

William Faulkner allegedly advised writers to "in writing, you must kill all your darlings."

By that, he meant that you should never fear to delete lines from your writing, no matter how much you've fallen in love with your turns of phrase. That's always good advice, especially when you're editing/revising. There's usually another way to say anything, often more concisely without losing the power or intent of the original passages.

However, a more current school of thought is that one should never be afraid to place one's literary creations in peril, either physically, ethically, morally, whatever-ly.

In other words, don't be afraid to your literary darlings as miserable as possible in your story. Otherwise, how else do the characters grow and change? Not many people will buy your book to see everything going WELL for your literary offspring. No one buys a newspaper to read about someone's happiness. Your readers want some major schadenfreude … don't disappoint them.

I also see "kill your darlings" as advice to be fearless. Don't be afraid to take chances with your characters. I read many online criticisms of the film Man of Steel (2013) that took scriptwriter David Goyer to task not only for having Superman kill General Zod, but for putting the Man of Steel into that situation in the first place.

Me, I think putting one's protagonist in a Kobiashi Maru-type of situation is exactly what we writers are supposed to do. Just because we make what might appear to be the wrong story choices, that doesn't mean we only drop our "darlings" into safe spaces and let them ride unicorns until naptime.

"But I love my characters." Do you want to sell stories or elope with your characters?

Go ahead. Torment them a little ... or preferably, a lot. 2--Get the hero almost buried in his troubles. (Figuratively, the villain has him prisoner and has him framed for a murder rap; the girl is presumably dead, everything is lost, and the DIFFERENT murder method is about to dispose of the suffering protagonist.)

Push the protagonist to the edge of despair. Put Luke in Darth's crosshairs. Tie Indy to the stake with no way of stopping the ceremony to activate the Ark of the Covenant. Take the TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver away from the Doctor just as the alien is about to destroy the planet. Remove all hope of success from your protagonist, push him/her up against the wall, and let that hero(ine) find a way out. 3--The hero extricates himself using HIS OWN SKILL, training or brawn.

I've mentioned "The Green Arrow Syndome" before … no deus ex machinas here. One last-ditch effort when all hope is gone, that's what readers crave from their protagonists. 4--The mysteries remaining--one big one held over to this point will help grip interest--are cleared up in course of final conflict as hero takes the situation in hand.

Think of The Terminator and similar movies where you think it's just about over … and it's not. There's always room for one more menace or mystery. Also, this can occur in your last chapter when you're tying up your loose plot ends and resolving each primary character's journey. 5--Final twist, a big surprise, (This can be the villain turning out to be the unexpected person, having the "Treasure" be a dud, etc.)

This is one piece of advice that can never get old.

6--The snapper, the punch line to end it. HAS: The SUSPENSE held out to the last line? The MENACE held out to the last? Everything been explained? It all happen logically? Is the Punch Line enough to leave the reader with that WARM FEELING? Did God kill the villain? Or the hero?

In short, did the story have a memorable ending? Is everything good and wrapped up for the principals?

Re: the ending … take a look at Vulcana: Rebirth of the Champion where in true comic book fashion, Angelique Forge tells Kim Perry that she's looking forward to the future and that she's "fired up," a hint to her alternate identity. In The Original Skyman Battles the Master of Steam, Allan Turner promises himself that this won't be the Skyman's one and only adventure (trust me, it won't be) while in Santastein, I end it with a joke. Leave the reader feeling sated, as if the story's come to a good stopping point, possibly with the promise of more.

And that's how Lester Dent approached his work. You might find your own version of this framework, but it's important to have structure in your writing without having it read like it's deliberately written to a formula, like you're grinding it out.

But having this framework in place definitely should give you the confidence to flesh out your story, knowing you have a logical progression to your work and that you aren't writing yourself into a corner with no hope of extraction.

Have fun with this! I do.

NEXT WEEK: No more excuses! Get busy!

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