Plotting For Beginners Part 2

[This is a two-part article; part one is here.]

By now you've hopefully gotten over the math anxiety of the previous article. Now we get to worry about the actual writing.

Before plotting, you need to decide on if you want it to end on a good note or a bad one. If you want the standard feel-good ending, then the first act needs to be all positive until the instigating incident, then all negative until the climax, and then goes back into the protagonist having a good life from then on. If you want it to end on a bad note, then the first act needs to be all bad stuff, the second act is all good stuff, and then the last act needs to be a storm of bad things.

Those points are called "climaxes". It's when you have risen or fallen as far as you can and have started going in the opposite direction. Assuming a standard three-act play, you'll hit these points at roughly the 25% and 75% completed marks. If you're working with 60 scenes (the standard for movie), the beginning is short (about 10–15 scenes, or 20–30 minutes), the middle is twice as long (about 20–30 scenes, or 40–60 minutes), and the end is as long as the beginning (about 10–15 scenes, or 20–30 minutes).

For a comic, the same basically applies; think about it: First act is when the heroes find out about the problem, and by the end of the act are either forced to deal with it, or have decided to deal with it. However, then various plot complications come to play (why they can't succeed, or why they shouldn't, better known as "The Quest"); this is the second act. When they can finally start being able to deal with the issue, that's the third act.

This is not to say you can't add on new acts; just keep in mind that they should keep up the pattern (otherwise it's just a continuation of the current act!). Also, you should be striving for an odd number of them; it just generally works out better, gotten used to his day-to-day, and now you're upsetting it.

You're also going to need an inciting incident; this should happen at about the 10% completion mark. This corresponds to the "Call to Adventure" beat of the Hero's Journey: We've met the character, gotten used to his day-to-day, and then something happens to start forcing him into the adventure (he finds a cool sword, his mentor points out he needs to save the world, he gets orders from on high) even though he should refuse it at first (he puts the sword away, he ignores the mentor, he puts the orders at the bottom of the pile). The first climax comes when he finally accepts the call and goes for it.

[You should have introduced at least one of the subplots by now as well as done your foreshadowing. Also, the antagonist should have been introduced as well, but you can start with his effects on the universe and start building up his reputation; you don't need to actually introduce him, just his presence.]

Then it's the second act's turn. The main character should be in a free fall as the plot becomes more and more complex while the antagonist's power base solidifies. The subplots should be given free rein (and one should conclude before the final climax). While the first act should have had a little exposition, the rest of the blanks should be filled in by the end of the second act (unless that information is what the hero is after for personal reasons). When the antagonist has reached (or is about to reach) maximum power, the second act should end.

In the third act, everything needs to be resolved. Or at least most of it; you should leave some threads unresolved for the sequel. When you finally wrap things up, it should be satisfying, whether the ending is good or bad.

So that's plotting in a nutshell. Now you can get plotting and have a general idea of what you're doing!