A QUESTION TO HELP WITH PLOTTING
In his book about scriptwriting (STORY), Robert McKee says that the substance of story is the gap that splits open between what a character expects to happen when she takes a certain action and what really does happen -- the rift between expectation and result. Or the gap between the identity project and the reality project.
The identity project, according to yoga teacher Stephen Cope, is the work we do to create an identity when we are young. We drive a certain car, drink a certain beverage, wear certain clothes, require a certain kind of partner, take on a certain job, all elements of the desire to solidify identity.
Later in life, if we grow spiritually, we become interested in what’s really going on. We want to dig down below the sediment of identity and illusion to what really is.
I see a connection between Cope’s idea and McKee’s. What your character wants is often part of her quest for identity. Then shit happens. She has to face what’s real and inevitable. That’s where story lies, hence, that’s where plot lies.
· Your character pursues desire.
· When she doesn’t get what she wants, she tries another way.
· This creates complications.
· She tries even harder and even more complications ensue.
To find out what your next plot point is, pry open the gap by asking, What is a possible opposite of her expectation?
McKee stresses that true character lies in that gap. How we react when we don’t get what we want is who we really are. At least at that moment.
In this way, characterization and plotting walk arm in arm.