Source¹¹1 “Lecture #3: Plot Part 2,” 2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU: Brandon Sanderson on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, YouTube video (Brandon Sanderson, 2020). 

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Contents:

1. Outlines
2. Plot archetypes
3. Plot structures
4. Discovery plotting

Outline

What an outline isn’t (for Brandon Sanderson):

• Hierarchical lists like 1.a.ii
• 3-page summary

Brandon has an internal wiki for world-building.

Outline headings:

1. Character
   1. Main characters
      1. Intro: who are they?
      2. Arc 1: …
      3. Arc 2: …
   2. Side characters (about one paragraph for each)
2. Setting
   1. Magic/tech
   2. Physical setting (world-building)
   3. Cultural setting
3. Plot (that is what this lecture is about)

Plot

Plot: promise + progress + payoff. Progress is the most important: with progress, promise and payoff can follow.

Plot archetype ≠ plot structure (like three-act structure or hero’s journey). Archetype is a style of plot. Example plot archetype: heist plot, master/apprentice plot, information/mystery plot, relationship plot.

Two main archetypes for a heist plot: the Ocean’s Eleven type, and the Italian Job type.

• The Ocean’s Eleven type: gather the team (contains one newbie), lay out the big problem, and break down the problem, following along the newbie. Big piece missing still, but the twist at the end is that everyone but the newbie already knew.

• The Italian Job type: gather the team, explain the problem, etc (similar). Problems A, B, and C and planned to be handled by solutions 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Plot follows the same way, except at the end, the rug is pulled out from under them: problems A, B and C don’t exist and in their place are problems D, E and F, but they crudely apply the already planned solutions in unexpected ways. (Those solutions were the promise.)

• Bash-and-grab.

Murder mysteries. Implicit promise: detective is smarter than the detective. Promise: reveal what happened — or can the reader figure it out before the story reveals it? (Don’t cheat and make the reader unable to figure it out at all.)

Romance plots. Wish fulfillment! (In other plots too.) Relatable; human element.

To create a plot outline, start with the goal. What does the outcome of this plot need to be? Under that, create bullet points for the steps needed to get to that outcome (progress).

Not just for plots, but also character arcs.

Plot structures

(See Structuring a story)