Plugging Plot Holes

Welcome Back!

           Back in July, we saw the importance of checking the accuracy and relevance of facts. Sadly, even if all the facts have been verified and passed review, there is still the possibility that certain elements in the narrative will not add up. Today we move on to another important aspect which requires attention when editing: Plot Holes!

Plugging plot holes.

As mentioned in my earlier post about Plot lines, the plot is the backbone of a story which is composed of a series of interconnected events, meant to feed information in a comprehensive sequence, leading to an intended goal. Every event mentioned usually has a specific meaning or importance; establishing connections, suggesting causes, and showing relationships.

Now that we have established what is a plot line, what is a Plot Hole?

A Plot Hole is when a piece of information (or lack thereof) is presented in a narrative, that either negates, contradicts or comes into conflict with another established fact. This error within the plot line creates an inconsistency, which threatens to break the integrity of the story. Credibility is important, because once it is lost, the whole storyline will fall apart and the audience will lose interest.

There are three levels of Plot Holes; Minor, Medium and Major. These categories are based on the amount of work required to repair the damage to the plot line. In the following paragraphs, we will take an in depth look at the different types of Plot Holes, and see various examples of mistakes to look out for, such as;

• Typos.
• Neglected inclusion of information.
• An oversight during a revision.
• Contradictions of established facts within the storyline.
• Inconsistencies in the timeline.
• Subplots that were left unanswered.
• Character performances which go against their intended personalities.

Minor Plot Hole:

These types of Plot Holes are easy to identify because they are usually attributed to simple mishaps. Correction of a Minor Plot Hole is normally quite simple, as it only requires replacing a few words, substituting information or possibly changing a sentence. A few examples are:

• In the beginning of the book, a background character is named “Osborn”, while a few chapters later they are referred to as “Osborne”. (typo)
• The main character has an eye patch on their left eye when first introduced, but in the final chapter the patch is mentioned to be on the right eye. (simple mishap)
• At one point of the story, a character is said to be unarmed, a few paragraphs later they suddenly have a pistol. (neglected inclusion of information)

Medium Plot Holes:

More common problems are the Medium Plot Holes, which can be severely detrimental to the storyline. These errors risk damaging entire scenes or even several chapters, and may be harder to identify unless the reviewer has inside knowledge of the writer's intentions. Medium Plot Holes usually happen when a writer loses sight of their original vision, causing story elements to be transformed over time. Also, it can be the result of not taking into consideration information they had mentioned some time before. This causes breaks in the narratives consistency. An example that is easy to understand in this case, are characters who are acting out of character:

• The main character suffers a serious gunshot wound to the stomach. A few paragraphs later, they are climbing, jumping, or fighting off villains, as if they were in no pain. (information not taken into consideration)
• The Villain is determined to do anything to destroy his superhero nemesis; create weapons, hire assassins, build traps… when the time comes where the hero is helpless in the Villain's clutches, the Villain simply leaves them unsupervised to do something else, not taking the opportunity to see the result of all their hard work. (character performances go against their intended personalities)
• In the beginning of the story, one of the female leads was presented as a strong, adventurous women. By the end of the story, said female character is acting scared, and more like a damsel in distress than the fighter she was originally painted to be. (lost sight of original vision)
• (example pulled from a movie I saw recently) Main character cuts off her broken finger to avoid it getting worst. She then walks around with a bandage on her hand to cover the stump. A few scenes later, she has this dramatic interaction with another boy, but throughout the scene, she has all 10 fingers! Once this particular scene is over, the character goes back to having only 9.  

Major Plot Hole:

Finally we have the Major Plot Holes. These problems usually cover a large section of the narrative, often requiring major changes, maybe even a rewrite, in order to fix the issue. These usually involve the core of the story, key elements which the writer may have overlooked, or a fact they did not take into consideration. Instances for these types of situations are more complicated to come up with, but here are a few examples:

• A story begins in New York at sunrise, where are protagonist discovers they have 24 hours to reach California before a bomb goes off, killing their family. The main villain forces the protagonist to use their car to reach their destination because of stops they are required to do along the way. The story sees the character pick up the necessary items, and arrives just in time to give them to the terrorist and stop the bomb. The problem? It takes over 40 hours to drive from NY to California, so no way this story happened in 24.
• While they were a child, the protagonist sees their parents killed by an older man with a scar. The protagonist goes on with their life, occasionally getting into trouble by breaking the law, but eventually get a change of heart and begin seeking justice. They therefore study in law enforcement to later become a detective. While on duty, they find clues to the scared man, hunt them down to finish the story in a bare fist brawl on a roof top. The problem? A) if the murder happened when the protagonist was a child, how old would the villain be by the time the hero got enough education and training to become a detective? B) a criminal record may have prevented the protagonist from becoming a detective in the first place.
• In a dystopian future, the sole survivors of mankind are forced to live below water in closed habitats, because the air outside is now too toxic to breath. In order to live under water, the humans develop new ways to grow crops, build structures, navigate the seas and hunt. Most of their work revolves around the help of marine life, such as whales, dolphins and sea turtles. The problem? Whales, dolphins and sea turtles are not fish, so they also require fresh air to live, therefore it would not be possible for them to live because of the airs toxicity.
• In a fantasy world, there is a magician with great magical power. He uses his magic to put out fires, create golems and save lives. One day, the king is poisoned, and in order to save him, the magician sends out a group of soldiers to retrieve a special root to make a remedy. The magician informs the troupe they have until nightfall, or the king will die. While they are gone, the castle is attacked by an evil dragon, trying to destroy everything in its path. In order to prevent destruction and hold off the dragon, the magician places a time spell on the dragon, stopping it in it’s tracks. The problem? If the magician has the power to stop time, then why not simply use it on the king, therefore buying the soldiers all the time they need to retrieve the root and removing all sense of urgency?

While revisions are important, the best way to avoid plot holes is to keep in mind how they happen and where they come from. This is why it is always a good idea to have your work revised not only by you, but by other people. As writers, we tend to spend so much time staring at our work, that we become blind to our own mistakes.

        This concludes today's post. I hope this was helpful to you in some way, as I know it turned out to be an eye opener for me. My research into plot holes lead me to a website that used time travel stories as an example, which turns out is what my own novel will be about. On the bright side, this website also gave helpful tips on how to fix the problem, so I am happy that it will make my story better for it.

So until next time,

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

BOOT CAMP LESSON 4: Moderation

Greetings Everyone!

Welcome to the fourth installment of BOOTCAMP! Lesson 4 will be about Moderation! Also known as: Pertinent Baggage! This lesson is something I had to focus on while working with Missing Worlds Media.

When writing for an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game), it is important to know the difference between “a good character” and “a good NPC” (Non Player Character). One can be great subject matter for their own novel or comic book, but the other is more suitable to be a guest star in someone else’s story. That is the perspective we need to keep in mind when writing content for an MMO: the spotlight will be on the player, not the NPC’s.

Giving background characters links to the setting is important (see lesson 2), but when is enough, enough? How much information should we include when creating NPCs without it being considered as “going overboard”? This type of information is what we may call significant, pertinent and superfluous.

Let’s create a fictional character for a MMO setting and name him SuperFighterGuy, to use as an example:

• Does the player need to know that he is an expert martial artists and that he has the brains to be a world class detective? Yes, because this explains the purpose/capabilities of the NPC to the player and is therefore significant information that may be necessary to progress in the game.
• Does the player need to know that his powers are based on superspeed? Yes, because this explains the purpose/capabilities of the NPC to the player and is therefore significant information that may be necessary to progress in the game.
• Does the player need to know that his parents died during a mugging when he was a child? Not really, because this information is not needed for the player to proceed in the game. However, it does explain why the NPC speaks/acts the way he does, and would affect the NPC’s interaction with the player. Therefore could be considered pertinent information that could be included or hinted at during gameplay.
• Does the player need to know he has a gambling problem? Not really, because this information is not needed for the player to proceed in the game. However, it does explain why the NPC speaks/acts the way he does, and would affect the NPC’s interaction with the player. Therefore could be considered pertinent information that could be included or hinted at during gameplay.
• Does the player need to know that he once defeated a great white shark while stranded in the Pacific Ocean? No, this information is not needed for the player to proceed in the game and even tho it may be interesting, it is not considered relevant to the storyline, it is therefore considered superfluous information.
• Does the player need to know that SuperFighterGuy likes to have bacon and a cheese bagel every morning for breakfast? No, this information is not needed for the player to proceed in the game, nor is it considered relevant to the storyline, it is therefore considered superfluous information… unless you plan on killing SuperFighterGuy with bad cholesterol.

So the point of this exercise is to be able to tell the difference between what information  is important to the player and what is unnecessary. Not to focus on the quantity on information you submit, but on the quality of the information.

So, here are the guidelines to today’s exercise!

***Rules***

1. Below are 5 generic characters to choose from. Select ONE of the 5 characters to work with.
2. Once you selected a character, write 4 different statements for each of the following categories: Significant, Pertinent and Superfluous.
3. In the Significant category, write 4 statements about the NPC which would be essential for the player to know during gameplay.
4. In the Pertinent category, write 4 statements about the NPC which are not necessary for the player to know during gameplay, but would help define the NPC to the player.
5. In the Superfluous category, write 4 statements about the NPC which are useless to the player to know during gameplay and irrelevant to storytelling.

***Characters:***

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Robin Hood
3. Frankenstein's Monster
4. Captain Hook
5. Cleopatra

   

    For those wondering how this applies to writing in other mediums, keep in mind that controlling the flow of information given to the reader is one of the most important aspects of being a writer. For more about this, please see my previous posts about Word Economy and Show and Tell.

Now go! Create! And most importantly, have fun!

Until next time,

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Making a List and checking it twice!

 

Welcome back!

One of the most rudimentary tools needed for writing a book is a list. Planning ahead and taking notes of what you intend to write is a good start to any project, as it will help you focus on objectives and remind you of what still needs to be done.

The first time I attempted to write a book was in high school, with the assistance of a few friends of mine. We were trying to come up with a story that would be the follow up to the Gremlins 2 movie (I was going through a phase, give me a break! :P ). Though I will admit that project was mostly an excuse for me to illustrate a bunch of weird characters, as I was more into drawing than writing back then. Needles to say, that script never made it far.

My second and more serious attempt at story writing was during my twenties, when I penned the first storyline for a super hero inspired team of my creation. Everything was written by hand and the book had roughly two-hundred-and-fifty pages of content. Four years were spent working on it, but it never amounted to anything because in the end I felt most of the characters had become “clichéd”. I still have the book and may revisit it someday, though it will require a major rewrite.

Despite being two totally different projects, there was one aspect these two endeavours had in common; a (serious) lack of planning. Oh sure, I had the basic idea of point “A” and that I needed to reach point “Z”, maybe I had a few ideas for an “F” and a “K” along the way, but that was the extent of my planning back then. Every other detail was invented on the fly as I trudged my way starting from point “A”. My style of writing back then was inexperienced, chaotic, improvised... and that is putting it nicely.

Luckily I have learned the importance of planning since then, mostly through the work I have done as a Lore writer for Missing Worlds Media. Having acquired a better grasp of what is needed and how to structure it when making a new list. The following items are story elements that I identify before taking on a project.

Point of View: This is angle from which the readers view the various details of the story, such as characters, events and landscapes. The point of view is angle the form which the narrator presents the story. It is important to consider which type of narration you feel comfortable with and will best fit your project.

Genre: What genre(s) will the project be based on? Will it focus on one, or draw from several? It is easy to fit into multiple genres at once, but one must remember to not go overboard. It is better to highlight one genre and to mix it with elements from a few others, than to try covering multiple genres and risk losing your audience's interest.

Theme: Without a theme, a plot is just a list of events. The point of a theme is to add a human element to the story, allowing the reader to feel attached to the events and to actually care of the outcome. A theme can be seen as the morale of the story, or the motivation that drives the characters forward.


Tone: the Tone constitutes the attitude that the author adopts to highlight said theme/subject. In the absence of vocal emphasis, a writer will usually convey Tone through their choice of words, which can come across as serious, humorous, sarcastic, passionate, indifferent, and so on.


Style: Style is the technique used by an author when presenting their thoughts, and depends on their choice of words, sounds, logic and structures. It is reflected in the writer’s words, the tone they use, the way they build a sentence or how they describe a visual reference.

Setting: The setting is the time and place in which your story unfolds. When describing a setting, the writer will include elements such as landscape, population, scenery, buildings or weather in order to give the reader a sense of immersion.

Characters: The term character is used to define the people in a novel, play, or movie. They are the pieces which interact with each other, their relationships and actions are what allow the story to move forward.

Plot: A plot is a series of events that describes the actions taken within your story, in a orderly fashion, with the purpose of solving a conflict. For there to be a story, there has to be a beginning and an end, the plot being what happens between those two points.

Conflict: This is the struggle between two opposing forces. This element affects your characters in a way that motivates them to fix the conflict and return the setting to it’s original state.

Goal: In order to explain this in terms that I was using earlier, the goal would be point “Z”. The goal is what your characters hope to achieve, where your plot ends, where your setting returns to normal once the conflict has been solved.

The items listed above are only short descriptions, which I plan on revisiting in future posts. Their importance is great enough that it is worth exploring them separately and in further detail. It is also worth mentioning that this is the current “writing blueprint” i am using, and I have the impression it will evolve as I keep learning. I will be sure to add whatever new findings I come across to the blog as I learn more.

Hope you have found this informative.

Until next time!

Patrick Osborne

(edited 2015-09-30)