It's in the "How"

I had a teacher in college who claimed that there were only 54 different types of stories. That’s it.  Fifty-four storylines that vary only in how they are told. I thought he was ridiculous (he wasn’t my favorite teacher), but then I stopped and thought about the books that I’ve read. Sure, they were different. Some involved vampires, ghosts, antiheros, etc. But at the core, each story was essentially the same. Man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. technology, man vs. self, love triangle, rags to riches, voyage and return, etc.

When I looked into it a little bit more, I found that many people believed there were even fewer plot lines. It sort of made sense to me.

I read a lot, so over time I realized how true his words rang. If I read a particular genre often enough, I can usually see the ending coming from a mile away. Somehow, it doesn’t usually bother me. The voice of the character and the structure of the story are intriguing enough to keep me interested.

So, being a writer, I understand that the main difference between all the basic plots that exist is not what it’s about but how it’s told. I can’t tell you how many young adult novels I’ve read with basically the same premise: damaged girl finds herself and love in a bad boy…HEA. While I’m reading, I know it’s happening, but I love all the ones that are written well. It’s my go-to genre when I need a pick-me-up.

I’m trying to publish a post-apocalyptic-dystopian-thriller with a romantic presence. I love reading dystopian novels; after all Brave New World is my favorite book. As much as I want to say all the dystopian books I’ve read are all different, the bare bones are essentially the same. It’s the “how” that makes them unique. It’s the answer to “how” that keeps bringing me back to the same genre. 

With that in mind, I consciously try to make my stories different from others out there, not only with the variations in the plot, but also in how it’s told. I add symbolism that will carry through the book and hopefully add an extra dimension. I have journals full of notes on character traits and drawings. They become real people in my mind. I fashion my story around what the character would do in a particular situation.

I spend my driving time thinking about different plot-twists and forms of conflict. I go to bed imagining up new scenes or pondering what would make my storyline better. I have hundreds of notes scattered in different journals and in my phone. The “how” of my stories drives me through my day and pushes me into the next.

It’s the “how” that makes it fun to write. It’s the “how” that makes it fun to read.

So, although it seems there are fewer basic plots than the mind would like to believe, it really doesn’t matter. Our curious nature demands an answer to “how”, and keeps us coming back for more.