The Seven Plot Types (14/10/2013)

Before the session started we finalised our narratives, making sure they made sense and everyone was happy with them.We recognised, however that we wouldn't find the time to put together a heroes journey unfortunately, and therefore focused on making sure the story made sense.

When we met up together for a second time we came up with an improved narrative which follows.

First Act:

• Starts off telling an ancient story in which a hero saves the kingdom from an enemy army and is given a magical sword by the Queen in gratitude. The hero disappears and is never seen again.
  
• The story then jumps 100 years to the present. The current king wants the magical sword that the hero once possessed. He sends the blacksmith's son on a quest to find this item.
• The boy leaves on his quest. He finds himself in a dark forest during a storm. He looses his footing and slips down into a rivine. However, a skeletal hand shoots out and grabs him, pulling him into a cave, saving him. 
• After being shocked by the living skeleton's appearance, the boy soon recovers, introduces himself and, after some banter the Skeleton shows his crystal. It explains that the crystal will help the boy find the sword as it will send him back in time in order to relive the past. However, he is warned to use it wisely as it cracks with each use. 
  

Second Act:

• The boy travels to his first time period where he is trained as a solider by the skeleton, in order to use a sword.
• The boy then travels to a second time period where he is now in charge of a regiment that has to lower an enemy's gate.
  
• Whilst using the crystal for his final time period, it breaks in half just as the boy is meant to lead a whole army. Thus, with the crystal no longer of use, he loses hope as he believes he can't be the hero.
  

Third Act:

• The boy finds the courage to lead the army when he realises that he never actually the crystal's insight and that it was all his own doing. Thus he leads the army to victory. 
• Winning the final battle, he is presented with a sword by the queen from the past which reveals the crystal in the hilt. The skeleton also reveals that he is in fact the king who was killed in the past.
  
• The hero is then teleported back to his own time and is congratulated by his friends and family. 
  

Time travel works as long as you set in stone the logic. As long as you keep with this logic then you can get away with some of the paradoxes created, even if some would otherwise show up. Whereas, if you do break set rules then the audience will complain and have problems with your narrative.

The Seven Plot Types - The Quest:

For the rest of the day we were split into two large groups and, in my group's case were asked to research the seven plot types. Next week we will then present our findings to the other group and that will be our session.

Having researched what each one was, we then decided on the subject we would talk about for next week.
I was assigned to write about 'The Quest' which in a nutshell is about characters who set off in order to complete a task which is often difficult. They must face great challenges and obstacles in order to complete their goal.

The idea of 'The Quest' has been used for many years. From fact to fiction here are a few examples that relate to one another.

* The search for the Holy Grail:
A story that has been past down for years. The idea that men set forth in search of a holy object, for years on end, is just outstanding. Also, that they would sacrifice much for a common course and, although face perilous trial after perilous trial never stopped, even if it meant traveling to distant and unknown lands is impressive.
Other stories in the past have also shared similarities in this structure and include the 'Tales of Hercules', the story of 'Jason and the Argonauts', and even the high sea adventures of 'Sinbad'.

* 'The Chronicles of Narnia' and 'The Lord of the Rings':
These stories told of the littlest of heroes who would travel the world in order to accomplish their quest, often taking a long time to complete them, as was the case with the search for the Holy Grail.
Despite Frodo's size or the children's ages in the Narnia Chronicles, they all showed great courage and, with the help of their friends, completed tasks bestowed on them and defeated great evils. Thus linking closely to the ancient biblical tale of David vs Goliath.
Both of these first examples were written during times of war, but set in worlds of fantasy to provide escapism. Although, written for children these books still reflect the times they were written in thus, although surrounded in fantasy they told political themes and battles similar to those going on whilst they were being written e.g. the fight against good and evil could be interpreted as the Allies v.s. the Nazis.

* 'Dungeons and Dragons': 
A pen and paper game influenced by such fantasy works as J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' novels. D&D was created in order to bring people's imaginations to life and allow them to take part in grand adventures. Personally I have played the game for three years now and from doing so have felt as if I have been a part of other worlds and gone on fantastic journeys, just like some of my favorite fictional heroes. I have also learnt from playing for so long a number of new story telling techniques and ways to portray the characters I play, thus improving my narrative skills.
In fact, some adventure books heavily influenced by my previous example, also exist which allow readers to take part in adventures of their own and  therefore choose their actions. Even I invented my own 'choose your own adventure book' when I was young which had the player basically playing as a dwarf in a scenario almost identical to the story of 'The Hobbit'. It was fun to make and hopefully I may end up creating another in the future. 
Fun fact: Vin Diesel, who is one of the most coolest actors in history played Dungeons and Dragons for twenty years in his youth! Thus, his main character Melkor was the main inspiration for the popular character Riddick as both kill monsters and can see in the dark. He also wrote a foreword in one of the published books for the game.

* 'Star Wars':
Sharing similarities to my second example ('The Chronicles of Narnia' and 'The Lord of the Rings'), 'Star Wars' is a film still beloved today as, not only did it capture the spirit of adventure and intrigue with a whole new setting and worlds we had never seen before but, it also (like my other examples) showed the smallest of heroes in the form of Luke and a small band of Rebels taking on an entire Galactic Empire. 
One example of why this movie works, is underlined by this quote provided by my lecturer from the director of 'Star Wars', I'll let it speak for itself.

"You focus on the human story first, and then you begin to create this world that everybody inhabits, and playing with the lowest person in this hierarchy, I created droids. And that is really how they came about. I was looking for the lowest person on the pecking order, basically like the farmers in Hidden Fortress were." - George Lucas.

* 'Indiana Jones' and 'The Goonies':
Other fantastic example of quests seen in film are 'Indiana Jones' and 'The Goonies' as the characters set out on dangerous journeys and, although face moments of desperation always return to their quest, whether it be an older archeologist fighting Nazis for ancient artifacts, or kids seeking hidden treasure. Both these films always get the audience excited as they remind them of adventures they used to have as kids when trying to reenact scenes from their favorite fantasy books such as 'The Chronicles of Narnia' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. Subsequently, from watching these movies children will be influenced to seek adventure and play like the characters from these films, I know I did.

* 'Dragon Age' and 'Mass Effect':
From history to books, to pen and paper and on screen in cinemas, we have had numerous examples of quests. However, previously they were always either purely visual, but non interactive. Or interactive, but relied on your own imagination that whilst is till being used today, can clash with the imagination of others depending on how they imagine it to look visually. Therefore, video games were a positive introduction addition for the telling of quests as, not only were they visual, but they were also interactive.
Great quest examples in video games include Bioware's 'Dragon Age' series that has the player select their race and class and take part in adventures set in a gritty fantasy world, and the 'Mass Effect' series that has you play as a human traveling the galaxy and trying to stop a greater threat from emerging.

* 'One Piece': 
A TV series that follows a group of pirates seeking fame, wealth and power in the form of a treasure known as the One Piece. What it is, no one knows but, the journey itself seems to be the main focus and reward as demonstrated in the series so far. Thus, this is similar to my first example of the 'Holy Grail' since many of its heroes discover life lessons and more about themselves from their personal adventures that they have whislt on their journey.
Even though you would expect a series to complete its main quest sooner than later for it to be more accessible to new comers, the series started airing in 1999 and has continued to air into 2013 with roughly 616 episodes to date! (And to think, I'm only on episode 40 something...)

  
Harvard Referencing: 

• Burne, J, E. Morris, W. Henry, D, J. (1895-96) Galahad Grail [Online image]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Galahad_grail.jpg (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Boone, M (2010) Adventures in YA Publishing - Writing Inspiration: Seven Types of Plot. Available at: http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/writing-inspiration-seven-basic-plot.html (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Hirsh, E (2012) Mass Effect Cover [Online image]. Available at: http://www.gamingvlog.net/tag/mass-effect-1-cover/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Lucas, R (2011) Dragon Age Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://pixelatedgeek.com/2011/02/top-5-aspects-dragon-age-2-looks-to-improve/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Milles, C (2012) Indiana Jones Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.blakesnyder.com/2012/09/07/the-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-beat-sheet/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Maderna, V (Unknown) D&D Player's Strategy Guide - Getting Into Character Picture [Online image]. Available at: http://digital-art-gallery.com/picture/4523 (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Paul, Ghanger (1979) Cave of Time - Book Cover [Online image]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cave_of_time.jpg (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Struzan, D (1985) The Goonies Poster [Online image]. Available at: http://www.impawards.com/1985/goonies.html (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Unknown (2013) One Piece Logo [Online image]. Available at: http://fullwallpaperhd.com/one-piece-logo-wallpaper/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Unknown (2012) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Book Cover [Online image]. Available at: http://www.mysocalledsensorylife.com/?tag=the-chronicles-of-narnia (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Unknown (Unknown) Quest Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Unknown (Unknown) The Lord of the Rings - Book Cover [Online image]. Available at: https://forbiddenplanet.com/92949-lord-of-the-rings-book-1-fellowship-of-the-ring-tolkien-cover/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).
• Unknown (Unknown) Star Wars Poster [Online image]. Available at: http://www.thatsswell.ca/nerdom/star-wars-cast-on-twitter/ (Accessed: 14/10/2013).