"We have to realize that the side plot is still ultimately at the service of the main story. If it's completely unrelated to the main story, or doesn't have any impact on our main story, then the side shouldn't exist.

Our main story is the core story of our book, which may be about the growth of the main characters, or it can be the occurrence and development of a major event, such as the fall of an empire...

The side plot is specifically to make trouble with the main line. He happens at the same time as the main story, and eventually the branches will intersect and return to the main line, which will have various advancements, delays, deepening, and dilutions on the main plot, with varying degrees of impact

Sometimes it is as a part of a key plot, and it comes together to push the whole story to a big **.

The value of the existence of the side plot is to exert influence on the future development of the main line, and the design of the side plot is also a means to enrich the story. The simplest technique for designing plot subplots is the "reverse deduction method".

The reverse extrapolation method is somewhat similar to the "destruction and reconstruction method" mentioned earlier, but there is a difference in nature, although different techniques can also be mixed, but at the beginning of our learning, we should master the simplest skills and concepts.

On the surface, the "reverse deduction method" and the "destruction and reconstruction method" seem to design an obstacle to the original plot, and then use methods similar to the destruction and reconstruction method to design the side plot. It seems that they are all about influencing the outcome and goals of the events that were originally planned on the main storyline.

But what is the difference between the two? The difference is that the destruction reconstruction method, that is, the obstacle design, enriches the plot details in the main line and increases the twists and turns of the story. But these obstacles will eventually be removed, the damage will eventually be repaired, and the goal will eventually be achieved. What you need to master when practicing is the skill of reconstruction.

And when we destroy and reconstruct a plot, the purpose of these obstacles is to be eliminated and broken, and the goal of these damages is to be repaired. The side plot and the obstacles on the main story are designed. Of course, the biggest difference between them is:

It will change the original story objective set on the main story, and this effect is not/not intended to be fixed

The original design of the main plot, will be enhanced, or weakened, or destroyed, due to the influence of the side plot, resulting in new changes, the main value of the existence of the side plot, is to change the direction of the main line, or to speed up, slow down the pace of the main plot.

Therefore, you must not simply understand the side plot as "it is a story outside the main line", if you design a side plot, but it will not have any impact on the main plot you originally set, why do you design him?

Let's talk about enriching the story, first of all, we have a story, if the story itself makes you have the urge to write, of course it has its value, it has its wonderful, and your original main line itself will not be adjusted and modified casually for no reason.

When enriching the plot, it is more about enriching the details, as well as adding some twists and turns, some drama, not at the beginning with the purpose of changing the main line while writing, so under normal circumstances, enriching the plot, causal deduction and destruction and reconstruction are enough, when you feel that the main line itself is not attractive enough, the excitement is not enough, the foreshadowing before ** is not enough, or the story is too thin, etc.

Adding branches is actually fine-tuning the main line, or directly modifying the plot, at least it also delays or accelerates the development process of a certain plot, adjusts the speed of the main line, and also makes some fine-tuning in the structure, the concept should be basically clear, let's summarize the practice steps first:

Brief summary:

When you want to design a branch, first of all, you need to have a story line, and you have to sort out the development of the current story in the main story.

Step 1: Sort out the main line of the novel, clarify the plot clues of the last scene event of the current plot, and preset the most logical ending and consequences of the current plot. Then, you choose a section of the main story, pick a part with a more obvious phased ending, and directly modify this ending;

Step 2: Directly think about the initial plot goal, that is, the ending and consequences of the original current plot, directly modify it into a variety of completely different consequence situations, and finally, reverse the method/approach.

Step 3: Reverse the rational process based on the modified consequences. That is, to design side plots to achieve these new consequences.

Whether the branch lines can be smoothly detached from the main line, will they be entangled, causing the narrative to be disrupted?

The main line is rudely interrupted and the reader is confused, or the main line is swallowed up directly by the branches...

To avoid these problems, pay attention to the points that are emphasized in the scoring criteria:

1. The side events are on the timeline and should be parallel to the timeline of the main events.

2. The locations cannot be completely overlapped. The time and place completely coincide, so it's not a branch, or it's directly modifying the main plot.

3. The central character of the side plot can also be guided by the protagonist of the whole novel, but it should be noted that when you let your protagonist do the side plot, the main line of the entire novel should also be kept moving forward at this moment.

For example, the background allows other characters to complete the main plot while the protagonist does the side story. The main protagonist of the book can also guide the subplot, but "at the moment the protagonist does not promote the story on the main plot", and the progress on the main line is driven by others.

We can not write much or not write specifically, which is the "background of the main plot". So for many author friends who are obsessed with "the camera must firmly follow the protagonist", it is also possible to design a branch, but the protagonist is temporarily out of the main line.

Again, the design of the plot branch line is to enrich the structure of your story, and it is also the easiest way to adjust the rhythm of the novel and increase the foreshadowing for the work. ** A lot of foreshadowing is required before catharsis,

If these foreshadowing plots are all layered on a single progressive main line, the plot will seem steep and thin.

If your story only has a lonely and single main line, no matter how you set up obstacles, lay an ambush in advance, set up a lot of suspense that you won't tell you if you have a shocking secret, and make the story twist and turn, it will still seem very monotonous. After all, the main line of a book is easy to identify.

No matter how you subdivide and toss this main line, the big plot direction remains the same. This actually means that every step of the development of your story is already known to the reader, and if you guess any eight or nine without leaving ten, you will naturally feel bored, boring, and the story is old-fashioned and uninspiring.

Many times we are criticized for routines, in fact, it is not that there is a problem with the routine, but that the process of writing this routine is not well written, and if the side plot can be designed reasonably and cleverly, it can obviously play a role in avoiding the predictability of the story.

At least to interfere with the predictability of the story. This is the most important use of side stories. Then we'll talk about today's homework.

Today's homework is to do the entire in-class exercise of this lesson again. Of course, I would like you to practice with a new text plot.

My pen name: pen name

My work: the title of the book

The current story line: (that is, those continuous event clues that express "the current growth of the main character" or the current "current development of the core story" ↓ each small item may not only list a summary of the plot event, it can be several)

The central character of the current plot event (the current protagonist):

Locations of current plot events:

Antecedent/premise events of the current plot event:

The beginning of the current plot events:

Current Scenario Developments:

** of current plot events

The ending of the current plot event:

Consequences/effects of current plot events:

Override the "Consequence/Impact" to reset the opposite:

Set up a more severe "consequence/impact":

Delay the occurrence of "consequences/effects":

Approach/method of overturning the "consequence/impact":

Ways/methods to make the "consequences/effects" more severe:

Pathways/Methods of Deferring "Consequence/Impact":

Today's lesson, in fact, is a pull through today's classroom exercises, today's lesson is recommended to combine exercises and their own writing to do thinking and practice, today's class is here, after class!" As Jiuli's last words sounded, Xu Ergou also broke away from the state of listening to the lecture.

"Mom, I'm so dizzy. Xu Ergou shook his head and looked at the time, four hours had passed, and the mobile phone was almost out of battery, and it was at this time that Xu Ergou felt a little urinating and hurriedly ran towards the toilet.