Polti’s Perennial Plot Points

Feeling at a loss for how to create conflicts in your story?  Georges Polti, a French writer and critic, comes to the rescue with his own list of dramatic categories seen in any kind of story.  

Here’s the rundown (36 points in all):

1. Supplication:

Ingredients:

·         Persecutor

·         Suppliant

·         Power of Authority (PoA)

How it works:

The persecutor accuses the suppliant, and the PoA judges against the suppliant.

2.  Deliverance:

Ingredients:

·         Unfortunate

·         Threatener

·         Rescuer

How it works:

The unfortunate has caused conflict, the threatener wants to pursue justice, but the rescuer comes to help the unfortunate.

3.  Crime Pursued By Vengeance:

Ingredients:

·         Criminal

·         Avenger

How it works:

Avenger takes justice in his/her own hands to punish criminal.

4.  Vengeance – Kin Upon Kin:

Ingredients:

·         Guilty Kinsman (GK)

·         Avenging Kinsman (AK)

·         Victim

How it works:

GK and AK are in conflict over the victim who’s related to both.

5.  Pursuit:

Ingredients:

·         Punishment

·         Fugitive

How it works:

The fugitive runs away from the punishment for a misunderstood conflict.

6. Disaster:

Ingredients:

·         Vanquished Power (VP)

·         Victorious Enemy (VE) or Messenger (M)

How it works:

The VP falls from grace after being defeated by VE or alerted of such fall by M.

7.  Falling Prey to Cruelty/Misfortune:

Ingredients:

·         Unfortunate (U)

·         Master or Misfortune (M)

How it works:

The unfortunate suffers at the hands of M.

8.  Revolt:

Ingredients:

·         Tyrant

·         Conspirator

How it works:

Conspirator plots against the tyrant.

9.Daring Enterprise:

Ingredients:

       Bold Leader

      Object

      Adversary

How it works:

Bold leader takes an object from adversary.

10.  Abduction:

Ingredients:

·         Abductor

·         Abducted

·         Guardian

How it works:

Abductor kidnaps Abducted from the guardian.

11.  The Enigma:

Ingredients:

·         Problem

·         Interrogator

·         Seeker

How it works:

Interrogator poses a problem to the seeker who must resolve it.

12.  Obtaining:

Ingredients:

·         Solicitor

·         Adversary

·         Object

How it works:

The solicitor is against the adversary who owns an object he/she desires.

13.  Enmity of Kin:

Ingredients:

·         Malevolent Kinsman (MK)

·         Hated Kinsman (HK)

How it works:

MK and HK conspire together.

14.  Rivalry of Kin:

Ingredients:

·         Preferred Kinsman (PK)

·         Rejected Kinsman (RK)

·         Object

How it works:

The object of rivalry chooses the PK over the RK.

15.  Murderous Adultery:

Ingredients:

·         Adulterer 1 (A1)

·         Adulterer 2 (A2)

·         Betrayed Spouse

How it works:

A1 and A2 conspire to kill the Betrayed Spouse.

16.  Madness:

Ingredients:

·         Madman

·         Victim

How it works:

The madman goes insane and wrongs the victim.

17.  Fatal Imprudence:

Ingredients:

·         Imprudent

·         Victim or Object Lost

How it works:

The imprudent loses the object or wrongs the victim.

 

Forbidden Love by Tyshea

18. Involuntary Crimes Of Love:

Ingredients:

·         Loved

·         Beloved

·         Revealer

How it works:

Revealer betrays the trust of the lovers.

19.  Slaying Of Kin Unrecognized:

Ingredients:

·         Slayer

·         Unrecognized Victim (UV)

How it works:

Slayer kills the UV.

20.  Self-Sacrifice For An Ideal:

Ingredients:

·         Hero

·         Ideal

·         Creditor

·         Person/Thing Sacrificed

How it works:

The Hero sacrifices a person/thing to the creditor.

21.  Self-Sacrifice For Kin:

Ingredients:

·         Hero

·         Kinsman

·         Creditor

·         Person/Thing Sacrificed

How it works:

The Hero sacrifices the thing/person for their kinsman, which is then taken by the creditor.

22.  All Sacrificed For Passion:

Ingredients:

·         Lover

·         Object of Fatal Passion (OFP)

·         Person/Thing Sacrificed

How it works:

A lover sacrifices a thing or someone for the OFP, which is then lost forever.

23.  Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones:

Ingredients:

·         Hero

·         Beloved Victim (BV)

·         Necessity for the Sacrifice

How it works:

The Hero wrongs the BV because of the need to sacrifice them.

24.  Rivalry of Superior vs. Inferior:

Ingredients:

·         Super Rival (SR)

·         Inferior Rival (IR)

·         Object of Rivalry

How it works:

A SR bests an IR and wins the Object of Rivalry.

25.  Adultery:

Ingredients:

·         Adulterer 1 (A1)

·         Adulterer 2 (A2)

·         Deceived Spouse

How it works:

A1 and A2 conspire against the deceived spouse.

26.  Crimes of Love:

Ingredients:

·         Lover

·         Beloved

How it works:

Lover and Beloved enter into a conflict.

27.  Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One:

Ingredients:

·         Discoverer

·         Guilty Party

How it works:

The Discoverer finds out about the Guilty Party’s wrongdoings.

28.  Obstacles To Love:

Ingredients:

·         Lover 1 (L1)

·         Lover 2 (L2)

·         Obstacle

How it works:

L1 and L2 face an obstacle together.

29.  An Enemy Loved:

Ingredients:

·         Lover

·         Beloved Enemy (BE)

·         Hater

How it works:

The Lover and Hater are allied but have opposite views on the BE.

30.  Ambition:

Ingredients:

·         Ambitious Person (AP)

·         Thing Coveted

·         Adversary

How it works:

The AP seeks the thing coveted but must first face the Adversary.

31.  Conflict With A God:

Ingredients:

·         Mortal

·         Immortal

How it works:

Mortal and Immortal are in a conflict.

32.  Mistaken Jealousy:

Ingredients:

·         Jealous One (JO)

·         Object Of Whose Possession JO is Jealous

·         Supposed Accomplice (SA)

·         Cause or Author of Mistake

How it works:

The JO misinterprets the cause or the mistake, and becomes jealous of the SA over the Object’s possession.

33.  Erroneous Judgment:

Ingredients:

·         Mistaken One (MO)

·         Victim of the Mistake

·         Guilty One

·         Cause or Author of Mistake

How it works:

The MO misinterprets the cause/mistake and passes judgment on the Victim when it should be passed on the Guilty One instead.

34.  Remorse:

Ingredients:

·         Culprit

·         Victim or the Sin

·         Interrogator

How it works:

The culprit wrongs the Victim or commits a sin, and goes against the interrogator who seeks the truth.

35.  Recovery Of A Lost One:

Ingredients:

·         Seeker

·         One Found

How it works:

Seeker finds the One Found.

36.  Loss Of Loved Ones:

Ingredients:

·         Slain Kinsman (SK)

·         Kinsman Spectator (KS)

·         Executioner

How it works:

The killing of the SK by the Executioner is witnessed by the KS.

Hope this helped you get ideas for your stories!

Sources:

Tim Sheppard Article

Whole Book (translated)

Wikipedia Article