Plot, Part 1

Whether you have a theme you wish to communicate in your work or not, all stories have some sort of conflict at their center. Such conflict can be external or internal. External conflict is the most common and usually takes the form of the protagonist versus an antagonist. For example, the novel Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett, pits Commander Sam Vimes against the insane criminal Carcer Dun. Internal conflicts deal with the protagonist versus himself. A good example is Anakin Skywalker's internal struggle between the Light Side and the Dark Side in Star Wars. Often, stories have both internal and external conflicts. In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago battles with the marlin (external) as well as with his own desire to give up his chase and rest (internal). Regardless of the type of conflict, stories always contain them.

Stories also frequently contain complications. If the story had no complications, the protagonist could waltz right through it, easily solving the conflicts. Night Watch has Commander Vimes vaulted back into the past and has to be careful not to cause paradox when he meets his younger self. To top it off, Carcer (who has also been transported back) allies himself with those who are plotting to overthrow the government, a conflict that, historically, caused much bloodshed in Ankh-Morpork. In Star Wars, Anakin has premonitions of Padmé's death and believes that giving in to the power of the Dark Side is the only way to save her. Frequently, good stories have many complications keeping the protagonist from solving a relatively simple problem. In effect, complications are subconflicts which the protagonist must resolve before dealing with the primary conflict. Sometimes, as with Anakin Skyalker, complications are simply paradoxes pulling the protagonist between extremes (Anakin wants to follow what he knows is right, so he leans towards the Light Side; he also wants to save those close to him, so he leans toward the Dark).

After overcoming complications, the protagonist can then deal with the main conflict. This is called the resolution. The resolution of Night Watch results in Vimes successfully capturing Carcer and averting much of the bloodshed of the revolution. Resolutions are not always happy endings, however. Santiago successfully wins the battles against himself and the marlin, only to lose his catch to sharks and nearly die at sea. Anakin falls to the Dark Side and still loses Padmé, only to be redeemed in the last few moments of his life an ending that, while it could have been worse, was still far from happy.

We'll start working on some plot next time following the formula laid out here: conflict (external or internal) → complications → resolution.