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A review by richardrbecker
20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias
informative
fast-paced
4.25
Ronald Tobias breaks down elements of the most common plots in literature, theater, and film. These include classics such as the quest, rescue, revenge, transformation, forbidden love, ascension (and descension). The general idea is that most stories fall into one (or sometimes more than one) of these categories.
To illustrate, Tobias places an emphasis on examples, drawing from reasonably well-known plays, books, and movies. Ergo, the principal plot of Romeo & Juliet, is forbidden love. The plot of Death Wish is revenge. The plot of Bonnie and Clyde is pursuit. And so on and so forth. He makes the case, then extracts key elements that make the most successful stories memoriable.
His analysis is often a write-up of the obvious but no less useful, especially when he leans on films with a strong central plot line. Not all books or plays do, sometimes preferring to include more than one, like Romeo & Juliet, which blends rivalry and forbidden love together. But this is probably why I think Tobias is at his best when he discusses books over movies.
Ironically, some of his best and most insightful work isn't in the 20 chapters of master plots (with each covered in one chapter except ascension and descension). I especially liked his analysis of structure aside from plots — covering how relationships between primary characters create depth in a story and also how important it is to establish a moral baseline, even if the characters lean toward evil.
This latter point struck a chord with me because I recently read two popular books I didn't like — and now, in retrospect, I can see that their lack of any moral baseline proved problematic for me. (Even bad characters usually have some moral baseline, e.g. a mobster may have a code of honor, even if it isn't one we subscribe to.)
So, even if you are less interested in grasping the premise of a single plotline (what I usually oversimplify and describe as a path from A to B), there is still plenty of material to consider. Tobias also includes a link where book buyers can download each plot's checklists as PDFs. You'll want to do that because the print version uses gray ink, which is hard to read.
Overall, however, Tobias has written a useful book for storytellers. I've added it to the resources I tell other writers to consider. Interesting stuff.
To illustrate, Tobias places an emphasis on examples, drawing from reasonably well-known plays, books, and movies. Ergo, the principal plot of Romeo & Juliet, is forbidden love. The plot of Death Wish is revenge. The plot of Bonnie and Clyde is pursuit. And so on and so forth. He makes the case, then extracts key elements that make the most successful stories memoriable.
His analysis is often a write-up of the obvious but no less useful, especially when he leans on films with a strong central plot line. Not all books or plays do, sometimes preferring to include more than one, like Romeo & Juliet, which blends rivalry and forbidden love together. But this is probably why I think Tobias is at his best when he discusses books over movies.
Ironically, some of his best and most insightful work isn't in the 20 chapters of master plots (with each covered in one chapter except ascension and descension). I especially liked his analysis of structure aside from plots — covering how relationships between primary characters create depth in a story and also how important it is to establish a moral baseline, even if the characters lean toward evil.
This latter point struck a chord with me because I recently read two popular books I didn't like — and now, in retrospect, I can see that their lack of any moral baseline proved problematic for me. (Even bad characters usually have some moral baseline, e.g. a mobster may have a code of honor, even if it isn't one we subscribe to.)
So, even if you are less interested in grasping the premise of a single plotline (what I usually oversimplify and describe as a path from A to B), there is still plenty of material to consider. Tobias also includes a link where book buyers can download each plot's checklists as PDFs. You'll want to do that because the print version uses gray ink, which is hard to read.
Overall, however, Tobias has written a useful book for storytellers. I've added it to the resources I tell other writers to consider. Interesting stuff.