So I’ve been looking for a concise, succint way of summing up all of the plots described in Ronald B. Tobias’s “20 Master Plots and How to Build Them.” Tobias himself doesn’t use any template, apart from a checklist at the end. He does list a few “lowest common denominators,” but there are at least 7 of them and they get convoluted.
I hereby propose this more straightforward analysis of the 20 masterplots. It’s drafty and rough, but hopefully, more comprehensible than what Tobias wrote… by the way, the book itself is brilliant, I just think he’s rather disorganized in the way he describes the plots, and he uses too few examples, and I think a more solid template is in order for distinguishing between the plots.
Lowest common denomintators (LCD):
All is goingLowest Common Denominators:
All is going normal, until an incident interrupts the nomality of the day.
Characters attempt to return circumstances to homeostasis, but run into willful opposition.
Main characters discover an apparent way to undermine opposition, which they implement in the climax.
Afterward, the source of the initiating incident is incapacitated, and homeostasis is restored, for better or worse.
Incidentally, points 2 and 3 can be repeated several times throughout the story, although they must be varied somehow to avoid redundancy.
Characters and plot devices are denoted by capital letters in parentheses and brackets: (A), (Y), etc. I had to rewrite this because I kept accidently using code with capital B’s. I use only male pronouns for simplification purposes. In my first draft of this, I tried to write these so that they’d cover both tragedies and comedies, although I don’t think I did a neutral job. I invite all manner of corrections and suggestions so that I could make this clearer; also, if there are any plot threads you’ve seen not covered by 20 master plots, please share them.
I’ll post examples from movies, books, cartoon episodes, etc, so suggest those too. I won’t do anything that I haven’t seen or read, but with enough examples, I’m sure you guys won’t need me to.
Quest- Trouble brews in hometown. [A] learns of some remote person or artifact that will resolve trouble. He leaves home to find it, faces competition over the object, returns home with it and uses it against the opposition back home. For better or worse, the quested artifact is credited or blamed for the outcome.
Adventure – [A] is forced out of his home. He seeks new shelter and is denied welcome everywhere he goes. He then learns what it is that's making him unwelcome. He confronts it, and in the process, finds a new home.
Pursuit – [A] goes on a run. (Y) follows. [A] ends up cornered by (Y) at a dead end. [A] learns of a way to permenantly stop (Y) from follwing, (Y) to stop [A] from running. Both put their discoveries to work in the climax, and one or the other is forever incapacitated from going anywhere.
Rescue – [A] is cut off from his home community. (Y) goes off to find him. (Y) finds [A], along with some barrier stopping him from taking [A] home. (Y) falls back in a faux defeat, and discovers the thing that might set [A] free. (Y) reconfronts the barrier, reclaims [A], and returns him to home community.
Riddle - Some incident disrupts home business, and [A] looks for the cause. (Y) deliberately obfuscates the truth. Eventually, [A] stumbles across a piece of evidence that incriminates the liars. [A] presents this evidence, and, after convicting the guilty trouble-maker, the rest of the town is left to clean up the mess.
Escape – [A] is cut off from his home community. He looks for a way out, and is obstructed by (Y). He finds out a way to subdue (Y) and makes use of it. On his way back home, he runs into trouble, usually the captor trying to reclaim or outright kill him since he has seen too much. [A] escapes the captor, using the sanctuary of home community.
Transformation – (Y) invades hometown. [A] adopts (Y)'s culture in order to get on (Y)'s good side. This puts [A] at odds with native culture. (Y) wants [A] to do something against [A]'s convictions. [A] confronts either his own convictions or (Y), and [A] transforms again, for better or worse, as a result of the confrontation.
Rivalry – [A] holds a prestigeous position in his community. (Y) comes along to share said position. [A] gets stingy, (Y) is somehow able to outmatch and stake his claim. [A] attempts to undermine (Y), (Y) pushes back, leading to both falling out of favor with the public. Both then resolve to team up to reclaim their position of power. In the climax, they prove themselves qualified for their position in the face of a rattled public.
Metamorphosis: [A] is unconsentually changed by (Y). He seeks out a way to restore himself, while facing all the problems that come with his new form. In the process, he learns the way to return to his former self. (Y) interferes with the characters restoration, but [A] uses the percs of his new form to retaliate. The story ends with [A] restored.
Wretched Excess – [A] has a character flaw. (Y) comes along and forces this flaw to surface and erupt, bringing [A] to near ruin. [A] then has to redeem himself against the opposition of (Y). In the process, [A] discovers (Y)'s fatal flaw, then the two of them duke it out using the power of one another's flaws. The end sees everyone else marveling at the damage said fatal flaw leads to.
Ascension – [A] is at the butt of the food chain. He is then given the opportunity to climb up a little, and he takes it. As he does so, he watches stakes rise and responsibilities multiply. This is the opposition he faces, alongside the jealosy of his former friends. [A] finds an apparent way to placate his friends and juggle responsibilities. He puts this to use, but in the process is forced to choose between his arisen status and the happiness he wants knew. The end has him wistfully watching the dissipation of whichever he didn't choose.
Descension – [A] is given the opportunity to step down from his position of responsibility, and he takes it. As he does so, he watches everything formerly under his watch go to waste. That, along with the disappointment of his former colleagues and peers, is the opposition he faces. He finds a way to apparently placate his former colleagues and adjust to the damage caused, though he is forced to choose between his new life and his old, and the end has him wistfully looking at whatever thing he didn't choose.
Revenge – [A] is wronged by (Y). [A] attempts to retaliate, but is overpowered by (Y). [A] lives in limbo for a while, but learns ways of overpowering (Y). [A] confronts [Y] a second time, and then enacts a successful retaliation, for better or worse.
Temptation – [A] is warned against forbidden fruit by [Y]. [A] gives in to temptation and opens up a whole 'nother can of worms. severes his ties with [A]. [A] then works to undo or compensate for the damage he caused, and in the process learns a way of earning [Y]'s forgiveness. [A] comes to [Y] with this method of forgiveness, and the story ends with hope of reconciliation alongside the reality of living with the forbidden fruit's consequences.
Sacrifice – [A] has [C]. [C] is of irreplaceable value. [A] wants [Y]. [A] cannot have [Y] without getting rid of [C]. [A] looks for a way to get [Y] without losing [C], and in the process either loses both or getting one or the other or somewhere in the middle. The story ends with a commentary of having two incompatible things.
Love – [A] meets [Y]. [A] falls in love with [Y], but both [A] and [Y] learn of inherent characteristics of the other that would get in the way of intimacy. They attempt to talk the other out of it, and get put at odds with one another. While separated, the two of them learn to see the others flaws in a new light, then return to one another to face both their own flaws and in that of their partner. The story ends with a commentary on the meaning of intimacy.
Forbidden Love – [A] falls in love with [Y]. [A]'s home community does not approve of [Y]. His home community encourages him to find love in something that they approve of. [A] plots an elopation with [Y], which leads to their discovery. The story ends with [A]'s community to either accept the loss of [A] or the annexation of [Y].
Maturation – [A] has a rose-colored view of [Y]. [Y] contradicts that view, sending [A] into limbo. [A] tries to restore his original view of [Y] by being selective of what he sees [Y] do, but [Y]'s jade shades become increasingly more obvious. [A] eventually is forced to accept and adjust to the parts of [Y] that disconcerts him.
Discovery – [A] is familiar with [Y]. [A] stumbles upon [C], that changes his view of [Y] for the worse. [A] confronts [Y], who reveals something incriminating about [C]. [A] figures the only way to resolve this is to expose his own dirty laundry. The story ends with everyone adjusting to the limits of their visionary scope.
Underdog – [A] is at the butt of the food chain. [Y] bullies [A] into a mental breakdown, and [A] decides he's not taking it lying down. [A] harnesses his own potential, then wallops [Y] when he comes back around. [Y] becomes insecure about his position of power, then goes off to workout. [A] minds his own business, all the while building up his own skills , but [Y] comes along to sabotage him again. [Y] is forced to develop auxillary skills to regain his former position of power, and then confronts [Y] a second time. [A] undermines [Y] in his chosen field of study, and the story ends with a commentary on power balances.
“Discovery” was the one I had the most trouble with. If anybody can come up with an example of a Discovary story to which my analysis does not apply, please do so so that I can revise accordingly.
