Tips for Using Your Romance Story Ideas. Remember that switching the genders of the characters can be a good way to avoid stereotypes and make your love story more interesting. You can transpose these love storylines into any genre you like. Changing the era in which the story takes place can generate more conflict. Examples of plot ideas; Idea #1: An experimental psychologist is suspected of a crime. Idea #2: After a conservative carer buys a beaten up old car they are pursued by a group of holiday-makers. The circumstances are made difficult by a confession. Idea #3: An inspector rescues a doddery teacher. Events are resolved by the reading of a will. A quick note on food plot size, all of these hunting plot designs I’ll be mentioning should typically be used on “small plots”. I would call a small plot one that is from.25 to 1 acre. The Hour Glass: Another popular design for food plots is the “hour glass”, shown in the middle of the image above. Again the idea here is to get the. I love thinking about plot ideas and idea starters for novels, short stories, and other fiction. I’ve already done lists of master plots and writing prompts for fantasy writing prompts, romance writing prompts, horror writing prompts, and many more! In the past couple of months, a few of my newsletter subscribers have requested YA plot ideas. How to plot a good story. Choose a theme from our selection of plot generators. Give us some keywords to play with or let us prompt some ideas at random. We automatically create a plot, title and a cover for your novel or film.
When it comes to writing a great story, one of the most important components is a great plot twist. The plot twist is particularly important because it is meant to shock the reader.
It is meant to act as a transition period for the story as well. So if you want your writing to be as immersive as possible, you should know how to use plot twists in your writing.
Here are 6 great plot twist ideas and examples that you could use in your work:
- The hero was working for the villain all along
This plot twist idea is all about making the audience believe that the protagonist was aligned with a beneficent group, only for the group to turn out evil later on. The protagonist and the audience are usually blown away by this revelation. This discovery soon prompts the protagonist, to run away from the organization or take it down from within
Example:
The protagonist is working for a pharmaceutical company dedicated to curing a dangerous new disease. He later finds out that the disease was engineered by the company all along.
- The protagonist was dead all along
The main concept of this plot twist, is to have the audience believe that the protagonist is a living and breathing person, only to be revealed later, that he or she was dead all along.
Example:
The protagonist is tasked with capturing a killer, who has killed multiple people. He conducts a manhunt for the killer, alongside a strange new partner. They soon catch the killer, but it is soon revealed to the protagonist that his partner is a psychic who can see dead people, and he himself is already dead. The protagonist was killed by the serial killer during an earlier tussle, and he is fulfilling unfinished business before he crosses over to the other side.
- The mentor is the protagonist’s future self
This plot twist entails you to create a mentor character who helps the protagonist throughout most of the events in the story. The mentor seems to know the key aspects of the protagonist’s life. The mentor also seems to know key traits of the protagonist’s family.
The audience is led to believe that the mentor is either a long lost parent, or an old family friend. Later on, the mentor is revealed to be the protagonist’s future self, who goes back in time to change key events in the past.
Example:
The protagonist isfaced with a moral dilemma.Hejust found out a big bag of money, and he wonders whether to keep it or turn it over to the authorities. He decides to keep the money and live a life of luxury. An old man approaches him a few moments later. He seems to know the protagonist very well, and cautions the protagonist not to keep the money. It is later revealed that the old man is in truth the protagonist’s future self, and he is trying to stop his younger self from going down a path of self-destruction.
- The shock value
This plot twist is all about shocking the audience in the most intense way possible. This means killing the main character in the first few chapters of the story, or having an unforeseen and unbelievable event come to pass. When it comes to shock value, the more abruptly the event happens, the better it will be.
Example:
The story is set during the First World War. It follows a group of British soldiers who are sent in to retake a trench from the enemy. One character in particular is considerably the most important in the story. He has the most connections to the other characters, and he seems to be the hero of the story. However, as the operation commences, he is abruptly torn to shreds by machine gun fire. This abrupt death would usually have the audience wondering who the real main character is.
- Is this the real world?
The main intent of this plot twist, is to have the audience wonder whether the events in the story are real, or if it is all an illusion that the protagonist’s mind came up with.
Story Writing Ideas
Example:
The protagonist is a 90-year old man, who in the last few moments of his life is given the chance to go to an alternate world and live life as a young man again. He takes the chance and goes on many grand adventures and lives the life he has always wanted. He lives a full life in that alternate world and dies a happy man. At the end of the story, though, his consciousness is brought back to start of the story. He is still a 90-year old man, on the verge of death. So the main question arises. Did he really go on that adventure? Or was it the last thoughts of a man on the verge of death?
- Who is the real antagonist?
This particular plot twist is meant to make the audience wonder who the real antagonist of the story is. In the early parts of the story, there is a character that is undoubtedly an antagonist.
However, as the story continues the real antagonist slowly surfaces, and it is someone the audience will never expect.
Example:
A young man spends his days training and preparing for the day he gets to exact revenge on his mortal enemy. His best friend was shot in the head by the town bully, and the protagonist means to get his revenge. One stormy night, he strikes and kills the town bully. He is happy that he avenged his friend. Once he gets home, he is told by his brother that the town bully was not responsible for his best friend’s death. The one responsible is the town sheriff, who framed the town bully for his crime. It seems the young man took out the wrong person, and now has to deal with the consequences of the crime he committed.
If you are thinking of writing a great story, you should know how use the unexpected to both surprise and entertain your audience. This is where plot twists come in handy. By using these plot twist ideas, you will be able to give your writing a sense of flair and unpredictability.
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The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance.[1] To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi, who also identified 36 situations.
Publication history[edit]
—Goethe[2]
This list was published in a book of the same name, which contains extended explanations and examples. The original French-language book was written in 1895.[3] An English translation was published in 1916 and continues to be reprinted to this day.
The list is popularized as an aid for writers, but it is also used by dramatists, storytellers and many others. Other similar lists have since been made.
It influenced Christina Stead and George Pierce Baker, the author of Dramatic Technique.[4] The situations have been critiqued as being 'concatenations of events rather than minimal or isolable motifs'.[5]
The 36 situations[edit]
Plots And Ideas Middle School
Each situation is stated, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description.
- Supplication
- a persecutor; a suppliant; a power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.
- The suppliant appeals to the power in authority for deliverance from the persecutor. The power in authority may be a distinct person or be merely an attribute of the persecutor, e.g. a weapon suspended in their hand. The suppliant may also be two persons, the Persecuted and the Intercessor, an example of which is Esther interceding to the king on behalf of the Jews for deliverance from the king's chief advisor.
- Deliverance
- an unfortunate; a threatener; a rescuer
- The unfortunate has caused a conflict, and the threatener is to carry out justice, but the rescuer saves the unfortunate. Examples: Ifigenia in Tauride, Deliverance
- Crime pursued by vengeance
- a criminal; an avenger
- The criminal commits a crime that will not see justice, so the avenger seeks justice by punishing the criminal. Example: The Count of Monte Cristo
- Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
- Guilty Kinsman; an Avenging Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both.
- Two entities, the Guilty and the Avenging Kinsmen, are put into conflict over wrongdoing to the Victim, who is allied to both. Example: Hamlet
- Pursuit
- punishment; a fugitive
- the fugitive flees punishment for a misunderstood conflict. Example: Les Misérables, The Fugitive
- Disaster
- a vanquished power; a victorious enemy or a messenger
- The vanquished power falls from their place after being defeated by the victorious enemy or being informed of such a defeat by the messenger. Example: Agamemnon (play)
- Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune
- an unfortunate; a master or a misfortune
- The unfortunate suffers from misfortune and/or at the hands of the master. Example: Job (biblical figure)
- Revolt
- a tyrant; a conspirator
- The tyrant, a cruel power, is plotted against by the conspirator. Example: Julius Caesar (play)
- Daring enterprise
- a bold leader; an object; an adversary
- The bold leader takes the object from the adversary by overpowering the adversary. Example: Queste del Saint Graal, The Lord of the Rings
- Abduction
- an abductor; the abducted; a guardian
- The abductor takes the abducted from the guardian. Example: Helen of Troy
- The enigma
- a problem; an interrogator; a seeker
- The interrogator poses a problem to the seeker and gives a seeker better ability to reach the seeker's goals. Example: Oedipus and the Sphinx
- Obtaining
- (a Solicitor & an adversary who is refusing) or (an arbitrator & opposing parties)
- The solicitor is at odds with the adversary who refuses to give the solicitor an object in the possession of the adversary, or an arbitrator decides who gets the object desired by opposing parties (the solicitor and the adversary). Example: Apple of Discord
- Enmity of kin
- a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hatedor a reciprocally-hating Kinsman
- The Malevolent Kinsman and the Hated or a second Malevolent Kinsman conspire together. Example: As You Like It
- Rivalry of kin
- the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry
- The Object of Rivalry chooses the Preferred Kinsman over the Rejected Kinsman. Example: Wuthering Heights
- Murderous adultery
- two Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse
- Two Adulterers conspire to kill the Betrayed Spouse. Example: Clytemnestra, Aegisthus, Double Indemnity
- Madness
- a Madman; a Victim
- The Madman goes insane and wrongs the Victim. Example: The Shining (novel)
- Fatalimprudence
- the Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost
- The Imprudent, by neglect or ignorance, loses the Object Lost or wrongs the Victim.
- Involuntary crimes of love
- a Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer
- The Lover and the Beloved have unknowingly broken a taboo through their romantic relationship, and the Revealer reveals this to them Example: Oedipus, Jocasta and the messenger from Corinth.
- Slaying of kin unrecognized
- the Slayer; an Unrecognized Victim
- The Slayer kills the Unrecognized Victim. Example: Oedipus and Laius
- Self-sacrifice for an ideal
- a Hero; an Ideal; a Creditoror a Person/Thing sacrificed
- The Hero sacrifices the Person or Thing for their Ideal, which is then taken by the Creditor. Example: The gospel
- Self-sacrifice for kin
- a Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
- The Hero sacrifices a Person or Thing for their Kinsman, which is then taken by the Creditor. Example: The gospel
- All sacrificed for passion
- a Lover; an Object of fatal Passion; the Person/Thing sacrificed
- A Lover sacrifices a Person or Thing for the Object of their Passion, which is then lost forever.
- Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
- a Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice
- The Hero wrongs the Beloved Victim because of the Necessity for their Sacrifice.
- Rivalry of superior vs. inferior
- a Superior Rival; an Inferior Rival; the Object of Rivalry
- A Superior Rival bests an Inferior Rival and wins the Object of Rivalry.
- Adultery
- two Adulterers; a Deceived Spouse
- Two Adulterers conspire against the Deceived Spouse.
- Crimes of love
- a Lover; the Beloved
- A Lover and the Beloved break a taboo by initiating a romantic relationship Example: Sigmund and his sister in The Valkyrie
- Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one
- a Discoverer; the Guilty One
- The Discoverer discovers the wrongdoing committed by the Guilty One.
- Obstacles to love
- two Lovers; an Obstacle
- Two Lovers face an Obstacle together. Example: Romeo and Juliet
- An enemy loved
- a Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater
- The allied Lover and Hater have diametrically opposed attitudes towards the Beloved Enemy.
- Ambition
- an Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary
- The Ambitious Person seeks the Thing Coveted and is opposed by the Adversary. Example: Macbeth
- Conflict with a god
- a Mortal; an Immortal
- The Mortal and the Immortal enter a conflict.
- Mistakenjealousy
- a Jealous One; an Object of whose Possession He is Jealous; a Supposed Accomplice; a Cause or an Author of the Mistake
- The Jealous One falls victim to the Cause or the Author of the Mistake and becomes jealous of the Object and becomes conflicted with the Supposed Accomplice.
- Erroneousjudgment
- a Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Causeor Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One
- The Mistaken One falls victim to the Cause or the Author of the Mistake and passes judgment against the Victim of the Mistake when it should be passed against the Guilty One instead.
- Remorse
- a Culprit; a Victim or the Sin; an Interrogator
- The Culprit wrongs the Victim or commits the Sin, and is at odds with the Interrogator who seeks to understand the situation. Example: The Bourne Supremacy
- Recovery of a lost one
- a Seeker; the One Found
- The Seeker finds the One Found. Example: A Very Long Engagement
- Loss of loved ones
- a Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner
- The killing of the Kinsman Slain by the Executioner is witnessed by the Kinsman. Example: Braveheart
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Schmidt, Victoria Lynn (2005). 'Part 3: Adding Stories'. Story Structure Architect (First ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN9781582976990. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^Polti, Georges (1921) [1916]. The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. Franklin, Ohio: James Knapp Reeve. p. 3.
- ^Figgis, Mike (May 2017). 'Introduction'. The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. Faber and Faber. ISBN9780571305056. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^Burns, Alison; Goodrich, R. A. (2015). 'Christina Stead, Georges Polti, and Analytical Novel Writing'. Antipodes. 29 (2): 415–28. doi:10.13110/antipodes.29.2.0415. JSTOR10.13110/antipodes.29.2.0415.
- ^Lowe, N. J. (June 2000). The Classical Plot and the Invention of Western Narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 9. ISBN0521771765. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
External links[edit]
- Full text available at Internet Archive
- Full text available at Wikisource
Ideas For Stories