Twenty Master Plots: A Brief Overview

December 2018

Throughout all of literature, there are only twenty major plots.  Don't believe me?  Read this list and then, the next time you read a book or watch a film, you'll immediately be able to make the connection... no matter the time it was written, or the author!  Of course, there are minor differences in all writing - but these are the foundations where everyone begins.

The Quest

• The protagonist’s search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible.

The Adventure

• An action plot, the plot of the body that focuses on the journey itself.

The Pursuit

• The literary version of hide and seek; one person chases another.

The Rescue

• The hero searches for something or someone; this plot relies heavily on the antagonist.

The Escape

• A physical plot that concentrates its energy on the mechanics of capture and escape; and the escape is literal – the hero must get away from where and whom has confined him.

The Revenge

• In this plot, there is a clear retaliation by the hero against the villain for a real or imagined injury; it should reach your reader on an emotional level.

The Riddle or Mystery

• A paradox that begs a solution that focuses on events that must be evaluated and interpreted, although things are not what they appear on the surface.  Clues lead to the answer, and the answer is usually in plain sight, though overlooked due to distractions.

Rivalry

• Two people have the same goal and each has their own motivation; and each usually assume they will win due to their superiority in some way.

The Underdog

• The hero is faced with a disadvantage and is faced with overwhelming odds toward achieving the goal; and somehow, he finds a way, although the way is often difficult.

Temptation

• A story of the frailty of human nature; often with religious overtones.

Metamorphosis

• Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures; this is a story about change, both physical and emotional, and usually the physical change is the impetus for the emotional change.

Transformation

• The process of change in the hero as he goes through life; moving from one significant character change to another.

Maturation

• A story of growing up; it’s an optimistic plot with lessons to be learned and in the end, the hero is better for the challenge and learning.

Love

• Often a story of frustration, confusion, misunderstanding, mistaken identities, agony, torture... something usually gets in the way and the payoff is that the love endures and wins in the end.

Forbidden Love

• A love affair that violates some social taboo; the lovers usually pay for their “folly” with their lives.

Sacrifice

• The characters sacrifice themselves for an ideal; they often subscribe to the belief that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the individual.

Discovery

• This plot dedicates itself more to the pursuit of learning about the self than uncovering a secret about society.  This plot is about people and their quest to understand who they are and how they fit in, rather than chasing buried treasure (although that can be part of it).

Wretched Excess

• This plot can happen to characters of every kind, and in every situation. The tension inherent in this plot comes from convincing the readers that whatever the excess, it could happen to them, too.

Ascension

• This plot deals with the rise of the hero. 

Descension

This plot deals with the fall of the hero.

• In these last two plots, the hero is magnetic, everyone and everything relates to him.  They tend to suffer from an over-blown ego, and are involved in a struggle that creates a vortex that sucks everyone else in the story into it.