Basic Plots

[SpyOne]

Regarding this column: What are the seven basic literary plots? - The Straight Dope

My Father graduated college in 1959, with a major in Communications and a minor in Theater.
He used to say that there were, IIRC, 12 basic plots. “Man vs nature”, “man vs man”, and “man vs himself” all sound like members of his list (which I assume was quoted from someone).

But the part I really remember is him saying that the list of 12 was actually wrong. Again, he seemed to be quoting when he asserted that there were really only two: “Boy meets girl” and “A stranger comes to town”.

[Live_Better_Electrically]

I’m surprised that the column didn’t mention William Cook’s 1928 book Plotto: The Master Book of All Plots.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@SpyOne

Again, he seemed to be quoting when he asserted that there were really only two: “Boy meets girl” and “A stranger comes to town”.

In this thread from when the column originally appeared, one theory (attributed to John Gardner) discussed is that the two plot types are “a stranger comes to town” and “the protagonist takes a journey.”

[sbunny8]

In the odd case no one gets killed, but this is mostly in works by sensitive lady writers that seldom earn back the advance and even so usually have someone dying of cancer or in some other tragic manner (e.g., Terms of Endearment, Fried Green Tomatoes — come to think of it, someone did get killed in the latter. See what I’m saying?).

One of my favorite movies is Doc Hollywood, starring Michael J. Fox. Nobody dies in that movie.

[mideastbob]

I read a lot of SF and I think it was Ursula Le Guin who said there were 5 Levels of Science Fiction Writing,
1 Human Situation with present technology
2 Human Situation with possible future technology
3 Human situation with not at present possible technology
4 Humans and aliens interaction
5 Totally Alien

I have no idea of how you would write a totally alien plot, but I think Stanislaw Lem’s writing was nearest.

[qazwart]

I had a friend in college who decided all plots could be divided into two categories:
[ol]
[li]Plots involving naked women.[/li][li]Plots not involving naked women.[/li][/ol]
He’d readily admit that the second category was much, much bigger than the first, but he finds the first one more to his liking.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@qazwart

I had a friend in college who decided all plots could be divided into two categories:
[ol]
[li]Plots involving naked women.[/li][li]Plots not involving naked women.[/li][/ol]
He’d readily admit that the second category was much, much bigger than the first, but he finds the first one more to his liking.

I’m getting an idea here… If they can “update” old classics by including zombies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies et al), why can’t they update old classics by including naked women (All-Nude Pride and Prejudice)?

[Little_Nemo]

@Thudlow_Boink

I’m getting an idea here… If they can “update” old classics by including zombies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies et al), why can’t they update old classics by including naked women (All-Nude Pride and Prejudice)?

This is a major genre in porn. They do x-rated versions of popular TV shows or movies.

[tiescore]

“We’re more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can’t give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They’re all blood, you see.” - The Player (Richard Dreyfuss), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

[sbunny8]

@tiescore

“We’re more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can’t give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They’re all blood, you see.” - The Player (Richard Dreyfuss), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

There are plenty of mainstream Hollywood movies that have violence and nudity, and there are plenty which have violence but no nudity… but it is extremely rare to find one which has nudity and no violence. Doc Hollywood is one of those rare exceptions.

[Siam_Sam]

I think Sex and Death pretty much cover it.