The Plot Thickens... (Mary Strand)

This month at YA Outside the Lines, we’re supposed to talk about plot.

As a writer (and reader, and fan of movies), I am all about plot. Yes, I have to enjoy the characters, but a slow plot makes me (1) fall asleep, (2) throw the book across the room (after skipping to the last page of the book to see how it ends), (3) turn off the TV, and/or (4) walk out of the movie theater.

(Which really should be spelled theatre, but I know I'm surrounded by philistines.)

(Except in England, where I spent a few glorious days in April, where they DO spell it theatre, and they also know how to pronounce "sorry" correctly, but I digress.)

(Actually, digressing tends to create slooooow plots, but I'm writing a blog post, not a novel, so tra la la!)

The average person might think that a fast plot is one filled with action, and that's often true, but it's actually caused by conflict. Someone wants something, and someone else is stopping them from getting it. That's conflict.

When you DON'T have conflict, you usually have people sitting around and talking. If the talking consists of witty banter, you might THINK you have a fun plot, but if the banter isn't leading to anything happening, then ... zzzzzz.

It's fascinating to me when a book turns into a movie. Usually (although not always), if there are a lot of changes, the book has a slow plot and little conflict. The moviemakers want to punch up the conflict and action to get more butts in the theatre. (Let's be real: it SHOULD be spelled theatre.)

Some examples:

John Grisham novels often have a different ending when they become movies. Very successful author, but his forte isn't the ending.

The Twilight novels TALK about vampires who kill and eat people, but none of the main (nonvampire) characters in the novels in fact suffer this fate. In the movie versions, they fix that. Well, not with main characters, but at least they offer up some dead bodies that don't appear in the books.

The Fall Guy - I just saw it! I love Ryan Gosling, but there isn't much conflict in the movie. It's brilliant at showing how stunts work, and it has one of the most fun vehicle-chase scenes I've seen, but I was bored for most of the movie. (Except during that chase scene!) When I leave a movie feeling bored, my first thought is always: was there conflict? Or, even if there was, was it too spread out, leaving us with slow pacing?

Bridgerton. Ahh. I love Bridgerton. But I confess that there are a lot of talking heads in the books (i.e., little conflict), which is why the screen versions add a LOT of conflict. Yes, they added too much to season 2, turning the Sharma sisters from the loving sisters they are in the book to two young women at each other's throat in the adaptation. Oh, and they turned Eloise and Penelope into enemies! (Really hate that.) But they're going for ratings, and conflict-conflict-conflict (aka plot) creates high ratings.

So I'm all about plot. And conflict. And a fast pace. As a writer and as a fan.

But how did I write about the Bridgertons without mentioning that I LOVE BENEDICT BRIDGERTON? (In case you had no idea who's in the photos above, in which case you should get out more.) And how soon, DEAR GOD AND SHONDALAND, will it FINALLY be his season? Pretty please with sugar on top?

Mary Strand is the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Push-Up Bras and three other novels in the Bennet Sisters YA series. You can find out more about her books and music at marystrand.com.