Books and films are like meals. Some can be well written by
great writers (gourmet chefs) or mediocre writers (short order cooks). While
readers may have different tastes, there are many books and stories that are
less fulfilling than others. The difference between rich plots and poor ones is
like the difference between a twice baked potato and a half empty bag of potato
chips.
Below are some indicators of the potato chip plot (aka. plot
filler):
1)
The snooze button.
In this stage, the brain enters cruise control stage and
disengages from the plot. Sometimes the audience falls asleep after the
beginning, wakes up for the end, and understands everything that happened. Take for example, the Terminator movies.
I did fall asleep to the first two
films and woke up for the endings. Yes, everything still made sense.
Of course, there may be some stories where audiences can
watch the beginning and the end and understand everything but completely miss
the character development in the middle, but said middle should not be all air.
2)
Get out of jail free card.
Forget the card. Let’s give the protagonist unlocked doors
for no reason and a helicopter to make a great get away. And—by the way—nobody
happens to know where it came from. In other words, the protagonists end up in improbable
situations with some mysterious advantage that was not built up to. This
element is an annoying old technique also known as Deus ex machina.
For example, in The
Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, why did there just happen to be a giant statue
of rocks sitting in the throne room for decades with gold that was just waiting
to be melted into it? In the Battle of
Five Armies, where did the mountain goats come from?
3)
The treadmill.
The characters are going, going, going. They’re fighting the
enemy! And…they’re not getting anywhere. Similar to the snooze button, except
the audience is actually following the plot, which is all fluff. The treadmill
is often found in battle scenes of action/adventure movies and is usually found
in movie adaptations of books. Such scenes extend or add something the author
did not originally intend and should have stayed that way. For example, the
final half hour of Desolation of Smaug
focused more on excellent graphics and less on plot development.
So with all of the plot filler of potato chip plots, here
are just a few ingredients found in many rich, dense plots:
1)
Don’t blink!
Okay, you can blink. This isn’t Dr. Who. But you do want to pay attention to what’s happening
because it will play an important role later. Such detail is often found in the
Sherlock Holmes books and in the Sherlock adaptations. While not all
plots have to engage the audience like a detective story, every element, line,
and character should be necessary. This makes the story dense, like a fulfilling
meal that leaves audiences satisfied.
2)
Prophecies.
The counteraction to Deus ex machina, foreshadowing acts as
a way to hint at what is to come. While it may not always come in the obvious form
of an outright prophecy, it prevents audiences from questioning the author’s
motives. Instead, it provides audiences with an aha! moment.
3)
Layers.
Perhaps one of my preferred elements, character development
makes books worth rereading or films re-watching. It’s more than just an added
benefit but a necessity to memorable stories. In The Lord of the Rings, such development is abundant from Aragorn to
Pippin, and the books themselves have more to offer than the extended film
adaptations.
Of course, this list is not an extensive description of plot
filler and plot development, but it provides some overview. What are some
aspects of plot filler/development that you often notice? Are there any
poor/well developed stories that stick out in your mind?
Literary and film references: Orion Pictures’ The Terminator, Warner Bros.’ adaptations
of The Hobbit, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes collection,
BBC’s Sherlock, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
