U.S.S. Victory NCC-97571 :: Wiki - Plotting an Adventure

Plotting an Adventure By A. E. Toledo

“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. By Order of the Author.” --Mark Twain

What is a Plot?

A plot can be many things to many people, but here we will discuss what a plot means to the participants in a collaborative writing project (aka, a sim.) It has been said that undertakers and writers have a common stake in plots, for they are utterly essential to their business. Writers have the greater creative challenge, however, because their plots must be various and entertaining. But what is a plot, exactly? Simply put, a plot is the structure of a dramatic story. It is the way you tell your tale.

If we may imagine that a story is a river and the writer is a riverboat captain, then the plot can be described as the method the captain uses to guide his passengers (the readers) through the river until they reach their destination at the end. The classical view of plot structure, which we will discuss here, has five elements. These elements are the Exposition, the Ascent, the Climax, the Descent, and the Resolution.

The Exposition

The Exposition is the place where you introduce your characters and their principal challenge. If you have had new crew members join the game, this is a good time to introduce them to the readers and to the other characters. Things are usually calm at this point. There is time for some leisurely character development. People can be seen going about their daily business. We can get a sense of who people are when they are not engaged with a crisis. At the end of the Exposition, we are introduced to the challenge that the characters are meant to solve in the story. This can be in the form of the Captain receiving orders from Starfleet, or it can involve a ship in the field encountering some oddity, distress signal, or something else in need of investigation. In short, the Exposition is the foundation upon which everything else will be based.

“Here is the boat,” says our riverboat Captain, “here are our passengers, and there is the river. Let us depart.”

The Ascent

The Ascent is the place where things begin to get exciting. Something happens. Challenges develop. Problems surface that need solving. Things become increasingly difficult for our characters. These challenges or difficulties escalate as the stakes become higher. The Ascent leads to an ultimate challenge or difficulty that must be overcome. A good Captain will find ways to engage all of the ship’s personnel in the Ascent of the story. If one department isn’t directly involved in the challenge at hand, then another department may find itself overtaxed and in need of help. This forces others to chip in. Sometimes a series of small challenges can be tackled by different departments, and these small challenges contribute to solving the overall conflict.

“Some savage rapids ahead,” declares our riverboat Captain, “Mary, take the tiller. Tom, secure the luggage. Father Leary… I think we can use a prayer. This is going to be a bumpy ride!”

The Climax

In the Climax, the characters reach their ultimate challenge. This is the point where things look bleakest, and the characters rage against failure with all of their strength. Everything hinges on the decisions and actions people take at this time. All of the challenges and struggles so far have led up to this point in the story. This is the instant where life and death, success and failure, is balanced on the edge of a knife.

“Holy Maloney,” the riverboat Captain declares, “it’s a cliff! Everybody hold on to something! Father Leary, I hope your God was listening! We’re going over!”

The Descent

The story has just hit its most exciting moment, the ultimate challenge. The characters have come together and defeated whatever obstacle or enemy they were faced with. But we can’t just stop the story at this point. We have to let the reader catch his breath. We have to establish the fate of the characters in the wake of the challenge. Take stock of the situation. This is a good place to tie up loose ends. Enemies may be taken into custody. Engine overloads are brought under control. Medical patients are stabilized. Colonists emerge from their shelters as the comet passes them by.

“Great Noah,” the riverboat Captain declared, water dripping from every inch of his body. Somehow, the boat had come through the descent all right. The only casualty was Father Leary’s hat. “Don’t worry father,” the Captain said, “we’ll all pitch in to buy you a new one. The good lord has been charitable. We can all afford a little charity of our own.”

The Resolution

The conflict is over. The immediate aftermath is past. People have collected themselves, taken stock of gains and losses, and moved on. This is the point of the story where things calm down again for our characters. We may get a hint of how recent events have changed them and the world they live in. Our readers can relax, reflecting on the past crisis and everyone’s response to it. We may even find some moral or meaning to the events of the story.

“We have arrived,” the Captain said, pulling the riverboat into port. They had all shared a harrowing journey, but they had come through it intact. Now they would all be stronger for it. The bonds that had been formed during this crisis would stay with them for the rest of their days. “If you ever need a job on the river, Mary, my tiller won’t be the same without your hands keeping her on course.” It was a kind thing to say. It also had the virtue of being true.

Conclusion

Not all plots need to use this structure exactly as described. There are as many ways of telling stories as there are storytellers. However, any good plot must have a structure. It must have conflicts and challenges. It must have moments of crisis and moments of reflection. Unique to a collaborative writing environment is the need for all characters to have something they can do to contribute to the story. If you keep these elements in mind, your stories will always offer satisfaction and reward to the people who participated in it and the readers who enjoy it later. Once you master these storytelling elements, your stories will be talked about and remembered fondly long after the last page has been written.

Used with permission from A.E. Toledo, Bravo Fleet