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.  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Writing for Young Adults – Finding a story arc

Some people plan in detail. Others prefer to just start writing.  Below are common patterns of story. You may wish to use this to plan a story or to see if a finished story is working.

 

Basic four character theory

There are four basic characters: the hero, the friend, the enemy, and the mentor

The hero is usually human

The friend, enemy or the mentor may not be human

Story comes from the interaction and tension between them

The mentor usually disappears, leaving the hero to have the adventure on their own.       

Campbell, Propp, Vogler theory

Joseph Campbell surveyed lots of fairy stories and modern stories. Propp looked primarily at folk stories. Vogler adapted Campbell’s theory for the film industry. Vogler claims that his theory actually works slightly better of it is a little skewed.

According to these three the heroes go through the following hoops:

• The Ordinary World (V) Hero leaves society (P) 
• Call to adventure (V)
• Refusal of the Call (C,V)
• Meeting with the Mentor (V) Supernatural Aid (C) Meets a stranger (P)
• Crossing the First Threshold (V)
• The Belly of the Whale (V), Trials, Allies, Enemies (V), The Road of Trials, Arduous Journey (P) Capture by Strange Warriors (P)
• The Meeting with the Goddess (C) Protection by ugly girl (P)
• Woman as temptress (C) Appearance of the Queen, the beloved one (P)
• The Approach to the Innermost Cave (V) Lovemaking (P)
• Ordeal (V) 
• Atonement with the Father ( C )
• Apotheosis ( C )
• The Ultimate Boon ( C ), Reward (V),  Resolution (P)
• Refusal of the Return (C)
• The Magical Flight (V)
• Rescue from without ( C )
• The Road Back (V)
• Master of Two Worlds (C) Resurrection (V)
• Freedom to Live (C) Return with the Elixir (V)

Booker’s seven basic plots

Christopher Booker recognises seven basic plots;

1. Overcoming the Monster

Rags to Riches

2. The Quest
3. Voyage and Return
4. Comedy
5. Tragedy
6. Rebirth

He gives us more detail:  

Overcoming the monster

The call

Initial success

Confrontation

Final Ordeal

Miraculous escape   

Rags to Riches

Initial wretchedness at home (call)

Out in the world – initial success

Central crisis

Independence and the final ordeal

Final union, completion and fulfilment

Quest- Odyssey

Problems encountered:

Monsters

Temptations

Deadly opposites

Journey to the underworld

Voyage and return

Call

Journey

Arrival and frustration

Final ordeals

Goal

Voyage and return

Anticipation

Dream stage

Frustrations stage

Nightmare stage

Thrilling escape and return

Comedy

Often contains:

• Characters dressing up in disguise or swapping clothes 
• Men dressing up as women  or vice versa
• Secret assignations when the wrong person turns up
• Characters hastily concealed in cupboards etc. 

Types of comedy:

• Burlesque
• Dark figure is hero themself
• No dark figures

Tragedy   

Act One - anticipation

Act Two – dream stage

Act Three – frustration stage

Act Four – nightmare stage  

Act Five – destruction stage 

Booker also recognises an overall story form:

Initial phase

Opening out

Severe – constriction

Dark power dominant

Reversal and liberation

McKee’s theory

Robert McKee’s Story was also written for the film industry but is no longer so popular there now.

It seems like a simplified version of the Campbell / Propp / Vogler theory and is in fact similar to Booker’s overarching template:

.

Inciting incident / hook 

Growing complexities (The longer the novel, the more there are. Usually there are at least three.)

Crisis

Climax

Resolution  

If you want to study McKee’s book, I recommend reading the whole book, then reread Chapter 14.

 

Plots and sub-plots

Both I and Andrew Melrose’s present theories about the relationship between plot and sub plot.

Melrose: sub-plots are proportional to each other and to the main plot. These proportions form a pyramid.

Is there something of the Golden Segment in this?

My theory embraces Melrose’s but adds that each sub-plot is part of the main plot and the next biggest sub-plot.

We both say that the smallest sub-plot contains the “aha” moment. There is often some sort of epiphany for the hero.

In addition I say that this smallest sub-plot forms a bridge to the main plot.

See below how this pans out in Cinderella.

Main plot: Cinder’s life is transformed.

Sub-plot 1: she has a battle with the ugly step-sisters and her step-mother

Sub-plot 2: she wants to go to the ball but is prevented and then overcomes that prohibition.

Sub-plot 3: the fairy godmother helps her to get to the ball but imposes restrictions  

Sub-plot 4: she overcomes these restrictions to have a relationship with the prince

Sub-plot 5: the slipper is all important – it must fit Cinders’ foot (and note the obstacles that stand in the way of that! Even a sub-plot has a whole story arc)

Working with Archetypes

You can also put together characters based on the archetypes. See what happens:

•         Good old man

•         Innocent young girl

•         Rival or “shadow”

•         Temptress

•         Father

•         Mother

•         Rivals

•         Other self 

Have a go

1. Even if you don’t normally plan your stories in detail, have a go at planning one of the stories according to one of the templates provided above.
2. Test out another of the theories in something you’re reading.
3. Do you have a story that is not quite working? Test against a third theory. 

Some recommended reading 

 

Writing for Children 5 The fully fluent reader

Who the child is

The reader is aged roughly 9-11 and often in the last two years of junior school. They are no longer dependent on the reading scheme and want to choose books that look like the ones adults and older children read.  They are firmly in Piaget's concrete operational stage; they can measure and calculate. However, they are not yet into abstract thought. They recognise make-believe for what it is. They understand and expect the normal patterns of story.   

What the books look like

They will usually have a thick spin and on average contain 45,000 – 60,000 words though there are many exceptions outside of this range. The text is usually blocked. The font is usually seriffed, with difficult 'a's and 'g's. There are few pictures though some may have decorative icons at the beginnings of chapters. Occasionally the font and the line-spacing may be a little larger than in books for adults and older children. The books certainly look like "proper" books for these readers.      

What to think about when producing the text for the fully fluent young reader

As these children know what to expect from a story you need to make sure your story has a firm structure.   

For all sorts of ideas on story shape, see my blog post Story Theory. You may find Christophe Booker's ideas particularly helpful here. Booker identifies seven story shapes:

Christopher Booker’s Story Theories

(Booker, Christopher. The Seven Basic Plots. London: Continuum, 2004.)

The Seven Plots

Overcoming the Monster

Rags to Riches

The Quest

Voyage and Return

Comedy

Tragedy

Rebirth

Overcoming the monster

The call

Initial success

Confrontation

Final Ordeal

Miraculous escape   

Rags to Riches

Initial wretchedness at home (call)

Out in the world – initial success

Central crisis

Independence and the final ordeal

Final union, completion and fulfilment

Quest-Odyssey

Problems encountered:

Monsters

Temptations

Deadly opposites

Journey to the underworld

Story arc:

Call

Journey

Arrival and frustration

Final ordeals

Goal

Voyage and return

Anticipation

Dream stage

Frustrations stage

Nightmare stage

Thrilling escape and return

Comedy

Often contains:

• Characters dressing up in disguise or swapping clothes 
• Men dressing up as women  or vice versa
• Secret assignations when the wrong person turns up
• Characters hastily concealed in cupboards etc. 

Types of comedy:

• Burlesque
• Dark figure is hero
• No dark figures

Macbeth (and other tragedies) 

Act One - anticipation

Act Two – dream stage

Act Three – frustration stage

Act Four – nightmare stage  

Act Five – destruction stage 

Some archetypes

Good old man

Innocent young girl

Rival or “shadow”

Temptress

Rebirth

Hero falls under shadow of dark power

Threat may seem to recede

Threat approaches with full force

Dark power seems to triumph

Miraculous recovery – some input form hero, though

Underlying shape

Booker also identifies an underlying shape in all stories:  

Initial phase

Opening out

Severe – constriction

Dark power dominant

Reversal and liberation

Dark figures

Father

Mother

Rivals

Other self 

Sub-plots

Also for the first time we are likely to have a story with several sub-plots. The relationship between the main plot and the sub-plot is important.

Andrew Melrose argues that if you pile the plots up on top of each other in the order of which takes up most of the story, largest on the bottom, smallest on the top you get a pyramid if you keep a balanced ratio between them.

I further develop that argument and say that: The smallest subplot contains the crisis, climax, resolution and an ‘aha’ moment. Each sub-plot is actually part of the main plot and the next sub-plot.  

We can see this in Palacio's Wonder:  

Main plot: August gains acceptance

Sub-plot 1 – circle of friends

Sub-plot 2 – friendship with Jack

Sub-plot 3 – attitude of family

Sub-plot 4 – Amanda

Sub-plot 5 – hearing-aids   

Have a go

Now have a go at planning a story. You will find now that you will devote several chapters to each of :  

Inciting incident:

Growing complexities:

Crisis point:

Climax:

Also similar arcs will be making their way through the sub-plots.

How will you set your plan out?

Suggestions:

·         Mindmap

·         Spreadsheet

·         Filing cards

·         Writing software such as Scrivener.

If you really are a "panster" and can't be bothered with tis amount of detailed planning, try analysing a book for an early fluent reader instead.

 

Some books to study

Cross, Gillian. (2013) After Tomorrow. Oxford: OUP.  

Funke, Cornelia. (2005) Inkspell. Frome: Chicken House.

Kinney, Jeff. (2010) The Last Straw  London: Puffin  

Palicio, R.J. (2012) Wonder. London: Corgi.  

Saunders, Kate. (2014) Five Children on the Western Front. London: Faber & Faber 

Fiction Workshops 15 Christopher Booker's Seven Basic Plots

Christopher Booker has produced a great tome of a book in which he defines seven plot outlines.  These don't actually contradict Campbell, McKee, Propp or Vogler but flesh out and fine tune some story lines. The rest of Booker's book discusses story in more detail. It is well worth a read and after you've read it you may want to go back to it from time to time.

You can take a short-cut to remembering the seven plots by just looking at the cover of the book. You'll see what I mean if you look at the link below.

Here's a summary:

 

The Seven Plots

Overcoming the Monster

Rags to Riches

The Quest

Voyage and Return

Comedy

Tragedy

Rebirth

 

Overcoming the monster

The call

Initial success

Confrontation

Final Ordeal

Miraculous escape   

 

Rags to Riches

Initial wretchedness at home (call)

Out in the world – initial success

Central crisis

Independence and the final ordeal

Final union, completion and fulfilment

 

Quest- Odyssey

Problems encountered:

Monsters

Temptations

Deadly opposites

Journey to the underworld

Story arc:

Call

Journey

Arrival and frustration

Final ordeals

Goal

 

Voyage and return

Anticipation

Dream stage

Frustrations stage

Nightmare stage

Thrilling escape and return

 

Comedy

Often contains:

• Characters dressing up in disguise or swapping clothes 
• Men dressing up as women  or vice versa
• Secret assignations when the wrong person turns up
• Characters hastily concealed in cupboards etc. 

Types of comedy:

• Burlesque
• Dark figure is hero themself
• No dark figures

 

Macbeth (and other tragedies) 

Act One - anticipation

Act Two – dream stage

Act Three – frustration stage

Act Four – nightmare stage  

Act Five – destruction stage 

 

Rebirth

Hero falls under shadow of dark power

Threat may seem to recede

Threat approaches with full force

Dark power seems to triumph

Miraculous recovery – some input from hero, though

 

Some archetypes

Booker also mentions some common archetypes:

• Good old man
• Innocent young girl
• Rival or “shadow”
• Temptress

 

Dark figures

As well as archetypes, Booker identifies some common dark figures:

• Father
• Mother
• Rivals
• Other self 

Underlying shape

Booker also defines an underlying shape that is very similar to the ones we've met before.  

• Initial phase
• Opening out
• Severe – constriction
• Dark power dominant
• Reversal and liberation

Reading exercise

Consider the novel you have most recently read. Which of Booker's stories does it conform to? Does it follow the underlying shape? Can you identify any archetypes or dark figures?

Writing exercises

1.Your work in progress

Take a look at your story. Does it follow one of Booker's templates? If not, would making it adhere more closely also make it more effective?

Would the inclusion of additional archetypes or dark figures make it more engaging?   

2. Start a new story

Take one of Booker's templates that appeal to you. You might like to consider one you've not used before. Now craft a story according to that template.