February 24, 2014
Today’s Writers’ Tip
WRITING FICTION PLOTS
Plot Number 15: FORBIDDEN LOVE
Romeo and Juliet
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The edge this fiction plot has on everyone is that the reader (or the movie viewer) sits on the edge of his/her seat, wondering if the two will EVER get together. So, what elements comprise a good story that brings two lovers together, perhaps just for a short time, even though their relationship is “forbidden?” Let’s see:
1. Forbidden love goes against the “norms” of society, so there should be either an explicit or implicit force against the lovers.
2. The lovers, (or one of them), ignore the social norms and pursue their hearts, usually with disastrous results.
3. Adultery is the most common form of forbidden love; thus, the adulterer may either be the protagonist or antagonist, depending on the nature of the story. The same is true for the offended spouse.
4. The first dramatic phase should define the relationship between the partners and place it in its social context.
What are the taboos that they have broken? How do they handle it themselves?
How do the people around them handle it?
Are the lovers just moonstruck, or do they deal with the realities of their affair head-on?
5. The second dramatic phase should take the lovers into the heart of their relationship. They might start out in an idyllic phase, but as the social and psychological realities of their affair become clear, the affair may start to dissolve or come under great pressure to dissolve.
6. The third dramatic phase should take the lovers to the end point of their relationship and settle all the moral scores. The lovers are usually separated, either by death, force, or desertion, and the resolution is an anti-climatic, sad ending.
So, writer, now you have the ammunition to start your Forbidden Love Plot or start the rewrite on your love story that just has something missing. Incorporate these elements into your story, and watch the sparks fly (before they go out forever ). Next time we’ll look at the fiction plot that is also very popular, number 16: SACRIFICE
All information compliments of:
Tobias, Ronald B (2011-12-15). 20 Master Plots (p. 189). F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition.
(I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing good fiction in any subgenre!”)
Happy writing! Marsha P.S. Interested in a heart-warming Amish love story? Please check out one of my creations:
LOVE SONG FOR LOUELLEN
VOLUME 3 IN THE LOVES OF SNYDER COUNTY
Twenty-five-year-old Amish Louellen Friesen finds herself falling in love with forty-year-old Englishman Dr. David McAndrew, a widower with two children, for whom she cleans house regularly in Mapletown, Snyder County, Pennsylvania. There’s only one problem. Louellen is already married. Well past the “marrying age” at twenty-two, Louellen Bidleman had wed Amish man Eli Friesen three years prior, mostly because of pressure from her family. Eli, also in his mid-twenties and in danger of being “passed over,” had married Louellen for one main reason, to have sons. Louellen has some love for Eli, but because of her church vows, sets out to be the best wife and mother she can be, especially when God blesses them with little ones. However, after three years, there are no children. Louellen is devastated, and Eli becomes bitter, feeling trapped in a marriage that has produced no offspring even though he knows that he has the medical problem, not his wife. Although he treats Louellen civil in public, at home he ignores her needs, and their wedded life is nothing but a disappointment to both. What should Louellen do? Turn her back on her husband and her Amish Ordnung? Should she leave, become “English,” and marry Dr. McAndrew, a man who has promised her the moon?
Interested in Winning a Free Book?
Go to my Goodreads page and check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/83016-bachelor-s-choice
Marsha Hubler: Author of THE KEYSTONE STABLES BOOKS 