8/5 Excerpt from "Word Soup: Easy Recipe to Pen! Publish! Profit!"
There are four structural plots used in fiction.
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·???????? LINEAR (7/29)
·???????? EPISODIC (7/29)
·???????? PARALLEL
·???????? FLASHBACK
PARALLEL
A parallel plot is a bit tricky in that two (or more) story lines or plots are happening at the same time. In my novel Wizard of the Presidential Library the setting is the present. In the museum of the presidential library is a new exhibit of the devices created by Leonardo da Vinci. One of the devices is tempus machina, a time machine. (Leonardo really did create a device he called a time machine. He made a sketch of the device in one of his journals, although there was no notation on the intended use.) The female hero of the novel, a curious docent, believes it’s a genuine time machine. Turns out that’s true and this causes all sorts of havoc when use of the time machine creates a tear in the fabric of time. The parallel story is that of Leonardo’s life in the 1500’s…as a boy and a young man and adult and how he came to create this time machine. The plot shifts back and forth between the past and present building to a point where past and present meet when Leonardo travels, via the time machine, to the present.
Parallel plots should have some relationship to each other. It could be a similar love story in the past and the present that has the same tragic outcome or, perhaps, in the present the lovers learn about what happened in the past and choose another path that doesn’t lead to tragedy. This parallel plot device has to serve the story. There needs to be a reason for two or more separate story lines.
The story lines don’t necessarily have to be past and present. A story line could follow one character in the present and another character in the present or parallel story lines in the past, present and future for that matter. At some point the story lines have to meet and the relevance between them revealed. Yes, parallel plots are tricky but could be a unique way to tell your tale.
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FLASHBACK
Sometimes a character in the present faces a threat and, for some reason, can’t remember how he or she got there. The character tries to recall what happened and a flashback to the past gives him or her clues to what happened. This plot device works well in a murder mystery. The flashback method is utilized in classic novels like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger to reflect on one’s life.
????? I’m going to cite a film as an example of effective use of the flashback. I hope you’ve seen the 1941 film, Citizen Kane, lauded as one of the best films made for its innovative storytelling and imagery. The story chronicles the life of Charles Foster Kane (loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, a wealthy newspaper magnate at the turn of the twentieth century) told in a series of flashbacks. The film was directed by Orson Wells who also portrayed Kane as well as writing the screenplay along with contributions by Herman J. Mankiewicz, John Houseman, Mollie Kent, and Roger Q. Denny. I include all the contributors because too often the writer is left out of the equation and only the director and stars are given credit. The writers could have told the story from the beginning of Kane’s life…the “I am born” approach. However, they came up with an ingenious plot device that hooks the audience at the very beginning.
The story starts with a reporter trying to discover the meaning of the last word Kane spoke before he died, “Rosebud.” Now, if you haven’t seen the movie I won’t tell you the meaning only that this “Rosebud” had great meaning to Kane and when revealed gives pathos and irony to the story. The story of Kane’s life is told in flashbacks as the reporter seeks the people who knew Kane to ask them what “Rosebud” is and if it has some meaning. The people who knew Kane then tell their story and their involvement with Kane. The story jumps in time, it’s not linear, dropping in on Kane’s life at different times.
By cleverly introducing this enigmatic term at the start of the narrative, viewers are immediately intrigued and motivated to continue watching until they unveil its significance. This skillful narrative technique not only enhances the story’s appeal, but it is also the adept incorporation of flashbacks that lays the groundwork for the mystery’s development and unfolding of Kane’s life.