Plot Archetypes II

The archetypes below are from the popular Save the Cat books. (Read the full book if you want more details, examples, and more. I’m not sponsored, I just try to give credit where credit’s due.)

Although they label them as story genres, which is a misnomer to me, but understandable. (I myself stated, in the previous chapter, that plot archetypes are almost like “categorizing” parts of your plot.)

The Archetypes

Whydunit

A plot unraveling a mystery. (Such as a murder mystery or a mysterious disappearance years ago.)

It’s called a whydunit, instead of the common whodunit, because readers actually care more about the why. Most detectives spend most time finding motive. A murder weapon is easily found and not that interesting. Who committed the crime is a one-second revelation at the end, and not that interesting. People care about the why.

As such, when writing such a plot, focus entirely on creating an interesting motive behind the mystery.

More specifically, you need

• A detective: can be anyone. But they must be unprepared (this is a unique case that provides unique challenges, otherwise why tell it?) and have some (personal) connection with the case.
• A secret: the thing that doesn’t line up, the thing at the root of the mystery. We’ll spend a lot of time getting closer and closer until it’s finally revealed.
• A dark turn: at a dead end, the detective breaks or abandons rules (or agreements, or etiquette) in pursuit of this truth.

Another common addition is the “case within a case”. By actually solving two (related) cases, you can put clues in plain sight and the reader still doesn’t know the answer early on.

Rites of Passage

A plot about life transitions. It’s about “growing pains”. The hero tries to mature, reach a goal, grow as a person—but there are obstacles in the way and they need to overcome them. Prove themselves first.

More specifically, you need

• A (universal) life problem
• A wrong way to approach it (which the hero obviously tries first or believes in)
• An actual solution that involves growing and accepting a hard truth

Once you solve it, the hero gains passage to the other (better) side.

Institutionalized

This plot follows a group of people stuck together. (Often forcefully, such as being imprisoned, or at high school. Same thing, really.)

This plot is about groups, your role within them, and social status. The central question is “to join or not to join?”

It also lends itself well to episodic storytelling: stories where you just follow a bunch of interesting characters on a series of whacky adventures. They are stuck with each other and just try to make it work.

More specifically, you need

• A group: hopefully an interesting world or setting that our hero (usually a newcomer) is brought into
• A choice: join the group or not? Trust them or not? Are they crazy or is the hero crazy for disagreeing and wanting to leave?
• A sacrifice: realizing the group cannot continue as it is, the hero usually makes a sacrifice, leading to one of three endings: join them, burn it down, or escape them.

Superhero

This plot follows a hero with an extraordinary ability in their normal world.

Humans love following a hero who is capable and can do something cool. But that is not enough. A story needs conflict, so the goal of this plot is usually to challenge that ability. Show what it can and can’t do. Show that it comes at a price.

More specifically, you need

• A hero with a special power
• A nemesis who opposes them
• And a curse: the price the hero suffers for their “greatness”

Dude with a Problem

The reverse of the Superhero. This plot follows your average joe, who suddenly encounters an extraordinary situation. Usually, they are just dragged into a mess through (unfortunate) circumstances at the start of the story.

The hero is not destined to save the world. At least at the start of the story, they have no clear ability that would make them capable or the best person for the job. As the story continues, though, they learn and grow, until you realize (near the end) that they are capable of solving the problem.

The key phrase here is that the hero “rises to the occasion”. Their problem seems nearly impossible, but they pull it off at the end. (If it’s literally impossible, this is an unsatisfying plot.)

More specifically, you need

• An innocent hero (your average joe, nothing special at first glance)
• A sudden event (that throws their life upside-down)
• A life-or-death battle (their final conflict must be huge, otherwise the contrast with the start isn’t big enough)

Fool Triumphant

The hero is a clear underdog. In the end, they triumph (over others who appeared much stronger, more powerful, more wealthy, whatever). This is like the “Rags to Riches” from previous chapter.

These plots really make you “root” for the hero. These only work if the hero clearly starts as the underdog. If you make them too capable or comfortable at the start, the whole thing falls apart. You’re simply not telling this archetype.

More specifically, you need

• The fool, often overlooked by society or naïve to their own capabilities
• An establishment that the fool is pitted against (in some way)
• A transmutation which allows this journey to start. The hero becomes someone else (new name, new clothes, new habits, …).

Buddy Love

A plot about the (transformative) power of relationships, both love and friendship.

They have one key characteristic: the hero is changed simply by meeting someone else or being with them. (In a 3 Act Structure, the meeting of these two characters is often the moment we break into act 2.)

They are about completion. Two completely different people learn to complete each other, rather than fight over their differences.

More specifically, you need

• An incomplete hero: something misses, they cannot overcome an obstacle or flaw, …
• A counterpart: someone else with whom they bond, who’d complete them perfectly
• A complication: but not at first glance. There are issues they need to work out, obstacles to overcome before they see how to complete each other.

Out of the Bottle

A plot about wishes and curses. In general, it’s about magic and bending the laws of nature. But the important part is that it’s about both wishes and curses.

The hero is “touched by magic”. They are granted some ability (usually temporarily), and then we show the good and the bad. Often, the hero used to be a normal person, and learns throughout the story that they didn’t need the magic. (Or that the curse is greater than the wish, so they get rid of the magic.)

More specifically, we need three elements

• A hero deserving of magic
• A spell (some interesting wish, curse, change, whatever to put upon the hero)
• A lesson (usually, the spell is exactly the thing they thought they wanted, but the lesson is that they actually wanted something else)

Golden Fleece

This plot is about quests, road trips, and heists. This can be both the Quest and the Voyage from previous chapter.

In general, the fun part is the journey. The end goal can be rather simplistic. (A heist is usually nothing more than “we want money, this place has money”) The obstacles, conflict, change, action—it all happens on the journey to get some prize.

More specifically, we can define three elements

• A road: a clear current location and destination, with interesting steps between
• A team: a set of fun characters that complement each other and make the journey worthwhile
• A prize: some reason for making the journey in the first place

The team part might feel optional. Why can’t the hero be alone? Well, yes, they can. In almost all plots of this type, however, the team makes the story. Think about the “road trip”. You do the road trip because of the people you are with. That makes it fun to do; the destinations you’ll visit less so. A Golden Fleece with just one person, will probably feel like a sad and slow story about loneliness instead.

Monster in the House

This plot is about something trying to destroy you (eat, kill, maim, discredit, however you want to implement that).

More specifically, we need three elements

• A monster: the thing coming after you. Usually, the scarier, the better. Make it really powerful. Make it seem unstoppable, whatever it takes.
• A house: a location that helps the monster, putting you at an even bigger disadvantage. (Although the same setting should also provide (creative) opportunities for the hero to defend or attack.)
• A sin: the fact that the monster is released or coming after the hero, should be their fault.

Why the sin? As always, to add deeper meaning to the story. (Make it more than just scary.) The hero should be in this perilous situation (and perhaps end up being killed) because of their flaws and their sins, which caused them to release the monster.

Now write!

Same thing as before. Pick one or multiple archetypes, and write a (short) story around them.

If you already did the challenge on one of the other Plot Archetype chapters (there are three), you can skip this one.

The goal is not to memorize these or always use this “formula” for your stories. The goal is to train with them, write a few stories with them, so you learn how they work and get an intuitive understanding. When it comes time to write that fantastic novel, you will subconsciously make the right decisions for your plots and arcs. Because now you have the tools.