Short Story Plot Structure Study
TRUTH =
- Change in perspective
- A big reveal
- A role reversal
Most short stories save it for a big surprise. But some reveal it right away, and you’re just hurtling towards it, cringing or worrying.
- Protagonist goes about day
- Visitor comes and they talk
- Visitor wants to leave, but Protagonists convinces him to stay
- Conversation changes visitor’s trajectory with TRUTH
- Visitor goes home
- Dynamic comes to town, gives protagonist a gift
- Switch POV to Dynamic
- Protagonist does her job, something different occurs
- Switch POV, Dynamic deals with situation in 3
- Protagonist deals with situation in 3 affected by 4
- Funeral of 3/4/5, Dynamic reveals TRUTH, admits love.
- Protagonist taken to forest and abandoned
- Protagonist looks for refuge, sleeps dreams
- In dream meets Dynamic
- Protagonist free Dynamic from dream
- Dynamic takes Protagonist back home to get TRUTH
- Protagonist goes to PLACE, meets new people
- Protagonist goes about doing job, sees something strange
- Dynamic somehow catalyzes Protagonist to explore strange
- Protagonist deals with the STRANGE
- STRANGE and Dynamic are affected together = TRUTH
- Protagonist leaves
- Protagonist is running from a MONSTER, finds solace with Dynamic
- Dynamic takes cares of Protagonist in STRANGE ways, given rules
- Protagonist gets antsy and wonders about mysterious Dynamic
- Protagonist eventually breaks rules, discovers TRUTH
- Protagonist has to run away
- Protagonist must deal with recent death of loved one
- Dynamic wants Protagonist to follow TRADITION
- Protagonist refuses and wants to do something different
- Protagonist plans escape while Dynamic persuades otherwise
- During the big escape, TRUTH happens
- Protagonist must deal with family being attacked
- Protagonist fights feebly, but STRANGE Dynamic swoops in to help
- Strange dynamic helps Protagonist fight
- Strange dynamic weigh option of taking care of Protagonist
- Strange dynamic takes Protagonist, Protagonist transformed
- Protagonist receives a new lover, lover is flighty
- Lover comes back, relationship grows
- Protagonist is pregnant, gives birth, TRUTH
- Protagonist is bullied
- Protagonist knows of STRANGE help, but it’s dangerous. Goes to it.
- STRANGE doesn’t like Protagonist, threatens to kill, protagonist makes bigger promise
- Protagonist convinces ALLY to help
- STRANGE takes liking to ALLY, offers ALLY help, Protagonist is trapped for betrayal
- Protagonist doesn’t like ALLY’s new element (wife/kid/pet)
- Protagonist spies on ALLY’s new element and plots their demise
- Protagonist fails at offing the ALLY’s new element
- New Element was evil to begin with TRUTH.
- Protagonist is kept captive by loved one, doesn’t know why
- Protagonist gets opportunity to escape
- Protagonist meets STRANGE people, gets GIFT
- When captor sees protagonist with STRANGE/GIFT, truth is revealed
- Protagonist was being protected all along. Or Captor was really evil.
- Protagonist has to work harder than rivals.
- Protagonist goes to STRANGE help
- Protagonist suddenly has STRANGE powers, beats rivals.
- Weird shit happens to rivals, there is a hidden cost.
- The STRANGE come back to collect
- Protagonist family is being attacked
- Protagonist decides to go to STRANGE for help
- STRANGE agrees
- STRANGE is actually a really dangerous element
- STRANGE destroys everything
- Protagonist is in love with Dynamic
- Dynamic plays with Protagonist until…
- Protagonist and Dynamic go to a big event
- The big event was to reveal Protagonist for TRUTH
- Protagonist gets a job (steal/escort/rescue/deliver/get)
- Job leads protagonist to STRANGE place, people etc.
- Job reveals TRUTH that Protagonist must confront
- Protagonist does job, but consequences, or fails job and escapes, or etc.
REVEALS:
- I am the Half-Man. Don’t do what you’re about to do. Learn from me.
- An underworld with its own rules are at work here. You missed it
- That bad thing that happened wasn’t X’s fault. It was Y.
- A shared secret between two characters
- I am actually a monster and you fell right into my trap
- You can’t really escape X, there’s always a cost
- This wasn’t a secret you were meant to discover, now there are consequences
- Secrets: (Affairs, old promises/deals, real reason behind death/firing/breakup)
- The McGuffin you’re stealing/escorting/rescuing/delivering/getting… isn’t the real goal.