Introduction to Plotto

The Soul, with its human faculties which put it in
immediate touch with the Universe, is a Divine Instrument,
an Aeolian Harp which is not played upon
by the Winds of Chance but by all the Winds- of Destiny
that blow from the four quarters of Human
Nature; and this Music of the Soul is a Divine
Harmony which the Creative Imagination, alone
of the human faculties, interprets in Creative Art.
To this high interpretation, through fictional narrative,
Platta is bebiruteit
PLOTTO
INTRODUCTION
THE PLOTTO METHOD. Plotto achieves creative art in fiction by a new
Method of plot suggestion. Suggestion is based on Themes (or Masterplots)
and Conflicts
.
.
THEME Every story has a Theme, or an underlying proposition that indicates
its type. The Theme may be clear-cut and distinct, or shadowy and vague;
it is always in evidence, and differentiates one type of story from all the other
types. Around each Theme any number of distinctly different stories may be
written.
A story may be constructed with, or without, a certain Theme in mind. Rarely
perhaps does a writer begin a story with a set Theme in front of him. He may
develop his plot from a situation, or Conflict; nevertheless, as the plot develops the
Theme develops with it. The writer-will feel the Theme and, consciously or unconsciously,
combine his Conflicts to a certain pattern. This pattern, plain in he
finished work, will conform to a Theme. When a story is built around a Theme,
the Theme becomes a Masterplot.
The Plotto Method enables the Plottoist to begin his story with a Masterplot
and marshal his situations or Conflicts in conformity to it; or, it enables him to
begin with a situation or Conflict and consciously to watch the particular Theme
as the plot unfolds.
MASTERPLOTS WITH INTERCHANGEABLE CLAUSES. Each Plotto
Masterplot classifies in general terms and in a single terse sentence a certain type
of story. Each Masterplot consists of three Clauses: An initial Clause defining the
protagonist in general terms, a middle Clause initiating and carrying on the action,
and a final Clause carrying on and terminating the action. Suggestions for exemplifying
the action with concrete situations are offered by the Conflicts.
THE CONFLICTS. Desire, in some one of its many forms, is responsible for
the awakening of Purpose. Something from without, impinging upon something
within, excites a feeling or an emotion, and the soul flows into Purpose, and Purpose
into action. Then, somewhere on the path of rising action, Purpose encounters
Obstacle. At this point, and at this point only, do we establish what writers of
creative fiction call a situation. Purpose alone never made a situation; Obstacle
alone never made one; but strike the flint of Obstacle with the steel of Purpose and
sparks of situation begin to fly.
Plotto, as a Method of plot suggestion for writers of creative fiction, is founded
upon this law: Purpose, expressed or implied, opposing Obstacle, expressed
or implied, yields Conflict.
PU
RPOSES AND OBSTACLES. How many Purposes are there in the world?
Not many, although their variations are infinite. Perhaps, in the last analysis
one General Purpose would comprehend all the Purposes: TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS.
That is the end and aim of life on this planet. But happiness has a
different meaning for most of us. There is the happiness of love and courtship.
of married life, of achieving wealth or power by all the many methods, good or evil.
that may be contrived by the thinking mind. Religion may be the road to happiness
for some, and revenge the road to a doubtful happiness for others. The virtues or
the faults of a human soul set the pattern of Purpose for that soul.
Plotto concerns itself with but one General Purpose in its application to three
general goals of endeavor:
1. To Achieve Happiness in Love and Courtship.
2. To Achieve Happiness in Married Life.
3. To Achieve Happiness (Success) in Enterprise.
Yet, while this one General Purpose runs through all the Conflicts, a host of
subordinate Purposes will appear in them, opposed by an infinite number of Obstacles.
There is one Supreme Purpose in every life: TO LIVE; and there is one Supreme
Obstacle each life encounters: DEATH. Complicating the scheme and
giving zest to the plot of life are innumerable subordinate Purposes and Obstacles,
dealing with all the enterprises of which life is capable.
Overshadowed by the Supreme Purpose of LIFE, and the Supreme Obstacle
of DEATH, we wage our mimic wars of conquest and gain; but, at any minute,
the Supreme Purpose may fail, and Death come striding into our finite calculations
and calling a truce. There is also a Paramount Purpose in all the lesser activities
of our existence, opposed by a Paramount Obstacle; and they marshal their secondary
Purposes and Obstacles to keep us "on our toes " and fighting valiantly for
all we have, or hope to have. Blessed be Purpose! And thrice-blessed be Obstacle!
The Conflicts in Plotto are brief statements of Purpose in active opposition with
Obstacle—situations which are to be combined with other situations. For instance:
"A, in love with B, is not favored by F-B, father of B." Here is the
implied Purpose, "To Achieve Happiness in Love, " meeting an Obstacle bluntly
expressed.
Purpose and Obstacle give concrete exemplification of the Theme in every
forin of fictional narrative, whether short story, novelette, or novel.
THE SHORT STORY. Purpose and Obstacle at grips in one dramatic situation
will define the short story, since it is calculated to leave a single dominant impression
upon the reader's mind. Ordinarily, this form of narrative fiction will be
woven about a plot of the simplest construction. There will be the main situation
as suggested by a chosen Conflict, the Conflict leading up to it and the Conflict
carrying on and terminating the action. These three Conflicts may be reduced to
two, if the main Conflict should in itself possess the qualities of a terminal Conflict.
Conflicts too long, or too involved, for short story purposes will usually be
found to be broken Conflicts. When such a Conflict is selected for the main situation,
it ' e possible to use only that part of it which contains the most dramatic appeal.
THE NOVELETTE. This form of narrative fiction may be considered as a
long short story, or as a short novel. If the former, the Conflict suggesting the
situation will be elaborated with dramatic material concerned with the Purpose
and Obstacle. If, on the other hand, the novelette partakes of the character of
a short novel, the Paramount Purpose and Obstacle will involve subordinate Purposes
and Obstacles all cumulative in power and bearing upon the story
' s climax
or crisis. Here, as everywhere, the imagination must exercise constructive judgment.
THE NOVEL. The full-fledged novel may be considered as consisting of
several short stories all leading up to, and intimately bound up with, the Paramount
Purpose and Obstacle that give the complete story its unity. Construction here
plays its most discriminating role, for the subordinate situations must grow toward
a single, decisive crisis. The effect must be cumulative. If the main Conflict
shall involve the crisis—and it should—all the subordinate situations dealing with
the "Theme will be so selected as to grow naturally in dramatic strength toward the
climax. Here no rules of construction will take the place of taste and discrimination.
The constructive imagination, properly exercised, will deal capably with
the situations, and the creative imagination will work a miracle of dramaturgic
power.
ORIGIN ALTCY. The Conflicts all come from the vast storehouse of Human
Nature. They are there, millions upon millions of them, waiting for the imagination
to select them and group them in an original combination. For there is "nothing
new under the sun." Originality in creative work comes from our own individual
use of the tools so bountifully provided by the Divine Creator. All that
is possible , to a mortal craftsman is the combining of old material into something
new and different.
Originality is the ideal of the Plotto Method; and it is realized by disregarding
the references prefixed and affixed to the Conflicts and (or) interpreting the Specific
as well as the General, Conflicts in terms of the Plottoist's own experience. Nothing
in the Specific Conflicts will be used literally, but the concrete exemplification
in such Conflicts will serve as a suggestion, lending wings to the creative imagination
for its own high flight.
For orginaI combinations of Conflicts the Classification by Symbols will be
found a treasure-trove of suggestions. If the main Conflict selected is built around
A, or B, alone, the A or B group should be scanned; if around A and B alone, the
A and B group will yield suggestions, or the A or B group may be found to serve;
or, if several characters are involved in the main Conflict, reference may be had to
that particular group of symbols. If a certain group of symbols proves too limited,
drop one of the lesser character symbols and consult the group represented by those
remaining. This course may be followed, in the search for original combinations,
until only the protagonist remains in the situation. Somewhere along the line of
search the imagination is certain to find exactly what it is looking for.
CONFLICT GROUPS AND SUB-GROUPS. The Conflicts in Plotto are
classified in three main groups:
1. Conflicts in Love and Courtship.
2. Conflicts in Married Life.
3. Conflicts in Enterprise.
The Conflicts in Love and Courtship are re-grouped as follows:
Conflicts in Love's Beginnings. 
Conflicts in Love's Misadventures,
Conflicts of the Marriage Proposal 
Conflicts in Love's Rejection.
Conflicts of Marriage.
All the s
ub-groups are classified, for convenience of reference, under the middle,
or "B," Clauses of the Masterplots; and these form the only subdivisions of the
main group, "Married Life." Conflicts of the third group, "Enterprise, " fall into
the following general classifications:
Conflicts in Misfortune.
Conflicts in Mistaken Judgment.
Conflicts in Helpfulness.
Conflicts in Deliverance.
Conflicts in Idealism.
Conflicts in Obligation.
Conflicts in Necessity.
Conflicts in Chance.
Conflicts in Personal Limitations.
Conflicts in Simulation.
Conflicts in Craftiness.
Conflicts in Transgression.
Conflicts in Revenge.
Conflicts in Mystery.
Conflicts in Revelation.
Inasmuch as dramatic situations are a product of the emotions, and the emotions,
by reason of their complexity, have defied a hard and fast classification, it
follows naturally that the Conflicts themselves will defy a rigid classification. The
groupings noted above are more or less arbitrary, yet they will be bound to serve.
Some Conflicts in Misfortune might easily fall into the sub-groups, Mistaken Judgment,
Simulation, etc., and Conflicts in other sub-groups might logically he reclassified.
Nevertheless, the classification in each case will exemplify in the Conflict
the particular sub-group in which it has been placed.
MECRANICIL STRUCTURE. There is, of course, a mechanical structure
underlying every properly constructed story. There are some very intelligent
people who believe in the "divine afflatus" as something apart from hard, consistent,
carefully calculated effort. Overlooking the old adage that "Genius is an infinite
capacity for taking pains, " these wise ones will have their back-handed slap at
anything mechanical in its application to Art.
It remains, however, that a good story must have a carefully developed plot for
its framework; and the plot in itself, is purely mechanical. It is the logical devising
of means to an end, a motivating of all the parts into a harmonious whole. A plot
may be simple, or it may be complex, but an interesting story without some sort
of plot is inconceivable. This machinery must not creak or complain as the story
advances. A discriminating imagination must oil it so well with logic and plausibility
that the god in the machine shall not be ruffled by the turning wheels. Plausibility
is attained when fine discrimination, true judgment and a facility with words
so cover the necessary mechanism that it does not intrude at any point upon the
completed work. And therein lies the art of the story teller. Plotto, at least,
holds this to be true; and, as a corollary of the position thus taken, exalts the imagination
as the greatest force in the world,
IMAGINATION. If a story is a skeleton structure of plot, overlaid with a
felicity of thought and phrase that may be called the flesh, then the pulsing heart
of the creation, the one factor that gives it life and beauty, is the imagination. But
this imagination must be rightly controlled.
The demands of fictional narrative would seem to predicate an imagination of
three types: Mediocre, Constructive and Creative. A mind positively brilliant
in its mastery of scientific research, or of the pursuit of trade, might be }topless in
meeting the demands of fictional narrative. Nevertheless, Plotto believes sincerely
that a desire to write successful fiction is predicated upon the ability to write
successful fiction; and that, given the technical requirements of experience and a
fair education, not often will the mediocre imagination be found hopeless. Intensive
training should develop constructive power; and it is but a step, in the interpretation
of suggestion, from the constructive to the creative. Originality is
the soul of creative art, and originality is nothing more than the interpretation of
suggestion in terms of individual experience.
Each life is the sum of many experiences, and character indicates the reaction
of those experiences upon the soul. In other words, life is a combination of situations,
or Conflicts, with a spiritual signification drawn from the Conflicts themselves.
So a story plot, which holds the mirror up to life, is a combination of Conflicts,
selected to the pattern of a single Theme, or Masterplot. Life, with
its multitude of experiences, is general; the imagination, dealing with a cross-section
of life, makes the story plot particular. And imagination does this through the
interpretation of suggestion.
SUGGESTION. The ideal of the Plotto Method, as stated elsewhere, is the
interpretation of Conflict suggestions in terms of individual experience. Some of
the Conflicts are General. Thus, Conflict No. 31 reads: "B, rescued from an
accident by A, whom she does not know, falls in love with him. " The nature of
the accident, and the character of B and of A, are circumstances left to the constructive
imagination. In dealing with these circumstances, references to other
Conflicts, prefixed and affixed to this general suggestion, will offer further suggestions
for inventing the circumstances.
Many of the Conflicts are Specific. Thus, to quote Conflict No. 647: "B, a
respectable working girl seeking employment, follows the advice of a supposed
friend, A-5. and finds herself in an immoral dance hall where she is compelled to
dance with patrons and serve drinks. " References to other Conflicts will suggest
the cause of B's necessity for seeking employment, and other references will suggest
a final€ for B's unhappy plight. The constructive imagination might use Conflict
No. 647 literally, but Plotto would not approve of such literal use. The ideal
method is for the imagination to use the dance hall merely as a suggestion for something
equally pertinent to the situation; in other words, use the concrete example
in interpreting an equivalent for this specific suggestion as to B's misfortune.
Herein lies the opportunity for originality, and the way to creative work.
DEVELOPING THE PLOT FROM A MASTERPLOT. For purposes of illustration,
we will select a Masterplot from the Masterplot Chart and build up a
short story plot in tabloid form.
A 11 A Person Swayed by Pretense,
B 11 (49) Assuming a fictitious character when embarking upon a certain
enterprise,
C 2 Emerges happily from a serious entanglement.
The B Clause "originates and carries on the action." Prefixed to this B Clause
in parentheses is the number, (49). On the back of the Masterplot Chart, we find
that No. (49) refers us to a sub-group of Conflicts beginning with Conflict No. 1173,
this p
articular B Clause serving as a title for the sub-group:
(2b, c, d, e,
1173
g, h) (1187; 2f)
A, a pretender, encounters B, who is also a pretender * A and B are pretenders.
vet neither knows the other is not what he or she seems to be ** (773; 772 ch A to
B & A-4 to A) (806 ch B-4 to B) (1462)
The reference numbers prefixed to this Conflict offer lead-up suggestions.
Numbers 1187 and 2f form a complementary suggestion, or a combination of two
Conflicts appropriate to the main situation.
1187. A is a poor clerk who, with a limited capital, dons a dress suit and takes
a " fling " in high society.
2f *-**. B, poor and humble but pretending to be wealthy and aristocratic, meets
rich and influential A, and they fall in love.
Thus we have our two pretenders, neither knowing that the other is not what
he or she seems to be. No. 2f has a carry-on suggestion:
1461a. B fights a hard battle with her conscience; she finds it a losing battle
and makes an important revelation in order that she may achieve peace of mind.
A and not B is the protagonist of 1461a, but we manipulate the Conflic. by
changing A to B. This Conflict has a reference, No. 358 **-***:
358 **-***. A, in order to win B, is compelled to confess his true rank and station.
We can now eliminate our main suggestion, Conflict 1173, so that our tabloid
plot will reaa:
2f *-**. B, poor and humble but pretending to be wealthy and aristocratic, meets
rich and influential A, and they fall in love.
1187. A is a poor clerk who, with a limited capital, dons a dress suit and takes a
" fling " in high society.
1461a. B fights a hard battle with her conscience; she finds it a losing battle, and
makes an important revelation in order that she may achieve peace of mind.
358 **-***. A, in order to win B, is compelled to confess his true rank and station
We have manipulated the combination Conflict by allowing 2f * ** to precede
1187; and if we keep the reader in ignorance of the fact that A and B are pretenders
and allow the revelation to come at the end of the story, we shall achieve a double
surprise and find ourselves with the plot of O. Henry 's story, "Transients in Arcadia."
Yet any number of stories, true to the Masterplot, may be built around
these suggestions.
By changing the first two situations and selecting different Conflicts, the plot
will develop along criminal lines:
2h. B, a criminal, assumes an alias and makes use of stolen funds in evading the
the law * B, a criminal in disguise, meets A, and they fall in love **
lc. A, a crook, pretends to be an honest man in order to forward his love affair
with B.
Or, we could make our plot more dramatic by having the second situation read:
3a. A is a judge. and B is a fugitive from justice posing as a woman of wealth and
fashion * A, a judge, falls in love with B, a criminal **
This might be followed with:
1292. B seeks happiness as a reformed transgressor * B. seeking happiness as a
reformed transgressor, has her old transgression discovered **
727. A, a judge presiding at a murder trial, finds himself unexpectedly confronted
with a circumstance that makes his work a torture to his soul.
These changes in the plot would make necessary a change in the C clause of
the Masterplot:
C (1). Pays a grim penalty in an unfortunate undertaking.
CONFLICT MANIPULATIONS. Characters in the Plotto Conflicts are
represented by symbols (see "The Plotto Character Symbols," page 17). These
symbols may be readily changed or transposed, as an aid in manipulating the Conflict
suggestions. Thus, "261 ch A-3 to A," indicates that A-3 in the Conflict is
to be changed to A; and, "578b tr B & B-3," indicates a transposition in which
B-3 takes the place of B and B of B-3.
The character symbols are changed, or transposed, in the auxiliary Conflicts
to agree with the character symbols of the Conflict whose ramifications are being
studied.
In many instances the Conflicts are "broken"—that is, divided into two or
more parts. The end of the first part is marked with a star (*), of the second part,
with a double star (**), of the third part with a triple star (***), etc. Thus,"-*"
indicates that the Conflict is to be used up to the first star; "*-**" indicates that
the first part of the Conflict is not to be used, but only that part between the first
star and the double star; "-**" indicates that all of the Conflict is to be used up
to the double star, etc.
DEVELOPING THE PLOT FROM A SELECTED SITU l TION. The
most practical way to illustrate the Plotto Method of developing a plot from a
single situation, or Conflict, will be to select a Conflict and follow the Method
through, step by step. For this purpose, the first Conflict, la, may be used:
1
(a) (112) (117) (148) (656)
A, poor, is in love with wealthy and aristocratic B * A, poor, in love with wealthy
B, pretends to be a man of wealth ** (209) (187)
The simplest combination will consist of three Conflicts—the Conflict selected
as the working basis for the plot, the one Conflict leading up to it, and the third
Conflict terminating the action, both auxiliary Conflicts taken from the references
prefixed and affixed to the main, or basic, situation. For example, as a lead-up
Conflict No. 112 may be used, followed by la, and this in turn followed by No. 209.
It develops, however, that the second part of the broken Conflict, la, may be eli minated; and that, with this elimination, la -* may logically precede Conflict 112,
giving the three-Conflict plot as follows:
la -*. A, POOR, IS IN LOVE WITH WEALTHY AND ARISTOCRATIC B.
112. A loves B; and B's father, F-B, promises him B's hand in marriage if he will suc
cessfully carry out an enterprise of great difficulty and danger.
209. A carries out successfully a very difficult enterprise when promised the hand
of B in marriage by F-B, father of B * A, discovering secretly that B loves a rival,
A-3, refuses to hold B to a promise of marriage made by her father, F-B **
Nobility of character on the part of A is suggested by this heroic renunciation.
The for
56character
a
"d-of
B
:
, of F-B and of A-3, as well as the "enterprise of great difficulty
a danger
lea
.
mup
ay be left to the creative imagination.
Again using Conflict la for our main suggestion, we might begin with Conflict
656
(751) (961) (1000) (1079)
A 's ancestral acres have been heavily mortgaged and he is about to lose the property
* A, by hook or crook, seeks to save his mortgaged paternal acres from foreclosure
** (500) (860) (874) (1029)
Reaching backward into the causes of A's unfortunate condition, we will select
lead-up suggestion No. 1079. Many other Conflicts in Personal Limitations,
Misfortune, or. some of the other groups would serve us equally well, or better;
but we will content ourselves with
1079
(127a) (656)
A ' s character weakness is betting; * and he seems unable to conquer the failing
although he invariably suffers loss ** (367a) (524a) (902)
Here we have a suggestion as to the character weakness which caused A to
squander his fortune and mortgage his ancestral estates. We shall assume now
that none of the references prefixed or affixed to 1079 appeals to our imagination,
so we shall proceed on our own initiative—a course which Plotto earnestly recommends
to the Plottoist in the working out of every plot. A further study of Personal
Limitations suggests
1075
(a) (850b) (902)
A, struggling hopelessly against a character weakness, forms a platonic friendship
for B (838 ch A to B & A-2 to A) (850a, b) (364d) (1075b)
Thus we have A, struggling hopelessly against a character weakness that has
wrecked him financially, forming a platonic friendship for B. If we consider it
expedient to bring about a dramatic first meeting of A with B, the Conflicts are
brimming with such suggestions. But we will not go into that in this skeleton
plot, our object being to simplify the references as much as possible. Conflict
1075b, a reference appended to 1075a, offers this suggestion as to B's influence
over A: "A's admiration for his friend B, and his desire to please her, inspires him
to bring out the best in his nature. " Also appended to 1075a is a reference to
Conflict 364d, which seems quite apropos at this point:
364
(d) (850a, b) (1075a, b)
A, with the help of B, overcomes an ignoble weakness * A 's gratitude to B blossoms
into love; and, when A is sure he has rehabilitated his character, he proposes marriage
to B and is accepted ** (826) (828)
This Conflict may be called a terminal Conflict, in the sense that it brings our
love story plot to marriage, the finale of most such plots. But we are not ready.
as yet, to close the action, inasmuch as we are merely leading up to the main situa -
tion, la; so we shall use only the first part of this broken Conflict: "A, with the
help of B, overcomes an ignoble weakness. "
At last we have the female protagonist, B, firmly fixed in the plot, and we need
not go back further into the lead-ups.
1079. A ' s character weakness is betting, and he seems unable to conquer the
failing although he invariably suffers loss.
656. A ' s ancestral estates have been heavily mortgaged and he is about to lose
the property * A, by hook or crook, seeks to save his paternal acres from foreclosure
**
1075a. A, struggling hopelessly against a character weakness, forms a platonic
friendship for B.
1075b. A's admiration for his friend B, and his desire to please her, inspires him
to bring out the best in his nature.
364d -*. A, with the help of B, overcomes an ignoble weakness.
la. A, POOR, IS IN LOVE WITH WEALTHY AND ARISTOCRATIC B * A,
POOR, IN LOVE WITH WEALTHY B, PRETENDS TO BE A MAN OF
WEALTH **
From this, it is manifest that A ' s platonic association with B has gone the way
of most platonic associations (see Conflicts 9a, b, c), and his gratitude has blossomed
into love. A, by inference, is so deeply in love with B that the best in his
nature is, for the time, eclipsed by his desire to win B. He resorts to simulation
in forwarding his suit—thinking less of saving his ancestral acres by a wealthy
marriage than he is of his own future happiness. Conflict la has a reference to
Conflict 187 for carrying on the action:
187
(145) (956 -*) (1105) (1119)
A, in love with B and wishing to propose marriage, finds it impossible because B
is so busy he can never find her alone. He seeks to make an opportunity by stratagem.
(163; 91) (352a)
We will discard this suggestion, for the reason that it will plunge A deeper into
the questionable methods into which his ardor has already lured him. He is pretending
to be a man of wealth when he is almost a bankrupt; but he has overcome
his passion for gambling, thanks to B's influence, and he is ready to husband his
remaining resources and save what he can from the wreck of his material fortunes.
A carry-on suggestion appended to Conflict 187 is a two-Conflict combination,
163; 91:
163. B learns that her lover, A, has fallen into desperate misfortunes.
91. B, in love with A, seeks to save A from disaster.
We are now approaching the climax of the action. A's pretensions to wealth,
B secretly discovers, are a hollow mockery. She learns that he is faced with disaster;
and the Conflicts, if desired, will offer suggestions as to just how she discovers
this secret. B is in love with A and ready to overlook his shortcomings, so she
hastens to his rescue. We will depart, at this point, from the references and show
B, on her own part, indulging in a bit of simulation. Turning to the sub-group,
Simulation, we select Conflict.
1155
B, the friend of A, learns that A is desperately involved in debt * B, unknown to A,
settles with A's creditors and frees him from debt **
This happy turn of affairs, naturally, cannot long remain unknown to A. If he
has pride, let him pocket it; or let his pride be humbled by B ' s proof of her great
love for him. If this course cannot be made to serve, the Conflicts will offer many
suggestions for estrangement and reconciliation; but, in our plot, we will not have
A a cad. Of the thousands of changes possible in such a series of actions as we are s
tudying, we could eliminate the Conflicts from 163, inclusive, onward and place
A in a better light by using this suggestion from Revelation:
1451a. A fights a hard battle with his conscience; he finds it a losing battle, and
makes an important revelation in order that he may achieve peace of mind.
But we will not make the change. We will proceed to close the action with
Conflict 3G4d *-**:
"A' s gratitude to B blossoms into love; and when A is sure he
has rehabilitated his character, he proposes to B and is accepted. "
The nature of the Conflicts, and their pliability, often calls for useless repetition:
The statement in 364d that "A's gratitude to B has blossomed into love," is redundant.
That fact has been known for some time, and has formed the basis for much
of the action; and we simply ignore it here.
The latter part of this love story plot would stand as follows:
la. A, POOR, IN LOVE WITH WEALTHY AND ARISTOCRATIC B, PRETENDS
TO BE A MAN OF WEALTH.
163. B learns that her lover, A, has fallen into desperate misfortunes.
91. B, in love with A, seeks to save A from disaster.
1155. B, in love with A, learns that A is desperately involved in debt * B unknown
to A, settles with A's creditors and frees him from debt **
364d *-**. A's gratitude to B blossoms into love; and when A is sure he has rehabilitated
his character, he proposes to B and is accepted.
In the Classification by Character Symbols, all terminal Conflicts are marked
by the parentheses number of the C Clauses. For instance, 364d exemplifies C
Clause (9), "Achieves success and happiness in a hard undertaking.
" This Conflict,
364d, will be found, marked "9", under the A and B symbols of Conflicts in
Marriage in the Classification by Symbols. An elusive terminal situation may be
run down by consulting this Classification.
INDIVIDUALIZING PLOTTO. It is possible for the Plottoist to individualize
his Plotto by adding material of his own. Every writer has newspaper
clippings or other memoranda filed away for possible use. Let all this be catalogued
in a loose-leaf book under the Conflict numbers to which each bit of material applies,
and a notation to that effect penciled opposite the Conflicts thus amplified. This
will broaden the usefulness of Plotto, often with concrete exemplifications of the
Conflicts from real life.
Plotto Chart
Masterplots with Interchangeable Clauses
NOTE
A Plotto Masterplot consists of three clauses: An "A" Clause,
a "B" Clause and a "C" Clause.
The A Clause is the Protagonist Clause.
The B Clause originates and carries on the action.
The C Clause carries on and terminates the action.
Any A Clause may be used in conjunction with any B Clause
and with any C Clause. For the purpose of bringing all the B
Clauses in juxtaposition with all the A and C Clauses, it is merely
necessary to turn the narrow page.
Suggestions for evolving a plot to the pattern of the Masterplot
selected will be found in the Plotto Conflicts. The Conflicts are
listed in sub-groups; and each sub-group is listed under the full
text of the B Clause which the sub-group exemplifies.
On the page immediately following the Masterplot pages will
be found an index of the respective Conflict sub-groups under the parentheses number of the B Clause.
The C, or Terminal, Clauses are also numbered in parentheses;
and Conflicts suggesting these terminations will be found opposite
the C Clause numbers in the Classification by Symbols.
"A" Clauses
1. A Person in Love,
2. A Married Person,
3. A Lawless Person,
4. An Erring Person,
6. A Protecting Person,
7. A Person of Ideals,
8. A Person Influenced by an Obligation,
9. A Person Subjected to Adverse Conditions,
fix missing
b
(1) Engaging in a difficult enterprise when
promised a reward for high achievement.
(2) Falling in love at a time when certain
obligations forbid love,
(3) Seeking to demonstrate the power of
love by a test of courage,
(13) Seeking by craftiness to escape misfortune,
(14) Falling into misfortune through the
wiles of a crafty schemer,
(21) Falling into misfortune through mistaken
judgment,
(25) Seeking to save a person who is accused
of transgression,
(28) Facing a situation in which the misfortunes
of one greatly esteemed call
for courage and sagacious enterprise,
(31) Living a lonely, cheerless life and seeking
companionship
(32) Seeking to conceal identity because of a
lofty idealism.
(38) Committing a grievous mistake and
seeking in secret to live down its evil
results,
Forsaking cherished ambitions to carry
out an obligation,
(43) Seeking to overcome personal limitations
in carrying out an enterprise.
(46) Seeking retaliation for a grievous wrong
that is either real or fancied.
(47) Finding (apparently) an object greatly
coveted, and obtaining (apparently) the
object,
(50) Being impelled by an unusual motive to
engage in crafty enterprise,
(54) Becoming involved in a puzzling complication
that has to do with an object
possessing mysterious powers,
(55) Becoming involved in a mysterious
complication and seeking to make the
utmost of a bizarre experience,
(61) Becoming aware of an important secret
that calls for decisive action.
(62) Becoming involved in any sort of complication ,
"B" Clauses
(4) Being impelled by inordinate fancy to
exercise mistaken judgment in a love
affair
Becoming involved in a hopeless love
affair, and seeking to make the best of a
disheartening situation,
Challenging, in a quest of love, the relentless
truth that "East is East, and
West is West, and never the twain shall
meet,"
(11) Confronting a situation in which courage
and' devotion alone can save the fortunes
of one beloved,
(15) Finding a sustaining power in misfortune,
(16) Being delivered from misfortune by one
who, in confidence, confesses a secret of
transgression,
22) Following a wrong course through mistaken
judgment,
(26) Seeking secretly to preserve another
from danger,
(29) Aiding another to hide from the world
a fateful secret.
(33) Resisting secretly and from an honorable
motive a mandate considered discreditable,
(34) Embarking upon an enterprise of insurrection
in the hope of a.neliorating
certain evil conditions,
(40) Embarking upon an enterprise in which
one obligation is opposed by another
obligation,
(44) Seeking by unusual methods to conquer
personal limitations,
(48) Assuming the character of a criminal in
a perfectly honest enterprise,
(51) Devising
ans,
a clever and plausible delusion
in order to forward certain -ambitious
pl
(56) Seeking to test the value of a mysterious c ommunication and becoming involved
in weird complexities,
(57) Seeking to unravel a puzzling complication,
"B" Clauses
(7) Becoming involved in a love affair that
encounters unforeseen obstacles,
(8) Confronting a situation in which wealth
is made conditional upon a certain
course of action in a love affair,
(12) Falling into misfortune through disloyalty
in love,
(17) Bearing patiently with misfortunes and
seeking to attain cherished aims honorably,
(18) Rebelling against a power that controls
personal abilities and holds them in subjection.
(23) Becoming invol
v
ed in a complication
that has to do with mistaken judgment
and suspicion.
(27) Refusing to betray another's secret and
calmly facing persecution because of
the refusal,
(30) Enlisting whole-heartedly in the service
of a needy unfortunate and conferring
aid of the utmost value,
( 3 ) ecomng nvovdein a complcatoin
that challenges the value of cherished
ideals,
Finding an obligation at variance with
ambition, inclination or necessity,
(45) Seeking to forward an enterprise and
encountering family sentiment as an
obstacle,
(49) Assuming a fictitious character when
embarking upon a certain enterprise,
(52) Encountering a would-be transgressor
and seeking to prevent a transgression,
(58) Engaging in an enterprise and then
mysteriously disappearing,
(59) Engaging in an enterprise and_ becoming
involved with the occult and the fantastic,
"B" Clauses
(9) Being put to a test in which love will be
lost if more material fortunes are advanced,
19) Meeting with misfortune and being cast
away in a primitive, isolated and savage (3)
(20)
environment,
Becoming involved with conditions in
(24)
which misfortune is indicated,
Becoming the victim of mistaken judg
ment in carrying out an enterprise,
Undergoing an experience that results
in a remarkable character change,
Seeking against difficulties to realize a
cherished Ideal,
Falling into misrortune while seeking
honorably to discharge an obligation,
Opposing the plans of a crafty schemer,
Be
coming involved, through curiosity
aroused by mystery, in a strange enterprise
"C" Clauses
(1) Pays a grim penalty in an unfortunate
undertaking.
(2) Emerges happily from a serious entanglement.
.
Foils a guilty plotter and defeats a
subtle plot.
Undertakes a role that leads straight to
catastrophe.
Emerges from a trying ordeal with sorely
garnered wisdom.
Makes the supreme sacrifice in carrying
out an undertaking.
Reverses certain opinions when their
fallacy is revealed.
Achieves a spiritual victory
(9) Achieves success and happiness in a
hard undertaking.
(10) Meets with an experience whereby an
error is corrected
(11) Discovers the folly of trying to . appear
otherwise than as one is in reality.
Rescues integrity from a serious entanglement.
Comes finally to the blank wall of
enigma.
(14) Achieves a complete and permanent
character transformation
(15) Meets any fate, good or evil.
Index of Conflicts Grouped Under the "B "Clauses
(1) Love and Courtship 110
(2) Love and Courtship 16, 119, 271
(3) Love and Courtship 175
(4) Love and Courtship 148
(5) Love and Courtship 168, 313
(6) Love and Courtship 331
(7) Love and Courtship 333
(8) Love and Courtship 117
(9) Love and Courtship 116
(10) Love and Courtship 105; Married Life 369, 386, 391, 399. 418
(11) Love and Courtship 179; Married Life 545; Revelation 1462
(12) Love and Courtship 337; Married Life 547
(13) Love and Courtship 96, 244; Married Life 457; Misfortune 650; Craftiness 1247; Mystery
1373
(14) Married Life 471; Craftiness 1260; Misfortune 660
(15) Love and Courtship 12, 106, 265, 360; Married Life 496; Helpfulness 815; Deliverance
874; Chance 1051
(16) Helpfulness 831
(17) Idealism 934
(18) Misfortune 674
(19) Misfortune 685
(20) Love and Courtship 24, 153, 196, 280, 365; Married Life 571; Idealism 956; Necessity
1026; Chance 1036; Personal Limitations 1122; Transgression 1295; Misfortune 695;
Mistaken Judgment 793; Deliverance 887; Obligation 997; Craftiness 1285; Mystery
1438; Revelation 1460
(21) Love and Courtship 40, 182, 205, 342; Married Life 369; Misfortune 595; Mistaken
Judgment 747; Helpfulness 804; Deliverance 851; Idealism 897; Obligation 979; Necessity
1023; Chance 1034; Personal Limitations 1057; Transgression 1290; Revenge
1310; Mystery 1330
(22) Love and Courtship 255; Married Life 484; Mistaken Judgment 768
(23) Love and Courtship 21, 177, 328, 365; Married Life 538; Mistaken Judgment 786
(24) Mistaken Judgment 794
(25) Love and Courtship 122; Helpfulness 820; Deliverance 894.
(26) Married Life 558; Helpfulness 825; Misfortune 671
(27) Helpfulness 824
(28) Love and Courtship 125; Helpfulness 836
(29) Love and Courtship 147• Married Life 537: Misfortune 667; Persona. Limitations 1070;
Simulation 1160
(30) Helpfulness 845
(31) Idealism 910
(32) Idealism 917
(33) Idealism 958
(34) Idealism 949
(35) Love and Courtship 292; Idealism 922
(36) Love and Courtship 152; Misfortune 680; Idealism 963
(37) Married Life 563; Idealism 965; Personal Limitations 1107
(38) Obligation 987
(39) Love and Courtship 123, 282; Married Life 508i Obligation 989
(40) Love and Courtship 287; Married Life 517; Obligation 1011
(41) Love and Courtship 19, 127, 294; Married Life 521; Obligation 1000
(42) Obligation 1018
(43) Helpfulness 835; Personal Limitations 1071
(44) Love and Courtship 191; Personal Limitations 1101
(45) Personal Limitations 1138
(46) Married Life 567; Revenge 1312
(47) Simulation 1165
(48) Simulation 1167
(49) Simulation 1173
(50) Love and Courtship 1, 66, 185, 230, 347; Married Life 419; Helpfulness 813; Deliverance
863; Idealism 932: Simulation 1141; Craftiness 1209; Mystery 1365
(51) Craftiness 1277
(52) Craftiness 1275
(53) Helpfulness 834; Craftiness 1280
(54) Mystery 1379
((55) Mystery 1385
(56) Mystery 1394
(57) Love and Courtship 174; Married Life 560; Helpfulness 833; Mystery 1399; Revelation
1460
(58 Mystery 1414
(b9 Mystery 1418
(80 Mystery 1429
(81 Mistaken Judgment 802; Revelation 1447
62) All Conflicts
THE PLOTTO CHARACTER SYMBOLS
Characters in the Plotto Conflicts are represented by symbols. These symbols
indicate the relationship of the auxiliary characters to the protagonist. This relationship
is invariably explained in the text of the Conflicts, with the exception of
the symbols A and B—these being the symbols of the male, and the female, protagonists.
These symbols give a certain uniformity to the characters and facilitate
character changes or transpositions. Protagonist A, or B, might be a criminal, an
officer of the law, an employer, etc., but the numeral is never used in connection with
the protagonist symbol—the explanation is given in the text.
A, male protagonist
A-2, male friend of A
A-3. male rival or enemy of A
A-4. male stranger
A-5, male criminal
A-6, male officer of the law
A-7, male inferior, employe
A-8, male utility symbol
A-9. male superior, employer,
one in authority
F-A, father of A
M-A. mother of A
BR-A, brother of A
SR-A, sister of A
SN-A son of A
D-A, daughter of A
U-A, uncle of A
AU-A, aunt of A
CN-A, male cousin of A
NW-A, nephew of A
NC-A, niece of A
GF-A, grandfather of A
GM-A, grandmother of A
SF-A, stepfather of A
SM-A, stepmother of A
GCH-A, grandchild of A
CH, a child
AX, a mysterious male person,
or one of unusual character
x an inanimate object, an object
of mystery, an uncertain
quantity
B,
B-2,
B-3,
13-4,
B-5,
B-6,
B-7,
B-8,
B-9,
female protagonist
female friend of B
female rival or enemy of B
female stranger
female criminal
female officer of the law
female inferior, employe
female utility symbol
female superior, employer,
one in authority
father of B
mother of B
brother of B
sister of B
son of B
daughter of B
uncle of B
aunt of B
female cousin of B
nephew of B
niece of B
grandfather of B
grandmother of B
stepfather of B
stepmother of B
grandchild of B
a mysterious female person,
or one of unusual character
Notes BR-A, BR-B, SR-A, SR-B, SN-A. SN-B, D-A, D-B, CN-A and
CN-B may on occasion be merely BR, SR, SN, D, and CN.
Where necessary to indicate a male friend of B, or a female friend of A,
the symbols aB-2, bA-2 may be used. Likewise, bCN-A, female cousin
of A; aCN-B, male cousin of B, bGCH-A, female grandchild of A, aCH,
male child, etc.
X added to any character gives to the character a suggestion of mystery.
F-B,
hl-B,
BR-B,
SR-B,
SN-B,
D-B,
U-B,
AU-B,
CN-B,
NW-B,
NC-B,
GF-B,
GM-B,
SF-B,
SM-B
GCH-B,
B