One of the best ways to construct a story is to first define the purpose and plot in its simplest form:
“I needed to find the perfect gift for my wife, then I found that perfect gift.”
“I needed to find the perfect gift for my wife, but I failed to find anything she would want.”
“I needed to find the perfect gift for my wife, but after spending years finally convincing an entire company to produce that perfect gift, I ruined the surprise just days before.”
All three of those are true stories from my life.
The last one is both unbelievable and devastating. Perhaps I’ll tell it someday.
Here is a similar deconstruction of the plots from famous films, admittedly chosen and written in the hopes of being funny rather than deeply analytical, though the principle still applies.
Feel free to add your own.
BATMAN: Wealthy man assaults the mentally ill
TITANIC: Passengers fail to see the potential irony in labeling a ship “unsinkable”
AVATAR: “Dances with Wolves,” except the indigenous people are blue
SUPERMAN: Alien emigrates to a planet populated by weaklings
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Peasant girl develops Stockholm Syndrome
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF: Amoral narcissist makes the world dance for his amusement
RED DAWN: Despite shock-and-awe tactics, a superior occupying force is no match for a tenacious sect of terrorist insurgents
SPIDER-MAN: Nerd gets bitten by spider, complains about how this ruins his life for years to come
STAR WARS: EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Boy is bullied by alien, kisses sister, attempts patricide
LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY: Multi-racial team of good guys fail to use superior air power to quickly destroy magic jewelry
THE BREAKFAST CLUB: High school principal leaves four juvenile delinquents unsupervised during a day of detention
TOP GUN: Grieving pilot fails to engage the enemy, then he engages the enemy
DAYS OF THUNDER: Grieving race car driver fails to drive through smoke, then he drives through smoke
CLUELESS: Stylish teen sleeps with stepbrother. No one seems to care.
JERRY MAGUIRE: Man wants to work less for the same pay. Then he makes it happen.
BIG: Boy in man’s body affects a corporate takeover and sleeps with women three times his age
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: Aliens infect humans with OCD in order to lure and abduct them
Feel free to share some of your own.
