Copyright 2021 by Michael Williams
In this post, Michael Williams contributes another superb article, full of insights, concerning the inner workings of plots related to all genres of fiction. (Thank you, Michael!)
Writers in various genres have tried-and-true ways not only of beginning, but also of continuing, stories, of extending them though their narratives' middle courses, of connecting the beginnings of the tales with their endings.
Let's review some of the traditional ways in which writers accomplish this objective while maintaining, or even heightening, suspense.
In Desperation, after gathering his characters together, Stephen King uses various mechanisms of repetition to keep his novel moving along while maintaining or heightening suspense, among which techniques are—
Adding new arrivals to the ranks of Sheriff Collie Entragian's captives;
Increasing characters' personal stakes in the conflict between Sheriff Collie Entragian and the demon Tak. (For example, David's kid sister “Pie” is killed);
Requiring Tak to “jump” from one possessed person to another after the demon's intensity physically destroys one after another of his temporary hosts; and
Following one bizarre incident with another.
The middle of Dorothy's quest involves the use of such tactics of development as—
Frustrations of her desire to return home to Kansas by various means, including the Wicked Witch of the West and the Witch's minions' attacks; problems associated with the Wizard (fraud), the Scarecrow (lack of self-confidence), the Tin Man (susceptibility to rust), and Cowardly Lion (cowardice), and Toto (aggression); and problems associated with herself (passivity, dependence, uncertainty); and
Dorothy's ignorance of her ruby slippers' power to transport her home at any time.
Geoffrey Chaucer extends The Canterbury Tales by—
Descriptions of each of the characters;
Each character's telling of a tale;
Other characters' reactions to the tales; and
Arguments among the characters.
The movie Armageddon develops the middle of its plot by—
Having the characters undergo training;
Teaming Americans with Russians;
Missing the landing point;
Performing drilling operations;
Exploding methane gas;
Dying (on the part of most of the landing party).
Many detective stories advance their plots by—
Showing the interviewing various suspects;
Disclosing clues (or red herrings)
Otherwise investigating a crime (usually a murder).
In horror stories, the middle of the narrative often progresses by—
Expanding the area involving the initial situation to include other towns, a whole country, or the entire world;
Introducing new characters (often victims);
Seeking clues as to the nature and origin of an unfamiliar or alien creature, force, or situation; and
Varying the types of threats;
Fending off attacks.
Falling Down uses these methods to get from A (the beginning) to Z (the end):
Introducing new characters;
Providing examples of moral, economic, and political decline;
Developing the contrasting parallel personal lives of William Foster and Detective Martin Prendergast;
Escalating Foster's aggressive behavior; and
Visiting various areas of the city.
In developing the middle of a story, writers keep these purposes in mind:
The beginning of the story must connect to the end of the story in a logical, emotionally satisfying way, and the middle of the story is the connector between these two points;
The middle of the story's incidents are related through cause and effect;
The middle of the story must escalate the conflict and, therefore, the suspense;
The middle of the story must be appropriate for the story's genre (for example, things allowed in horror aren't usually welcome in a romance);
The middle of the story (usually, the middle of the middle) contains the plot's turning point;
The middle of the story is developmental: it develops elements introduced by the story's beginning: multiplies horrors [Desperation], complexities a quest [The Wizard of Oz]; more fully characterizes its players [The Canterbury Tales]; increases an already difficult challenge [Armageddon]; exemplifies a character's point of view [Falling Down];
The middle of the story's tone must be appropriate to the story's genre and theme.
For examples of these techniques in action, so to speak, check out Michael Williams's own tales of horror, fantasy, and suspense, the Twisted Tales series: Tales with a Twist, Tales with a Twist II, and Tales with a Twist III.
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