What’s the purpose of story? Do stories matter? And are there stories we can read that might just change the world?
Yes. Yes. And yes.
And today, I want to celebrate five stories by Black authors that matter a whole lot.
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The 7 Basic Plots: Rebirth
I have a confession to make: I’m kind of into Doctor Who. In general, sci-fi is not my thing, and if there are aliens involved, it is even less my thing, yet here we are. I think it’s the characters and their arcs that make me keep watching (that, and the fact that David Tennant is probably the most adorable man on the face of the planet). The series got its start in the 1960s, and is currently on its 11th Doctor. How does that work, you ask? Briefly, the Doctor is an alien who can regenerate himself when he’s close to dying. He’ll take on a new appearance and personality, but have the same memories. Neat way for the series to live on forever, eh?
This regeneration, while not exactly its own plot, brings me to the next type of plot of Booker’s seven: Rebirth.
The 7 Basic Plots: Voyage and Return
I recently re-read The Phantom Tollbooth, which was one of my favorite books in grade school, and still holds up fairly well ten-to-fifteen years later. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it, but it largely centers around a boy named Milo who is convinced he lives this boring life and is content to just slump his way through it, until one day there is a mysterious package waiting for him when he gets home, which contains the titular tollbooth. Milo assembles the tollbooth, gets in a toy car, and suddenly is in a magical land of logic, numbers, words, ideas, and more puns than you can shake a stick at. He makes some friends, goes on a Quest, becomes a hero, and returns home a little more mentally stimulated and less bored.
This structure is the cousin of the Quest: the Voyage and Return.
All About Our Summer Writing Contest: Prizes and Publishing Info
Do you want to write? Are you feeling stuck, finding it a little more difficult to write a story readers love? Join our Summer Writing Contest to write an amazing story, get published, and even become a better writer along the way!
7 Steps to Creating Suspense
Posing a good dramatic question in the minds of your readers is the best way to create suspense and keep people reading. In Monday’s post, we talked about what the dramatic question is. Today we’re going to talk about how to use it effectively.
Here are seven steps to create suspense with the dramatic question:
Writing for Fun: A Guide to Playfulness for Serious Writers
Writing is a lot of work, and there are definitely parts of the process that aren’t fun. But if writing has become a drudgery, if it’s become something you dread every day, then maybe it’s time for a little play to reinvigorate your love for writing. What if you were writing for fun?
The 7 Types of Plots: The Quest
Yeah, like you’re going to see a list of plot types that doesn’t include the Quest. The Quest is a search for a place, item, or person that requires the hero to leave home in order to find it. Sometimes the item is just a MacGuffin to drive the plot along; other times the thing driving the quest is specific to the story’s circumstances. Either way, the hero is leaving home to find whatever the heck the story demands, and we get to come along for the ride.
10 Writing Jobs You Can Do for a Living
You love to write. People have told you you’re good at it, and you sense they’re right.
But writing is one thing. Writing for a living is another. How do you know the time is right, or whether you really have what it takes?
You’d better be certain you know what you’re getting yourself into before you take the leap. Full-time writing is no hobby. And it’s not easy. But if you’re called to it—oh, the rewards.
The 7 Types of Plots: Rags to Riches
Everyone loves a success story, especially when it results from years of hard work and the protagonist has struggled from the depths of despair. This story type is so beloved, that it is Charles Booker’s second plot type of seven: Rags to Riches.
The 7 Types of Plots: Overcoming the Monster
My roommate and I spent a good chunk of Sunday evening watching Avatar on FX since neither of us had seen it, and it was apparently a huge deal when I was out of the country for eleven months. As we were watching, I said to her, “This is kind of like Pocahontas meets Fern Gully, but with sex.” She agreed, which got me thinking about the fact that a lot of our literature, television, and film is similar.
Christopher Booker had the same idea in 2004, and wrote The Seven Basic Plots, which argues that all stories told in any medium can be categorized into one of seven archetypes. Today, we’re covering the first plot: Overcoming the Monster.
