Every novel, short story, play, screenplay, etc. has a plot. Essentially, the plot is a series of events that drives your story. When you decide to write a story about a fight, the questions you must answer are: How did the fighters get to that situation? What was the conflict about? How did the fight play out? What are the consequences of the fight?
Developing your plot will give you the framework not only for describing action, but for developing your characters, and creating conflict and tension which is essential to any good short story. For this post, I will limit the discussion to plot structures. Characters and tension will be posted separately.
3-Act Plot StructureThe most common plot structure is like a 3-act play with a beginning, middle and end.
Act I: The Set-UpYou introduce the protagonist and the world he/she inhabits. An inciting incident occurs that kicks off the flow of the story. A conflict develops and the protagonist decides to take action.
Example: A woman notices her husband spends an uncharacteristic amount of time concerned about his appearance. He is home away a lot, but buys her unusually expensive gifts. She begins to suspect he is having an affair.
Act 2: Confrontation 1. Rising action: the tension and stakes increase. The woman starts checking cell phone records and her husband’s car mileage.
2. Midpoint: the high point of the tension that changes everything. She finds a handwritten love note in her husband’s golf bag,
3. Plot point 2: The character is faced with new challenges and stakes. She hires a private investigator who shows her pictures confirming her husband is having an affair with a woman from the golf club. The mistress and her husband are a frequent golfing foursome with the protagonist and her husband.
Act 3: Resolution1. Pre-Climax: The protagonist prepares for a final confrontation. She plots to invite the mistress to a twosome golf outing on a weekday when the golfing activity is low. She will lure the mistress into a hidden wooden area under the guise of looking for a lost golf ball to confront her directly.
2:. Climax: The final confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist (or other source of conflict). The women fight in a wooded area off the golf course.
3. Dénouement: The consequences of the climax. Resolution of loose ends. The protagonist defeats the mistress and takes humiliating photos to send to both husbands. The mistress and her husband quit the golf club. The protagonist decides to give her asshole husband another chance. Hey, did I just write a story?
This is a basic plot structure and works well for stores that are told in a linear fashion. I prefer the Freytag’s Pyramid structure which is similar with steps of Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution. I think it allows for more complexity. Here, the “Falling Action” is actually the most exciting part, i.e. the fight scene.
I like to think of it as a roller coaster ride:
Exposition: Characters and world building (chugging out of the gate)
Rising Action: Tension begins to develop (coaster begins its ascent)
Climax: Tension is at it’s peak. (coaster at the top of the incline, when your heart is racing anticipating the big drop)
Falling Action: the building tension finally explodes i.e. the fight (the coaster has dropped into a thrilling ride)
Resolution: The aftermath.
Here’s an example from one of my stories: KFJ Friday Night Lights Out
1. Exposition: A nurse and her daughter’s cheerleading coach meet at a boys’ football game. They decide to have a “friendly” fight, as they are both in the catpin club.
2. Rising Action: The two women misinterpret each other, pushing each other’s insecurities which unexpectedly escalates into insults.
3. Climax: By the time they begin their fight in the cheerleader’s home, they despise each other.
4. Falling Action: They have an intense spirited fight. One woman wins.
5. Resolution: The losing woman struggles to cope with the humiliation of her first defeat (I won’t spoil it if you haven’t read it.)
Note there is nothing here about character development or how to generate tension. That will need to be worked into your plot. Also note that this works well for a linear plot. If you search the internet, you can find myriads of complicated diagrams for plot structures. I don’t find them helpful. However, I think it would be useful to know about four basic plot methods to tell your story. I’ll provide my own examples on FCF.
1. Linear Plot – as discussed above, this is a series of linked events in chronological order to tell your story.
2. Episodic Plot – a series of events are not linked sequentially. Each episode may present different characters, places, or even time. This is an effective method to present your story from different perspectives or go deep into a character’s background. Poacher 4, which I co-wrote with the excellent writer, Barbarauk is an example. The story jumped around from Poland, UK, and U.S., giving depth to Barbara’s backstory and insight to her motivation to fight Paula the Poacher.
3. Parallel Plot – two or more separate plots at the same that eventually become interwoven together. Example: Susan and Cloe will have an arranged fight. It’s the first for both of them, so they are both nervous. Your plot will switch the narrative back and forth between the two women. It’s the day of the fight. What is Susan thinking? What is she doing in her house the morning of the fight? What conversation is she having with her husband? Then switch and tell us about Chloe the morning of the fight. I love this approach. It can get you deep into both fighter’s heads and hopefully create drama and emotion. I tried this with “If I Should Fall Behind 2”, about a rematch between two women with each one having separate stakes.
4. Flashback Plot - Story opens in the middle of events, then flashbacks to the past. This allows the author to give clarity and insight to the present. I love this approach and my regular readers know I do this a lot. Examples: Waiting At the Door, Summer of ’77, Goodnight Snowflake, The Poacher 3, Requiem.
This can only be a brief discussion as there are entire books written about creating a plot, but I hope this has been an interesting starting discussion.
My Advice: If you are thinking about writing a fight story, chances are you already have a concept of a certain fight in your mind. Now think about how the two women got to that point. What events lead up to the conflict? Can you show us how the tension built up. If its your first story, tell it in a linear chronological manner, in a three-act structure. What happened? And what did that lead to? What happened next? Send your readers on that roller coaster ride. Have fun.
I’ll discuss tension building and characterizations in future posts.
Everyone is invited to share thoughts, experiences, questions,
