{"id":541,"date":"2015-09-25T23:30:12","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T03:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aboutcomics.blogwyrm.com\/?p=541"},"modified":"2015-09-24T22:28:26","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T02:28:26","slug":"story-construction-11-peter-david-on-plot-and-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aboutcomics.blogwyrm.com\/?p=541","title":{"rendered":"Story Construction 11\u2013 Peter David on Plot and Script"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s column completes a two-part study of the work Writing for Comics & Graphic Novels<\/em> by Peter David.<\/p>\n

\"Peter_David_Book\"<\/a><\/p>\n

David defines the plot as having two aspects.\u00a0 The first is the development of the hero as an individual.\u00a0 The second is the events that serve as a vehicle for that development.\u00a0 This later piece is called the plot.<\/p>\n

According to David, the plot doesn\u2019t necessarily require choice from the character.\u00a0 For this he cites the movie The Terminator which forces Sarah Connor to grow up.\u00a0 I find this somewhat hard to swallow, as Connor always had the choice to just lay down and die rather than stiffen and fight back.\u00a0 I interpret that he is trying to say that whether the character is predestined to be subjected to a set of events or that the character\u2019s choices shape those events is not important. What is central is that the character evolves inside as the events evolve outside and that it is this internal evolution that readers find compelling.<\/p>\n

On plot pacing, David suggests that all scenes be trimmed down to the essential information.\u00a0 To this end, he advises, like O\u2019Neal, to start and end on the action, whether that action is physical (i.e. a slug fest) or mental (i.e. a test of wills) or emotional (i.e. a fight between husband and wife).<\/p>\n

Like Moore, David also advocates for connectors (as he puts it) between scenes have a thematic overlap, like using the same words, albeit in different contexts, to end one scene and begin the subsequent one.\u00a0 Another feature that David advocates in common with Moore, is to end a scene at the end of a page where possible.<\/p>\n

At its most basic level, the story structure that David recommends is one that is a combination of ups and downs (roller coaster) superimposed on an overall rising action to the climax with a small release at the end for the denouement.<\/p>\n

To this end, he offers the three-act structure is a good model.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he defines the essential pieces of the three-act structure using the movie the Karate Kid, which makes it a bit difficult to understand the theory as a whole (unless you know the movie exceedingly well or are willing to watch and rewatch as you read his books).\u00a0 As near as I can render it, David defines these essential pieces as:<\/p>\n