Christopher Booker’s Quest- Odyssey

 

Christopher Booker spent a big chunk of his life writing his book about the seven basic plots and it is well worth a read.  There are many theories about story and they complement rather than contradict each other. Here you have details of several types of story.

The cover of Booker’s book reminds us of what the seven plots are.

He also recognises an overall story arc but he adjusts this for each one of his story types.

Here is just one of them. Can you create a short story or a short script according to this template?

 

Christopher Booker’s Quest- Odyssey

Problems encountered:

Monsters – maybe these can be metaphors?  Could the monster be problems at work or difficult people with whom you are forced to have relationships?  Perhaps they are politicians or someone who has power and abuses it? You are not likely to have any control over this.

Temptations – these can be all sorts of things: Affairs, chocolate cakes, taking something that isn’t yours where the pathway to that has been too easy.   

Deadly opposites – don’t they get to attract in fact. Are the enemy and the hero different aspects of one person?  Often we despise our enemy because they show traits that we fear in ourselves.   

Journey to the underworld – this may not be a literal underworld. We may suspect an unseen pattern lies beneath what happens in life. What if you confronted that pattern and began to understand it?   

Story arc:

Call – you might slip in here as well a refusal for the call. This is a story trait that really works and readers have come to expect.  

Journey – and on this journey your hero will encounter those monsters, temptations and even their deadly opposite.

Arrival and frustration – yes, getting there can be frustrating; it’s never quite what you expected. The journey after all is often more rewarding than arriving at your destination. Does this come from looking for what you want rather than recognising what you need?  

Final ordeals – and yet there is more to come.  

Goal – perhaps this is about fulfilling a need.

Have fun writing and why not submit some if it here for an online critique?

 Find your copy of  Christopher Booker’s book here.  

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