VanderMeer's Wonderbook, Chapter Four: Narrative Design (Continued)
The discussion on plot begins by pointing out that a plot involves the relationship between events, so that these events interconnect and combine. This idea is not fully explored at this point, except as a way of introducing some of the types of events that create a plot. Specifically, these are: reversals, discoveries, complications, and resolution.
Reversals are setbacks that keep the character from their desired goal. In a romance, it might be that the object of desire is found out to be in a relationship at the start of the story, or reveals that they are leaving town in a few hours, or that family/a friend/society interferes because the object of desire is from the wrong class/race/family, etc. I would point out that I tend to think it worth distinguishing the reversal, which is an event in the plot, versus the obstacle, which is the actual problem. The reversal is the point when the obstacle is revealed, and usually at a point when the main character feels they are making progress. If the obstacle is present from the start, it is not a reversal, as nothing has been reversed.
As well, I think it is also possible, though not done as often, for a reversal to be a positive change. The term is short for "reversal of fortune", and that can refer as easily to a poor person winning the lottery as it can to a successful business man discovering his business partner stole all his money. If the main character in the romance story started out believing the guy she liked was involved, but discovered that the assumed girlfriend was actually a platonic friend, that is also a reversal. Any time a character gets an unexpected boon, or discovers something that makes an obstacle disappear, any complication that makes the character reassess the trend of their luck, that is the reversal, and it is that moment in the story, not the changing circumstance.
From a plot perspective, what matters is not necessarily the specific complication, but the shape of the narrative. This relies upon knowing how the reader and the character feel about where the events of the story are headed. Is the character feeling confident about success? Do the stakes need to be raised to make the reader feel more invested? Does the character need something to give them a sense of hope so they will take action? All those can be accomplished by a reversal, and these moments can be small or large turns in the plot. Whatever the specific details, even before they are determined, it is clear that those are points of importance in the story. The specificity of what happens is, of course, important, but it is less important to the decision of where and when that reversal should occur in the narrative. The placement of the event is a different issue than the event itself, and plotting is not always about those details.
This is a hard thing to explain, as it is quite a subtle difference. Plotting is about the connection between events. Of course, it matters what specifically occurs, but that has to be a second question in terms of plotting. Consider that a reversal needs to come at a point when it will be impacting in the right way. If it is meant to feel as if, suddenly, the character who seemed to be about to win has far less hope than it seemed, it is more important when it happens in relationship to other events. Returning to the romance, if the woman is elated after learning that her crush is single, the revelation that he is moving out of town in a week suddenly has a much bigger meaning than if she thought he was in a relationship. Now, consider that the same impact can occur if the revelation of the obstacles is reversed. She feels dread that she never acted and the guy is moving without her ever having acted on her feelings, then she discovers he is single, adding another dimension to her upset, and deepening the feeling of regret that the move develops. In both cases, the story sets up the ticking clock, and their are huge differences in each scenario, in terms of how those details can play out for the character, but both serve as reversals in the same way within the story.
Similarly, the placement of a discovery within the story is often more significant to the plot than the actual revelation. The function of a discovery can vary in a plot, as can it's nature. A character might learn something shocking about a close friend, or they might have a personal realization about the role they played in a toxic relationship, or they might find that the map to the treasure has been hiding in plain sight all a long. A discovery does not always need to be central to a story, instead providing thematic resonance, or even as texture within the world. The specifics of when in a story that discovery occurs is important in a way that is not about what that discovery is, though. Certainly, the specifics will usually matter to the story, but they don't necessarily matter to when the discovery occurs. If we did first not see Hamlet in mourning and upset about Uncle Claudius's marriage to his mother, the discover that Claudius murdered Hamlet's father would be quite different. Similarly, while Hamlet might well be motivated towards acting without the specific discovery of his Father's murder, it would be quite different if the ghost appeared later to encourage Hamlet. If Hamlet only learnt of the murder later, he might still have been incited against Claudius in the same way, but the play would be quite different. From a plotting perspective, that is the most salient feature, I believe.
Complications take many forms, as anything that makes it harder to get to a goal is a complication. Many stories are built on the revelation of one complication after another. The character wants something, maybe something simple even. They need to send a letter, but they find they are out of stamps. That is a very simple complication. If they find, when they go to buy the stamps, that the post office branch had to be closed for a water main break, that is another. The entire story could be about the growing difficulty of finding a stamp, with the absurdity of the complications growing as the story progresses.
I think it is also worth recognizing that their are also simplifications, which suggest that it will be easier to achieve a goal than previously thought. In my mind, every major event in a story must be a complication or a simplification. The story is about the character attempting to reach some goal, to solve a problem or achieve an outcome, so the events in the plot exist in relationship to that goal. The question of whether a specific event in the plot moves things towards or away from that goal must be a central question when plotting. It is about managing the progression in a way that controls tension and keeps the reader invested. The resolutions success is often a matter of the way that the story complicates and simplifies.
The resolution itself must be a culmination. It must bring together the story in a way that leaves the reader satisfied. The elements of the plot are connected and the resolution reveals those connections and shows what they have been building towards. It is an ending, but it must also be the point where things meet. Getting that right, then, must be a result of everything that came before.
Reversals are setbacks that keep the character from their desired goal. In a romance, it might be that the object of desire is found out to be in a relationship at the start of the story, or reveals that they are leaving town in a few hours, or that family/a friend/society interferes because the object of desire is from the wrong class/race/family, etc. I would point out that I tend to think it worth distinguishing the reversal, which is an event in the plot, versus the obstacle, which is the actual problem. The reversal is the point when the obstacle is revealed, and usually at a point when the main character feels they are making progress. If the obstacle is present from the start, it is not a reversal, as nothing has been reversed.
As well, I think it is also possible, though not done as often, for a reversal to be a positive change. The term is short for "reversal of fortune", and that can refer as easily to a poor person winning the lottery as it can to a successful business man discovering his business partner stole all his money. If the main character in the romance story started out believing the guy she liked was involved, but discovered that the assumed girlfriend was actually a platonic friend, that is also a reversal. Any time a character gets an unexpected boon, or discovers something that makes an obstacle disappear, any complication that makes the character reassess the trend of their luck, that is the reversal, and it is that moment in the story, not the changing circumstance.
From a plot perspective, what matters is not necessarily the specific complication, but the shape of the narrative. This relies upon knowing how the reader and the character feel about where the events of the story are headed. Is the character feeling confident about success? Do the stakes need to be raised to make the reader feel more invested? Does the character need something to give them a sense of hope so they will take action? All those can be accomplished by a reversal, and these moments can be small or large turns in the plot. Whatever the specific details, even before they are determined, it is clear that those are points of importance in the story. The specificity of what happens is, of course, important, but it is less important to the decision of where and when that reversal should occur in the narrative. The placement of the event is a different issue than the event itself, and plotting is not always about those details.
This is a hard thing to explain, as it is quite a subtle difference. Plotting is about the connection between events. Of course, it matters what specifically occurs, but that has to be a second question in terms of plotting. Consider that a reversal needs to come at a point when it will be impacting in the right way. If it is meant to feel as if, suddenly, the character who seemed to be about to win has far less hope than it seemed, it is more important when it happens in relationship to other events. Returning to the romance, if the woman is elated after learning that her crush is single, the revelation that he is moving out of town in a week suddenly has a much bigger meaning than if she thought he was in a relationship. Now, consider that the same impact can occur if the revelation of the obstacles is reversed. She feels dread that she never acted and the guy is moving without her ever having acted on her feelings, then she discovers he is single, adding another dimension to her upset, and deepening the feeling of regret that the move develops. In both cases, the story sets up the ticking clock, and their are huge differences in each scenario, in terms of how those details can play out for the character, but both serve as reversals in the same way within the story.
Similarly, the placement of a discovery within the story is often more significant to the plot than the actual revelation. The function of a discovery can vary in a plot, as can it's nature. A character might learn something shocking about a close friend, or they might have a personal realization about the role they played in a toxic relationship, or they might find that the map to the treasure has been hiding in plain sight all a long. A discovery does not always need to be central to a story, instead providing thematic resonance, or even as texture within the world. The specifics of when in a story that discovery occurs is important in a way that is not about what that discovery is, though. Certainly, the specifics will usually matter to the story, but they don't necessarily matter to when the discovery occurs. If we did first not see Hamlet in mourning and upset about Uncle Claudius's marriage to his mother, the discover that Claudius murdered Hamlet's father would be quite different. Similarly, while Hamlet might well be motivated towards acting without the specific discovery of his Father's murder, it would be quite different if the ghost appeared later to encourage Hamlet. If Hamlet only learnt of the murder later, he might still have been incited against Claudius in the same way, but the play would be quite different. From a plotting perspective, that is the most salient feature, I believe.
Complications take many forms, as anything that makes it harder to get to a goal is a complication. Many stories are built on the revelation of one complication after another. The character wants something, maybe something simple even. They need to send a letter, but they find they are out of stamps. That is a very simple complication. If they find, when they go to buy the stamps, that the post office branch had to be closed for a water main break, that is another. The entire story could be about the growing difficulty of finding a stamp, with the absurdity of the complications growing as the story progresses.
I think it is also worth recognizing that their are also simplifications, which suggest that it will be easier to achieve a goal than previously thought. In my mind, every major event in a story must be a complication or a simplification. The story is about the character attempting to reach some goal, to solve a problem or achieve an outcome, so the events in the plot exist in relationship to that goal. The question of whether a specific event in the plot moves things towards or away from that goal must be a central question when plotting. It is about managing the progression in a way that controls tension and keeps the reader invested. The resolutions success is often a matter of the way that the story complicates and simplifies.
The resolution itself must be a culmination. It must bring together the story in a way that leaves the reader satisfied. The elements of the plot are connected and the resolution reveals those connections and shows what they have been building towards. It is an ending, but it must also be the point where things meet. Getting that right, then, must be a result of everything that came before.
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