I maybe wrong on this one so would appreciate others correcting me because I'd hate to inform any incorrectly. But I always thought the core of a plot was the goal because it was the driving force. Without it you wouldn't have a story or any conflict. I don't know LOTRs very well but I would say the core would be "frodo must take the ring to thing bob to destroy it." (whatever that place was called). It's the main characters main goal (I think). Everything just sparks of that one goal.
MOUNT DOOM of course. The most melodramatic name in the series, no Norse linguistics, no euphemism, just MOUNT DOOM.
I'd agree that the core of the plot is the goal, because it's the central motivation to do anything. It's the fuel of a race car. It keeps the engine (character) running. But goals can be used deceivingly. It can drive the character, but not necessarily be the main focus of the plot or the story. Simply a ruse designed to fuel the character's actions, which may be in stark contradiction to the plot itself. However, for others: The core of the plot is different to the plot itself. It's simply an important part of it. The plot is the main sequence of events in the story (hence a side-plot or sub-plot is a secondary sequence of events). Goals, characters, challenges, all drive the plot. But they are not the plot.
Perhaps if the goal is not always the director, is the ending not the core of the plot? It's the thing the rest of the plot is going towards, that the other parts have to fit with and work towards. Perhaps the ending and the beginning, because then you have a line of transition that elucidates some of what should happen.
Its hard to say what the 'core' of the plot is. I think the "core of the plot' that you're looking for is the story goal. In essence the thing that almost every character works towards or works against. And they story goal for LOTR is the destruction of the ring. Its not the case for all stories but most high concept stories it is the case. Theme is a different thing onto itself, imo. It's the meaning of the story. You may not even know it until the story is complete. But the goal, which might change as the story progresses, drives your characters(and the majority of your characters) to the end of your story; everything in between that and the inciting incident is your playground. Knowing the story goal will allow you the freedom to make changes as you see fit.
I agree with this. Although personally I'd say the story goal for LOTR is the defeat of a rising Sauron. The mechanic for this is the destruction of the ring.
Hi Stammis, don't worry, a lot of writers struggle with this. I understand your point in finding the basic thread of your story. It makes sense. It's logical. But forget the "core" for a moment. Because the core isn't what you or your readers are going to be passionate about. The core is just a foundation. Think of the foundation of a house, it’s not pretty, it’s now what others see when they walk by the house and say, “that’s beautiful”! You are absolutely right in that the core is something we can use to “build stuff on,” but it’s not the heart of the story that makes it magical. So where is the magic? Let’s go back to our house example. What will make a house beautiful? It can be a number of things. It can be its architecture or landscaping or furnishings inside, etc. Now you don’t have to be an expert in all those areas to make your house (story) beautiful. But you have to at least KNOW what it is about your house that you want to showcase. Pick one part of it that says “this is what people will love about my house” and alter everything else around it to highlight that one thing – that is the “true core” of your story. The "true core" is not the storyline. It's what you are excited about when you write your story, and it's what you want your readers to be excited about when they are on your journey.
To be fair, the OP was about the core of a plot, not the core of a story. The core of a plot is probably going to be pretty plot-related.
Yes, totally agree. It's one of the reasons why I quoted the OP's later post which better identified what he was struggling with instead of the first post which was more about the plot.
Like most old fairytales, it was about good versus evil. It used to be avoided as too simplistic because people should try empathy first. Nowadays, people have to yet again be reminded about pure evil when man's greed literally cause natural forces swallow the world in fire.
I've been reading The Science of Storytelling and I think I've come across a term that explains what I mean by the 'core' of a story: the ignition point. I think the ignition point in Lotr, for instance is when Bilbo finds the ring, it is when the ball gets rolling because if he didn't find it, there would be no story after the Hobbit. In the same regard, the ignition point for the Hobbit is when Gandalf meets Bilbo. If that didn't happen, he would have stayed at home and there would be no story. It is those ignition points that carry the plot and thus the core of what the story is. Everything else is sort of secondary and is open to change. If you don't hold onto the ignition point, the story is nothing. Keep in mind, in Lotrs case, Ronald Tolkien did not intend the Lotrs to be part of the Silmarillion lore, at least not the Hobbit weren't.
Except that bilbo finds the ring in the hobbit, not in the LOTR - the ignition point of LOTR would be when the need to leave the shire arises It sounds as though Ignition point is another name for the more commonly understood inciting incident
No. The plot does not define a story as much as the theme of a story. The core of LoTR is this: A person with a pure heart and the best and most loyal friend one can have meets the powers, temptations and dangers of ultimate power. This leads to a lot of inner and outer conflicts which change him by giving him real and true self reflection to his hidden darker inner dimensions. (Jungian way to say it: to his shadow.) This long lasting self reflection leads to long lasting conflicting self revelation. He pays a price - his innocence - to become an adult. P.S. Shooting the starting pistol in 100m running is not a core of that race. And ignition point = inciting incident is not a core of a story - or even a plot.
I don't agree, you discover the plot through characters, that makes the ignition point the most import part of the story, thus the core of the plot.
The "ignition point" is simply a plot point. It's not any more important than the climax or resolution.
The story is a journey. The inciting incident is simply where you start. You wouldn't call your starting point the core of your journey. The core of your journey is what you're doing. I'm going to a festival is the core. I bought tickets is the"ignition point"or inciting incident. What happens on the journey is the plot.
Not if you think of the ignition point as the 'big bang' of the story, then it means everything! Everything is built off of that point.
So what you are saying is, if we draw an example from one of my stories: the core is, I'm a narcissist; The ignition point is, I murdered my wife in rage; And the plot is dealing with my lost sense of control - he may or may not redeem himself in the end.
I guess that makes sense... though, now I'm more curious why you are going on the festival to begin with... Actually, that would be the ignition point in my opinion... In your example, it would be like saying that a murderer doing the murdering is the ignition point rather than what lead up to the murder, or something. But then again, in my example, he became a murderer after the murder happened... This is rather interesting, to be honest.
This is more likely the core of The Hobbit... In this line, the core of the Lord of the Rings is: A hobbit (with unexpected help) destroys the¹ magic ring.
In my experience whenever the process gets messy as you say, it's because the writer has strayed from the MC's desire/need. The plot should be a natural outgrowth from that, and can play out many different ways. The inner story is the guiding force to lock into and follow. Plot aside from this driving energy force is nothing but a string of uninspired cause and effect sequences. I heard a writer in an interview recently say he prefers very simple, direct plots because it allows him to focus more on the complexities of the character's inner struggles. To reverse that IMO would be to build a story out of various events that have a logical connection but which don't offer the reader any context or meaning to make it an interesting story. My .02
