Resources/books for plot-driven stories

[tim]

Could anyone point me to a book or other resource on developing plot-driven outlines and stories?

Pretty much every book on novel structure or outlining follows character-driven arcs - stuff by Truby, Snyder, and so on. I've written plenty of novels using that approach, but I'm looking to practice developing a more pulpy/action style, similar to say a Jack Reacher novel, although not that genre specifically. I'm also interested in delving into writing that may translate into other media, like youtube videos or comedy sketches, with more plot-driven frameworks.

I've only found a few meager resources about writing pulp fiction. The closest thing I've found so far is Plotto by Cook, but it's quite unwieldy, more of a poorly organized brainstorming tool and not that useful.

[VanessaC]

Hello, and welcome.

Not sure if this would be quite what you're looking for, but have you come across Chris Fox before?  He writes plot-driven stories, and has a YouTube channel with a series on plotting - this is aimed at beginner writers, but you may find some of it useful, and the videos are short.  He also references materials he's used like Dan Harmon's story circle (and others - that's just the one I remember).  He's added to the original series of videos as his system develops.  He also writes non fiction for writers, and you might find something useful there.  All short and snappy.

I found Chris' outlining technique really helpful, and I use the SALES technique to get started.

Other useful writing tips I've used come from Rachel Aaron - in particular on plotting a series without losing your mind - part 1 here (if I've got the link thingy right): http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2015/07/writing-wednesdays-how-to-plot-series.html

Hope that's useful.

[EC Sheedy]

I second VanessaC's recommendations and I'll add the name K.M. Weiland. She's written great stuff on story structure that certainly ties in with plotting. Larry Brooks' Story Engineering is also definitely worth a look.

Good luck. 

[Jeff Tanyard]

The aforementioned Harmon Circle:

https://channel101.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Structure_104:_The_Juicy_Details

[angela]

Brandon Sanderson has some excellent talks about writing, including plotting, and he seems to teach with genre fiction specifically in mind.

Here's one of his classes on plotting:

He talks about the "try fail cycle" -- not sure if that's his or borrowed from elsewhere, but it helped me a lot with plotting!

[CoraBuhlert]

An oldie but goldie is the Lester Dent pulp fiction master plot. It's intended for short stories, but you easily scale it up to novels.

[guest1291]

Michael Moorc*ck, Lester Dent, Erle Stanley Gardner (plot wheels)

[tim]

Thanks for all the input so far. I find the Harmon Circle to be more of a character-driven tool. I've also read most of Weiland's books, which are, in my view, still character-driven. Try-fail cycles or brackets are more plot-driven structures, in my opinion.

Thanks VHS and Cora for pointing at the pulp masters. I had run across plot wheels and the like but forgot about them. I am digging up more pulp resources and re-reading my old ones. Those golden-age pulp writers were incredible...

I've also found some useful ideas from resources on writing a TV series. Since many TV shows have static characters, TV writers have to generate purely plot-driven stories. If I had to write 100 character arcs for the same character...oh lord. What would be left to change after 5-6 arcs, haha.

[angela]

Tim, what's your subgenre?

You might want to look into the tropes / expected scenes for your genre.

For example, "betrayal by ally," "reveal of the villain's plan," "returning to the beginning to see something new," "enemy becomes ally," etc. The tropes have an expected order, but can be shuffled around a little.

It varies by genre. If you're writing a serial killer thriller, the expected scenes will be different from, say, a cozy murder mystery.

I don't worry as much about sequence as I do having lots of the elements that make a great story. You never know if it the whole enchilada will come together perfectly or not, but tropes are tropes because they work.

Plotto is fascinating, but unwieldy, and the elements are a wee bit outdated.

You might want to look into Arthur Dent LESTER DENT, though pulpiness is one thing, and something solid enough to get $$ film money is another thing.


If you want a big blockbuster plot / premise, Million Dollar Outlines is a good read:
https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Outlines-Writing/dp/1614751765

He talks a lot about cultural resonance, which is neat.

ETA: LESTER DENT. my bad

[tim]

Thanks, looking up tropes is a good point. I know everyone like Chris Fox says to do this...I need to compile a big list of tropes at some point.

Oh yeah, I love David Farland. Will re-read his book.

[sliderule]

You might want to look into Arthur Dent, though pulpiness is one thing, and something solid enough to get $$ film money is another thing.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=arther+dent+formula

Arthur Dent or Lester Dent?

[PJ Post]

TV Tropes

[angela]

You might want to look into Arthur Dent, though pulpiness is one thing, and something solid enough to get $$ film money is another thing.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=arther+dent+formula

Arthur Dent or Lester Dent?

Hahah. My bad. Lester!!

[okey dokey]

QUOTE:
". . . pulpiness is one thing, and something solid enough to get $$ film money is another thing."

A lot of pulp stories were made into movies