Thursday, October 29, 2009

Plot Adhesive

My son can make just about anything with a piece of plain white paper and some tape. Airplanes, shields, swords complete will all of the accoutrements, water towers, and movable construction cranes are a few of the engineering marvels that I've seen come to life with a little paper and tape. Give him Lego's and the list becomes awe- inspiring. I haven't introduced my 8 year old to Duct Tape yet. (Have mercy my entire house would be covered in the stuff.)



What does this have to do with anything?

It's about creative adhesive. I have found that a little thematic duct tape can go a long way in my writing. I don't make walking robots out of paper and tape, instead I use blank paper to cough out my stories and sometimes I need a little plot adhesive.

I find myself saying, "What does this part/scene/twist mean?" And then finally an idea or theme emerges (my duct tape) that makes sense in every aspect of the plot and for all my characters. The truth of my hero is the lie of my villain. The saving grace for all the supportive characters either strengthen the truth or feed into the lie. One nice little bundle of story tied up with thematic duct tape.

What sticks your stories together?

8 comments:

  1. Ooooh, good post. The adhesive in my stories comes from the characters' own ignorance. They think they know what's going on, but they have no idea. That allows me to drop bombs on them if the battlefield gets too quiet.

    I think that's about as well as I can say it. The story moves along 'cause they keep finding things out, and it only gets worse and worse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have no plot adhesive . . . which is why I have no finished work. But beware, I am not done yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I guess my plot adhesive would be relationships. I like to explore relationships and watch them develop, and see how a person's choices affect their fate.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the driving emotion in a story. Even in things like Dark Knight and The Matrix there's a need to be or feel complete that keeps the story moving.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like character development as plot adhesive. Things that surround your characters and their motivations all make for a great story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Personally, I like superglue. Really. Everything sticks to superglue. Possibly the best adhesive ever.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd like to see you read that book. :)

    ReplyDelete