Master Plots — Part 3
Previously we considered 20 ‘master’ plots, here and here as articulated by author Ronald Tobias. Now let me throw into the mix this saying that’s been bouncing around writing circles for heaven knows how long:
There are only two kinds of stories: “Someone goes on a journey” and “A stranger comes to town.”
While this may or may not be true, it’s instructive to consider: If the “someone” going on a journey is the story’s Protagonist, then they almost assuredly will go through an accompanying personal transformation, starting out in one emotion-state, ending up in quite another; on the other hand, the “stranger” coming to town typically doesn’t change, but rather they are themselves agents of change, their ‘extraordinary’ world view and personality shaking up the ‘ordinary’ world of the town in question.
A short list of stranger / ‘agent of change’ movies: High Plains Drifter (1973), The Rainmaker (1956), The Music Man (1962), and Needful Things (1993).
Then there’s Joseph Campbell, who we discussed here and the contention that all stories basically tell one story — The Hero’s Journey. And ironically, this ‘plot’ often involves both “someone goes on a journey” and “stranger comes to town.” As Campbell puts it in his own words:
“Something happens… maybe the antagonist enters the protagonist’s world, disrupting it. Or maybe someone comes, a herald, who calls the protagonist to action.”
The ‘stranger’ can be the antagonist (or his representatives) or a herald character, bringing news that upsets the norm. One example is in Star Wars: A New Hope, with R2-D2’s holographic message from Princess Leia that Luke saw — “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.” Thus motivated by the antagonist or herald, the Protagonist eventually sets out on their journey, leaving the ordinary world and traveling into the extraordinary world of adventure.
So we have 20 ‘master’ plots, plus 2 more, plus The Hero’s Journey. Doubtless, we could come up with dozens more. One lesson from all this: sometimes it can be helpful to step back and take a macro view of the story we’re writing to see how it matches up, if at all, with one of these ‘master’ plots — because certain plots tend to set into motion specific patterns and themes.